TCA CROSS
Focal 90% trichloroacetic acid, scar by scar
- Sessions
- 3
- Gap between
- 8 weeks
- Downtime
- 3 days
- Clear at
- Day 8
- Price
- £150–£220
£150–£220 per session. A full course of 3 is £450–£660. A consultation is £45 and comes off your first treatment.
What it is
A minute amount of high-strength acid is placed inside each ice-pick scar on a wooden applicator — nothing touches the skin around it. The scar wall is deliberately damaged so that it heals shallower and wider. This is done scar by scar, not across the face, and it is the only thing that reaches the scars microneedling cannot.
How it feels
A sharp sting for roughly ten seconds per scar, then a hot ache for an hour. Most people do not need anaesthetic. Twenty minutes for thirty scars.
What it treats
Ice-pick scars and narrow, deep boxcar scars.
Where it leaves you
The crusts have come away. Each spot stays pinker than the skin around it for another four to six weeks, then evens out.
Who this is not for
We would rather you read this now than hear it after paying.
This list is not exhaustive and it is not a substitute for the consultation — it is what most commonly means no, or means wait.
Everything we turn away- Deeper skin tones without a patch test first — the risk here is post-inflammatory pigmentation, and we test before we treat
- Pregnancy
- Isotretinoin within the last 6 months
- Active infection or acne in the treatment area
- A history of keloid scarring
- A tan, real or applied, less than four weeks old
If there is not enough time before your date
Not this time. CROSS leaves a visible crust on every treated scar, and rushing it risks a mark that outlasts the scar you were treating. Hydrating facial for the week of the event, and we start CROSS after.
Read about Medical hydrating facial →Next
Whether tca cross is right for you is decided in the room.
Bring your date if you have one. A consultation is £45, comes off your first treatment, and about one in six ends with us recommending nothing at all.