Discover Medical Tattoos for Scarring
Medical tattoos for scarring may not quite take the form that you’re expecting! I use skin camouflaging medical tattoos as a last resort, as there are other treatments that can provide you with fantastic long term results.
Medical tattoos for scarring take two different forms. Firstly, there is a treatment called microneedling, which is also referred to as ‘dry tattooing’ – this involves using a tattoo needle to cause a minor controlled trauma to the skin, promoting your skins’ natural ability to heal. As part of the healing process, your skin produces collagen and elastin (which improves the quality of your skin) and also melanin, which is responsible for your natural skin. As a result of the fresh collagen, elastin and melanin production, your scars can be significantly improved. Once you’ve had a course of treatment, the results are permanent. You can read more about microneedling HERE.
The other type of medical tattoo is skin camouflage tattooing. This involves using skin toned pigments in the skin, helping blend the scar into your natural skin tone. The reason that I use this type of medical tattoo as a last resort, is because it requires a lifelong commitment to keep the colour fresh. Typically a colour boost is required every 12-18 months. Skin camouflage medical tattoos and microneedling are only suitable for scars that are lighter than your natural skin tone.
In addition to medical tattoos for scarring, laser treatment are highly effective. Laser treatments can also be used on scars that have pigmentation and redness to them too, which is something that medical tattoos can’t treat.
Alternative treatments to medical tattoos.
In addition to medical tattoos, laser skin treatments are very effective at treating scar tissue.
The uniqueness of laser is that it can treat most types of scarring, whereas medical tattoos can only treat scars that are lighter than your natural skin tone.
There are 2 types of laser treatments that really helps with scar tissue. The first is a fractional laser, which helps to resurface the skin and pull out deeper scarring. It stimulates a minor controlled trauma in the deeper layers of the skin, boosting collagen, elastin and melanin levels, and leaves the skin smoother and more youthful in appearance.
IPL laser is a great option if you have any form of pigmentation to your scarring. This could be from acne scarring, which typically has a red or brownish tone to some areas of scarring. You may also experience this if you’ve had a trauma injury, such as surgery. Hyperpigmentation from skin trauma is often referred to as post inflammatory hyperpigmentation (PIH). It can settle on it’s own over time, but often takes a number of months or even years. The IPL laser works to break down the areas of hyperpigmentation, so that they naturally leave your skin as part of the healing process. IPL also stimulates natural collagen production.
To find out more about laser treatments for scars, click HERE.
So as you can see, there are many treatments available to help you with your scarring!
And I completely understand the impact of living with visible scars. I’ve got 11 scars and two of them are significant. One is a double scar on my forehead, from being hit by a car as a child (22 stitches worth of scar). The other is a large scar on my knee after having 6 operations, including two major bone and cartilage grafts (my running days are definitely over!).
I can really empathise with you if your scars are affecting your confidence. I spent years hiding the one on my forehead with a fringe. The one on my knee didn’t see the light of day for a very long time. Imagine my joy when I trained as a Medical Tattooist and I discovered that there was a treatment that could improve the look and feel of scars!
I should add that this isn’t a scar removal service, unfortunately, no such thing exists. But I am now able to wear shorts and skirts without worrying what other people think though!
If you have any scarring that you’d like to improve, then please get in touch, I’d love to hear from you. I’d recommend booking a consultation, so that we can discuss different treatment options for you.
You can either book a consultation online, or get in touch via the ‘get in touch’ button. I look forward to hearing from you. Nikki