Scar camouflage
Click here to see before and after photographs of our medical procedures
Light coloured scars can be camouflaged long term using medical tattooing treatments - during which skin coloured pigments are infused into the scar tissue to minimise its appearance.
For optimum results scars should be minimally one year old and should be paler in colour than the surrounding skin.
Medical tattooing is suitable for camouflaging scars on people of all nationalities.
Not all scar tissue however, is suitable for treatment
Medical tattooing is not a suitable solution for all scarring. Notably if scars are hyper-pigmented (dark in colour); are noticeably raised or sunken; or have an uneven texture the treatment may be ineffective as these scar types have poor pigment retention capabilities.
The most suitable scars to treat with medical tattooing are those that are the result of a clean cut, especially if the scars are the result of surgery - for example a facelift or breast remodelling.
It is important that the medical tattoo treatment is carried out when the skin is not tanned as the success of the treatment is dependent on the correct skin tone pigments being selected to achieve a look that ‘merges’ into the natural skin colour.
If tanned skin is colour matched and the tan fades, the infused pigment will not, leaving a noticeable demarcation between the healthy skin and the treated scar tissue.
The reverse is also a consideration and clients must accept that sun exposure must be minimal once the scar has been camouflaged.
How is the medical tattoo procedure performed?
The consultation
To successfully reduce the appearance of the scar the consultant will need to create multiple blends of pigment to recreate the tonal variances of normal skin.
The consultant will carry out 2-3 microscopic colour match tests in the scar using the medical tattooing technique. The test areas will develop over a month period giving a realistic impression of how the scar will appear once it is treated.
The pigment infusion process
Prior to the medical tattooing process topical anaesthetics are applied to the skin to reduce the prickling sensation felt during the procedure.
The consultant infuses the pigments into the scar creating a series of minute points of colour that form the subtle colour variations found in natural skin.
Each pigment infusion session normally takes 60 minutes and will require multiple treatment sessions for larger scars.
Click here for further before and after photographs of our medical procedures
