A PIONEERING vegan scar healing cream developed by a leading plastic surgeon from Chester, is set revolutionise the way wounds are treated after surgery and injury after a ground-breaking clinical trial.

Patients across the UK are raving about the Solution for Scars cream made by Cheshire company Science Of Skin, which has been proven in a breakthrough clinical trial to help heal wounds better after surgery leaving smaller, less red and itchy scars.

The plant-based formula was a developed by Douglas McGeorge MBE, an award-winning consultant plastic surgeon who practises at Nuffield Health’s Grosvenor Hospital in Chester, and who previously ran the cosmetic surgery unit at the Countess of Chester Hospital, and his Science of Skin co-founder Dr Ardeshir Bayat, an internationally respected skin biologist at the University of Manchester.

Chester and District Standard:

Solution for Scars

The clinical trial carried out by scientists at the University of Manchester under Dr Bayat’s leadership recently revealed the unique plant-based formula works by reducing the number of ‘mast cells’ which the body produces after injury and which cause inflammation and scarring.

The study has just been published in the internationally respected Journal of Investigative Dermatology.

The research team found not only does the cream work at a cellular level to dramatically improve scarring after trauma - reducing the thickness of scars by 20% and redness by 40% within four to six weeks, but more significantly, it starts working immediately when applied to the skin around a fresh wound, before a scar has even begun to form.

Science of Skin say the implications are revolutionary as it means an active solution can be applied topically around a wound to start working to reduce scarring at a cellular level, immediately after surgery or injury – ultimately leading to smaller scars for patients.

Chester and District Standard:

Dr Ardeshir Bayat in the lab

Scientific Director and co-founder Dr Ardeshir Bayat said it is the first time the concept of ‘zonal priming’ has been tested on humans. Zonal priming means prepping the skin by applying the cream to the area around a fresh wound immediately, before a scar has even begun to form.

In the strict, double-blinded randomised clinical trial, 62 human volunteers all had identical biopsies to remove a small plug of skin from their upper arms, to create a fresh wound.

The participants were split into four groups, half who were treated with the active Solution for Scars cream, which contains the active extract of green tea called Epigallocatechin Gallate (EGCG), and half with a placebo cream without the active ingredient.

Each group was further split into two with one cohort having their wounds zonally primed, either with the Solution for Scars formulation containing EGCG or the placebo, and the rest not treated for two weeks until after the scar was formed.

The study observed a dramatic 60% reduction in the number of ‘mast cells’, in patients who had the skin around their wounds ‘zonally primed’ with the active Solution for Scars cream containing EGCG, in the first two weeks. Mast cells are triggered as part of the body’s immune response to being wounded and cause the prolonged inflammation, which leads to redness, itchiness and scarring.

Now, Science of Skin’s founders hope the research and its findings will lead to a revolution in how wounds are treated after injury and surgery.

Douglas McGeorge MBE of Chester, and his Science Of Skin co-founder Dr Bayat, a skin biologist and associate professor at the University of Manchester, say the results challenge current medical practice to leave a scar to form before applying any treatments.

Solution for Scars was formulated using all-natural vegan ingredients including the active EGCG green tea extract, magnolia bark, micro algae and vitamin E.

It can help reduce scarring caused by scars from chicken pox and acne to injury, surgery and even burn scars.

“The results are ground-breaking,” said Mr McGeorge.

“This demonstrates for the first time that by using this cream not only do we have the opportunity to reduce our scars, but that this management can take place during the healing phase, rather than waiting for a bad scar to form before you try to do anything about it.

“For a patient, the difference between a great result and a disastrous result following surgery can be the quality of a scar, something which until now has been deemed to be outside the control of even the most gifted surgeon.

“We have now shown that with Solution for Scars we can not only improve the quality of the scar so they are less thick, less red, and that by applying the cream early we can modify the quality of the scar for a better end result.

"This cream works at a cellular level to reduce the inflammatory response, so you have less inflammation.”