Skin camouflage creams are a completely non-invasive way of reducing the appearance of scarring whilst undergoing treatment or after treatment is complete. Skin camouflage creams are medical grade, pigmented (contains colour, like a temporary paint for the skin) cream that comes in many colours and can be mixed to match any skin colour. They can be used by any gender or age. Skin camouflage can help increase your confidence by reducing the appearance of your scar and the amount of staring and/or questions from others.
Several prescription and over-the-counter topical agents are available, many claim to alleviate symptoms, improve the appearance of scars and accelerate wound healing. Topical therapies have the advantage of being easy to use, are easily available and deliver the ingredients directly to the scar. Patients often decide (maybe based on word of mouth) themselves on which topical agents to use rather than through recommendations from a scar specialist. Topicals are not usually effective on their own and other treatments are also usually necessary. Some information on common topicals is given here:
Extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) is a type of pulsed acoustic wave resulting from excessive pressure changes. It has been used to treat musculoskeletal diseases (plantar fasciitis, lateral epicondylitis of the elbow, etc.) and wounds. Recent research has shown that ESWT is effective in stimulating biological activities that involve cellular activity. These results suggest that ESWT improves blood perfusion and can be used in tissue regeneration/ scar remodelling. Shockwave treatment is performed without anaesthesia; a treatment head and gel are applied to the area of scar treated.
Micro-needling is a semi-invasive technique that can be used on the face and body to achieve collagen induction (production). In this technique the skin or scar is pricked with needles to cause percutaneous collagen induction, this builds up connective tissue underneath retracted (contracted/stuck) or hypertrophic scars and wrinkles.
A Non-Ablative Fractional Laser (NAFL) is a non-wounding laser, it does not damage the integrity of your epidermis. NAFL uses a wavelength that does not evaporate the water in the tissue, and the energy from the laser heats the tissue in a controlled manner. Therefore, many patients prefer NAFL to ablative laser treatment. The rise in temperature stimulates the production of new collagen. By producing new collagen, the remodelling of the scar tissue is improved. Although NAFL is less invasive, requires less recovery time and has less complication risks, is not as effective as ablative laser resurfacing.
