Melanoma UK CEO Gillian Nuttall was so moved by the plight of family friend Jon Herron after he was diagnosed with melanoma, she rallied support to create the organisation which was to become today’s Melanoma UK. Sadly, Jon died in 2008 but his legacy lives on in the mission of the charity: to raise awareness of sun safety and the risks of melanoma; 86% of melanoma skin cancer cases in the UK are preventable 1 and to provide patients diagnosed with melanoma and their families much needed information and support during difficult times. Patients, families, carers, and clinicians are at the heart of their work.

Skin Camouflage Services has been providing world class expertise in clinical skin camouflage since 2007. Led by founder Vanessa Jane Davies with 25 years in the profession, Vanessa is arguably the UK’s most experienced Skin Camouflage Consultant and Expert Witness in her field. Skin Camouflage Services provides practical skin camouflage assessment, tuition, support and where required ongoing rehabilitation to individuals affected by a huge variety of visible skin differences, including many who are living with or are recovering from melanoma. 

Skin camouflage is the skilled application of highly pigmented creams and liquids to areas of skin discolouration or scaring to even out skin tones and improve the aesthetic appearance of a person’s skin. Treatment for melanoma​ inevitably means surgery and depending on the depth or ‘Breslow thickness’ and staging of the melanoma, surgery can be minor to very major, including wide excisions requiring skin grafts which can leave significant skin discolouration and scaring. Effective treatment is of course the most important thing, but how you feel about the way you look is also an important part of one’s recovery. By skillfully concealing skin colour differences that surgery and treatment leave, skin camouflage can help, men or women of any ethnicity, even children when they are old enough to understand.

Once the best colour match and technique has been agreed, learning how to apply skin camouflage at home enables individuals to take control and manage their own appearance. To be able to go swimming, play sport, wear short sleeve tops and shorts with confidence is an important part of recovery or just living for the moment.

Vanessa is delighted to support the work of Melanoma UK; in her practice she is acutely aware of the risks of sun exposure to already damaged skin and advocates the use of high factor sun protection to every patient she sees.

If you would like to know more about Melanoma UK you can go to their website at www.melanomauk.org.uk  email info@melanomauk.org.uk or call the help line on 0808 171 2455

If you would like to know more about Skin Camouflage Services or would like to make an appointment please go to www.skincamouflageservices.co.uk, email info@skincamouflageservices.co.uk, call us 0844 504 5533

At Skin Camouflage Services we have a credible working knowledge in each of the categories listed below. Given the number of patients with burns that are referred to us, we have found it helpful to divide the general category of burns to the following subcategories: Chemical burns, Hot liquid burns, Fire burns and Electricity burns.
 
We are confident that we are ‘Fit for Practice’ not only in our clinical settings but with our expert witness reports and rehabilitation reports which are supported with expert witness training and our CPD portfolio.

We can provide references and supporting statements of our work on request.  
  

• Chemical burns
• Hot liquid burns
• Fire burns 
• Electricity burns
• Skin grafts
• Scalp and eyebrow injuries
• Skin pigmentation
• Scars from self-harm injury, road, rail & workplace accidents
• Maxillofacial Injuries
• Childhood injuries
• Dog bites
• Rehabilitation including military

Our Expert Witness Services
Led by Vanessa, Skin Camouflage Services is now in its 13th year.
 
Since 2015 Vanessa Jane Davies has chosen the renowned legal training experts Bond Solon to provide her expert witness training and has ensured her professional expert witness knowledge remains current by completing regular training with Bond Solon, The Expert Witness Institute and most recently at the Medico Legal Conference in Westminster in May 2019.

Vanessa has been a first-tier member of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers and on the UK Register of Expert Witnesses since 2007. To ensure that the UK Register accurately reflects her current scope of work and expertise as a Skin Camouflage expert witness, Vanessa regularly invites ‘re-vetting’ most recently in July 2019. Furthermore, Vanessa is an individual member of The Expert Witness Institute.
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At Skin Camouflage Services our commitment to provide demonstrable excellence in skin camouflage services and expert legal testimony is stronger than ever. Our skin camouflage reports are based upon face to face assessment which enables an accurate expert opinion to form the basis of the quantum report. This is particularly important where the expert is the sole individual to ascertain the patients camouflage needs and wishes to gain their trust in their future skin camouflage assessments.
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Desktop reports are not available.
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“I would highly recommend Skin Camouflage Services for anyone that has a client with life changing scarring.  The report that I received was accurate, precise and very in depth.  It provided me with all the information and costs that my client will require now and in the future.   Their service was prompt and my emails were responded to quickly.  My client was seen and dealt with very professionally.  Vanessa Jane Davies, in particular, at Skin Camouflage Services has provided exceptional service to both this firm and to our client and her family.  I will definitely use Skin Camouflage Services again”. Thompson Smith and Puxon Solicitors (TSP) - March 2019

Exhibition: Teamwork with Kryolan UK
We invited Kryolan’s Pro Team Educator to join us on our exhibition stand to help with the practical demonstrations of skin camouflage products in relation to our report writing services. We wanted to be able to help both medical and legal professionals visualise the concepts of not only what skin camouflage can achieve to conceal scarring but also the number and amounts of camouflage cream required in relation to an area of scarring.

It can be difficult for instructing solicitors on both sides to relate to the skin camouflage process and the quantity of product /costs presented in a medico legal report in proportion to the size of the scar.

 It has been known for product costs to be put forward in a skin camouflage report that are disproportionate to the area requiring camouflage. We hope our demonstrations at the conference have helped instructing solicitors and medical referees to translate the quantum costs to the actual reality of a skin camouflage application.

We were delighted by the buzz that our demonstrations generated! We seemed to capture the curiosity and interest of medics, lawyers and fellow exhibitors alike, so many people came up to the stand to watch and ask lots of questions! We are very grateful to our model who was kind enough to allow us to demonstrate how skin camouflage can help individuals following burn injuries.

As a delegate and an expert witness the conference was not just about CPD training (which is crucial in the current climate) but it was about the privilege of being in the company of such eminent speakers who were passionate about so many aspects of medico-legal developments: for me it was How to be a Better Medical Expert, The Lessons to be Learnt and how we see 'The Shape of Things to Come’.
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Finally, the day concluded with a champagne reception and the most helpful member of staff at QEII Centre you could wish for …he helped two tired ladies and their luggage into a London taxi. Brilliant!