Concern

Scars, and what actually responds.

Start with the correction, because everything else follows from it: nothing removes a scar. Not here, not anywhere, not with any device or cream currently sold. Some scars can be made considerably less noticeable. Others cannot, and a few get worse when they are treated. Which is which is most of what there is to know.

Described, not diagnosed · Registered nurse–led · Springvale, Victoria

The word

Nobody removes a scar.

“Scar removal” is what people search for and it is worth being straight about it. A scar is what replaced the original tissue after an injury. It is not sitting on top of the skin waiting to be lifted off — it is the skin now, structured differently.

What can change is how much it catches the light, how far it sits above or below the surrounding surface, and how much colour it holds. Those changes can be substantial and they can matter a great deal. They are not removal, and any clinic using that word as a service name is either being careless or is counting on you not asking.

The honest word is improved, and the honest range is wide — from a scar you stop noticing to one that barely changes.

Types

What responds, and what doesn't.

The type matters far more than the number of sessions, and it is decided at the assessment rather than negotiated afterwards.

Indented scars — the best candidates: Scars that sit below the surrounding surface, most often left by acne. The medical word is atrophic. These are what microneedling suits: the treatment prompts the skin's own repair response in the floor of the scar over a course of sessions. Shallow, broad indents generally do better than narrow deep ones, which frequently need something a skin clinic does not offer.
Raised scars — generally not: Scars sitting above the surface, where the body produced more repair tissue than it needed. Needling does not flatten these, and it is not the right tool. The treatments that do help are usually medical and belong with a doctor.
Keloid scars — a firm no: Not treated here at all. A keloid grows beyond the boundary of the original injury and keeps going. Skin that scars this way can respond to controlled injury by producing more of it, which makes needling an active risk rather than an ineffective option. If you have had a raised scar from a piercing, a cut, a burn or surgery, say so before anything is planned.
Flat, discoloured marks — often not scars at all: The red or brown marks left after a breakout are frequently pigment rather than scarring, and they usually fade on their own over months. People often pay to treat something that was going to resolve. Telling the difference is worth an assessment before anything is booked.
Stretch marks — partially, and less than advertised: A form of scarring in the deeper layer, from skin stretching faster than it can adapt. Nothing prevents them — no cream has been shown to, and where they appear is largely genetics and rate of stretch. Fresh ones that are still red or purple fade considerably on their own over a year or two. Older silver-white ones are the difficult category, and honest improvement there is modest.
Surgical scars — once they have matured: A mature, settled surgical scar can respond, and a fresh one must not be touched. See below — this one has its own rules.

After surgery

Surgical and caesarean scars.

People wait years to ask about these, usually because nobody offered and it felt like a vain question about something medical. It is a reasonable thing to want addressed and it is worth asking about.

Wait until it has matured: A scar keeps changing for a long time after the wound closes — usually a year or more, often continuing to soften and fade well past that. Treating it while it is still remodelling means treating a moving target and paying to change something that was going to change anyway. [TALIHA: minimum interval post-surgery before assessment]
Clearance first, and not as a formality: We want your surgeon's or GP's agreement before anything is planned. They know what is underneath it and we do not — mesh, deeper repairs, and how the wound actually healed are all things that change the answer and none of them are visible from the surface.
Nothing on a scar that is still healing: Open, raised, red, tender, weeping or recently closed — none of it is treated here, and anything that looks like it is not healing normally goes back to whoever did the surgery. That is not caution for its own sake; it is the one situation where getting it wrong has real consequences.
Caesarean scars: Common, frequently asked about years later, and the same rules apply — matured, cleared, and assessed rather than assumed. Worth knowing that a caesarean scar often has a slight overhang or tethering that is structural, and that is a different question from how the scar looks. [TALIHA: confirm whether Glow treats body areas at all, and which — this page claims nothing until you do]
If you scar badly, say so first: A history of raised or keloid scarring changes the answer to no, and it is much better established before a course is planned than after one is started.

We do not manage wounds, we do not assess healing, and we do not treat anything a surgeon is still following. Those all belong with a doctor.

In practice

What working on a scar actually looks like.

A course rather than an appointment, spaced by weeks, with the interval doing real work rather than being a scheduling convenience.

Assessment before a number: You are told at the assessment what type of scarring you have, whether it is likely to respond, and roughly how many sessions. If the honest answer is that it will not respond much, you get that answer instead of a course.
Weeks between sessions, not days: The repair response the treatment prompts takes time to complete. Stacking sessions closer together does not speed anything up and reliably wears the barrier down.
Months before you judge it: Change accumulates slowly and is easiest to see in photographs taken at the start. Nobody looks different the following week, and a clinic suggesting otherwise is describing something else.
Not while the area is active: Scarring from acne is worked on once the acne has settled, not through it. Needling across active inflammation tends to spread it and can add new marks to the ones being treated.
Sun is the variable you control: Scar tissue holds colour differently and sun exposure makes that more pronounced and more permanent. This matters more than any product in the plan.

Questions

Asked about scarring.

Answered the way they would be answered in the room.

Can a scar be removed?

No. A scar is the tissue that replaced what was injured — it is the skin now, not something sitting on top of it. What can change is how much it catches the light, how far it sits above or below the surface, and how much colour it holds. Those changes can be substantial. "Removal" is the word people search for and it is not an outcome any clinic can deliver.

Do you treat keloid scars?

No, and this is a firm limit rather than a preference. A keloid grows beyond the boundary of the original injury, and skin that scars this way can respond to controlled injury by producing more scar tissue — so needling is an active risk here, not simply an ineffective option. Keloid scarring is treated medically, by a doctor. If you have had a raised scar from a piercing, cut, burn or surgery, tell us before anything is planned.

Can you treat a surgical scar?

Sometimes, once it has fully matured — and not before. A scar keeps changing for a year or more after the wound closes, so treating it early means treating a moving target. We also want your surgeon's or GP's agreement first, which is not a formality: they know what is underneath the scar and we do not. Anything still healing, raised, tender or recently closed goes back to them, not to us.

What about a caesarean scar?

The same rules apply: matured, cleared by your GP or surgeon, and assessed rather than assumed. People often ask years afterwards and feel awkward about it — it is a reasonable thing to want addressed. Worth separating two different questions: how the scar looks, and whether there is tethering or an overhang, which is structural and a different conversation.

How many sessions for acne scarring?

A course spaced several weeks apart rather than a single appointment, and the honest answer is that it depends on the type of scarring more than on a fixed number. Indented scars that have fully matured respond best; shallow broad ones do better than narrow deep ones. You are given an expected number at the assessment along with what would make us stop.

Are the red marks left after a breakout scars?

Frequently not. Flat red or brown marks left behind after a breakout are usually pigment rather than scarring, and they generally fade on their own over months. A scar has changed the texture of the skin — an indent or a raised area you could feel. People often pay to treat marks that were going to resolve anyway, which is one of the more common things an assessment prevents.

How do I get rid of stretch marks?

You do not get rid of them, and no cream prevents them — where they appear is largely genetics and how fast skin stretched. Fresh ones that are still red or purple fade considerably on their own over a year or two, which is worth waiting out. Older silver-white ones are the difficult category and honest improvement there is modest. Anyone promising to clear them is selling certainty that does not exist.

Do you use laser for scars?

No — Glow does not have laser. It is a legitimate approach for some scarring and if that is what suits you, the honest answer is to go somewhere that has one. We will say so rather than substitute something we do have.

Is my scar too old to treat?

Age is rarely the disqualifier — type is. A mature indented scar from fifteen years ago is often a better candidate than one from six months ago that is still settling. What matters is whether it has finished changing, what shape it is, and how you scar generally.

Where this leads

Find out which kind you have.

Almost everything on this page turns on the type, and the type is not something to settle from a photograph or a website.

The consultation · $150

Ninety minutes and a written plan — including a straight answer about whether your scarring is likely to respond, before any course is booked.

Microneedling and BioRePeel

The treatment that suits indented, matured scarring — what it involves, what it costs, and what it does not do.

Congestion and breakouts

If the acne is still active, that comes first — scarring is worked on once things have settled, not through them.

Can I have this?

The other circumstances that change what is available — flares, pregnancy, medication, sun.