Scar No More

By: Ruth Kerrison
Created on 25th March 2010

Facial scarring can have a severe psychological impact. Here, the experts at Tinkable explain how they can make the problem disappear...

For most of us, the biggest concern we have about our face is the onset of a few wrinkles or sagging skin on the jaw line, and these days there are hundreds of different cosmetic procedures which can deal with those problems.

A visible facial scar, however, can cause low self-esteem and even depression in those afflicted, but the number of treatments that have been developed specifically to reduce scarring could almost be counted on one hand.

The good news is that we can actually use a lot of non-surgical anti-ageing procedures to treat scars. Over the years at Tinkable we have performed hundreds of life-changing procedures on people with facial scars, the causes for which have ranged from severe acne scarring to dog bites and of course surgery.

Not all scars can be dealt with in the same way, and we often use a combination of treatments to get the best results: microneedling systems, radio frequency collagen stimulation therapy and even some dermal fillers can all provide effective scar reduction, and when two or more of these procedures are combined the results can often be astonishing.

Occasionally however, we see patients who have been carrying scars for years in the belief that nothing can be done about it, when in fact all that is needed is a highly experienced practitioner and a vial of Restylane to completely eradicate the scar. At Tinkable, we often use the phrase "there is no magic wand". But in the case of scar revision, perhaps you could say Restylane is our magic wand.

Expert Opinion
Rachel Fox, RGN, is an aesthetic practitioner at Tinkable

Ann is a 40+ female who obtained her scar after a surgical procedure to remove throat cancer about 18 months ago.

The scar ran vertically down from her lip, across her chin and continued part way down her neck. Ann had been advised that the scar would be a permanent feature so when she presented at Tinkable for an aesthetic treatment it wasn't for the scar to be treated but for some work on a frown line.

I asked whether it would be OK for me to try to treat the scar at the same time, and although she agreed I could see she wasn't convinced that I could do anything. Once I had finished, however, she was over the moon - the scar had practically disappeared. I used just a half millilitre syringe of Restylane and the total procedure took just under 40 minutes. Results were visible immediately and are expected to last for six to twelve months.