Would like to improve the appearance of self-harm scars?
With every new patient, I am constantly trying to improve the outcome of the treatment. Self-harm scars are difficult to reduce in appearance because of the sharp straight lines, and often, the number of scars in a small area. They are also clearly recognised for what they are, which for some people can cause feelings of shame, embarrassment and a lack of confidence. This can be increased over the years when entering new relationships or professional situations.
There are not any treatments that will get rid of the scarring but Medical Tattooing can reduce the visibility enough to feel confident again.
A patient of mine always wore long sleeves. He was a young man with a physical job, but needed to keep himself covered as he felt he would be judged at work. Even in the extremely hot weather he would never wear a T-shirt. We did 3 treatments over a period of 5 months, and now he can happily wear a short sleeve shirt or T-shirt.
Anxiety around exposure of scars
Many people within the medical industry will be required to wear short sleeves to work, and this can cause a great deal of anxiety for a professional who used to self-harm as a teenager and does not feel the same person anymore.
They may feel a preference to hide the scars from family, friends or colleagues, and to not have a visible reminder of the self-harm that happened at a different stage of their life.
Medical Tattooing can help with the long-term visible effect. It can visibly reduce the discolouration, and it may also improve the texture of the scar.
If you decide to opt for medical tattooing for self-harm scarring, please be aware that you may have a revisit to some of the emotions that you felt when originally self-harming.
Worth a read: Self Harm is on the rise with young men and women – Rae Denman
Emotional Support
With medical tattooing you are inserting a needle, a sharp object, albeit tiny, into the area concerned. This can stimulate memories of the original cutting and pull people very quickly back into those emotions. It is advised to have a support system around you that are aware of this, so you can be emotionally supported if needed.
Medical Tattooing Treatment
When a patient has a few self-inflicted scars they need to be fully healed with no new ones.
Layers of skin coloured pigment inserted into the skin can camouflage the whiteness of the scarring, taking away the obviousness of the discolouration, and help to make the whole area less noticeable not only to others, but to oneself as well.
Usually, 3-5 treatments are required with pigment being implanted in a mosaic pattern with different needles for certain areas.
The resulting effect can be a dramatic reduction in visibility for the patient as well as other people in the workplace and in relationships.
If you would like to book a free-of-charge phone call, or a full medical consultation please use this direct link to read the FAQ’s and book your appointment online with Rae Denman.
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