Stretch. Marks.

A word that has been the bain of women’s lives since the
beginning of time (I’m assuming). Even typing the word gives me the shivers!
You know how they say the only certain things in life are death and taxes?
Well, add ‘stretchmarks’ to the list. we read the magazines, we visit the drug
stores, we spend God knows how many pounds on the latest fad creams and lotions
claiming to ‘DESTROY STRETCHMARKS FOREVER!!’ and ‘reduce the appearance of
stretchmarks!’, but to no avail. Everybody knows that once you get ‘em, you
have them for life.

Or do we?

So throughout my secondary school experience, I was
bullied pretty badly because of the way I looked and to cope with it, I did
what any girl/woman does; I ate quiiiite a lot and obviously, as I got bigger,
the bullying got worse etc. Between year 9 and year 10, I put on a lot of
weight in a very short amount of time and so I developed absolutely terrible stretch
marks on the tops of my arms. Because I was darker, the stretch marks were more
prominent to see. When I moved to college, I dropped the secondary school fat
also in a fast amount of time and thus received MORE marks. The marks are the
reasons why I’ve never worn any sleeveless items and wear cardigans in Winter.
They are the thing that I am most insecure about because they are disgusting
and so when I received an email in September from the lovely Tessa (who has
been amazing *waves) telling me about a new procedure specifically designed to
camouflage stretchmarks, I jumped at the chance to review (after nearly crying
3 or 4 times!). This is part one of a two-part review. (1-3 weeks)

DermInk is an internationally renowned medical camouflage
practice with clinics in San Francisco and Hampstead in North London and they
specialise in improving the appearance of scars, marks and other skin colour imperfections.
The skin permanent camouflage procedure was created and has been patented by Theresa Bush
MBBS, a medical micro pigment practitioner who told me that the procedure is
especially effective on darker skintones due to the contrasting skin tones. The
method of micropigmentation or ‘camouflaging’ involves inserting flesh coloured
pigments under the affected area with a hypodermic needle so that the
imperfection is blended into the surrounding area.

Consultation

Before anything could kick off, I had to send Tessa some ‘before
photos of the area for Theresa to see as she only treats specific marks that
cover a large area or are extremely prominent. I was very nervous because I had
never shown anybody the marks before but Tessa was great and emailed me a bit
later to tell me that my marks had been given the green light. An appointment
was made for me about three weeks later.

The consultation took place at Hillside Medical Practice,
a beautiful private practice in Hampstead, North London.  I sat in the waiting room (which makes
Downtown Abbey look like an estate block)for about 20 minutes and was offered
tea and refreshments which I thought was so lovely! Afterwards, Theresa came
down to greet me and we went upstairs to the treatment room to begin the
consultation. I was asked to show my arms (cringing again!) to which Theresa
exclaimed “OMG you have GREAT stretchmarks!” and I just burst out laughing!
Theresa explained the procedure and showed me a photo album of all the people
she had performed the procedure on (including Sandra above) and the results
really were AMAZING. She went on to tell me that her waitlist was already well
into January and that in order to be considered for treatment, you had to be
referred by a private doctor/hospital. The consultation lasted approximately 15
minutes and Theresa then asked whether I was confident to go ahead with the
procedure (yes!). She then applied some numbing cream on my arms and let it
sink in for a good hour as I told her that I was really big baby had an
extremely low pain tolerance.

The Procedure

After the excess numbing cream had been wiped off, I
climbed onto the bed and watched as Theresa mixed up different pigments to
match my skin-tone. This alone took around 15 minutes as Theresa needed to get
the colour exactly right- after my skin was matched, the process began.

The only way I can describe it is that it’s very similar
to getting a tattoo, buzzing needle and all. Theresa dipped the needle into the
creamy brown pigment and proceeded to ‘colour in’ my marks. It was virtually pain-free;
the only thing I could feel was a vibrating scratching sensation on my skin.
Although after a while, the numbing cream started to fade and so I was topped
up again and Theresa went over the marks a second time to make sure she
completely filled in the marks.

The procedure in total took about an hour and it was such
a pleasant experience. Theresa is H I L A R I O U S! She made me feel
completely at ease and comfortable with everything that was going on; was
extremely professional and efficient and generally such a lovely, bubbly, down
to earth lady who just made me laugh the whole time I was there. 

After the procedure was over. My marks raised up quite a
bit and Theresa told me this was to be expected as the marks were filled with
blood and that the higher up they raised, the better the results. Result!  I was given some aftercare products including
a moisturiser for sensitive skin, a sensitive body gel and an ointment to use
for 10 days post-treatment. I was also told that I would start seeing results
in about 4-6 weeks as the skin heals. Theresa also told me that three to four
treatments are the norm to see amazing results, however some people just need
one (like Sandra, above!)

I’m in my third week now and so I thought I would show
you guys some photos of the healing process – I am now at the stage where I can
exfoliate the area and am moisturising the area with shea butter and coconut
oil daily. The marks have turned black which did alarm me for a bit, so I
emailed the team for advice and I was told that it is natural for the area to
turn black as it is a mixture of dead skin cells, blood and leftover pigment
(yummy) and that it should fade within the next four weeks as I continue
exfoliating. 

Overall I am exceptionally impressed and delighted with the whole
process. The team were lovely and I would love to thank Tessa, Theresa and
Sue for this amazing opportunity! I am still beyond overwhelmed and I can’t
wait to show all of you the results at 6 weeks!

The procedure costs between £500-£1000 per treatment. For
more information, visit the DermInk site here.

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary DermInk
Micro-Pigmentation Skin Camouflage procedure for consideration for review, I
wasn’t paid for this post. Honest opinion as always!