Stratpharma is a Swiss company trusted for its gel-based solutions for scars and wounds in the Australian market. These products include Strataderm, Stratamed and Stratamark. The company’s products are being used by Australia’s top cosmetic medical professionals including plastic surgeons, dermatologists, physicians, facial surgeons and ENT surgeons. They have become an essential part of scar management, wound healing and stretch mark prevention and treatment.

About Stratamark

Stratamark is the first clinically-proven product for the treatment and prevention of stretch marks. This safe and effective solution beats any of today’s cosmetic products for stretch marks. Stratamark was designed for all types of stretch marks, including those caused by weight gain, pregnancy, bodybuilding, or even adolescent growth spurts.

This product is applied to all skin areas, even the sensitive and exposed ones. It is easy to spread over large areas making it suitable for use on the abdomen, buttocks, breasts, thighs, and back. When used as instructed, the product dries up to form a clear sheet that is waterproof. It protects and hydrates the affected areas to normalise the skin’s collagen synthesis cycle.

Stratamark is odourless, as well. It does not contain fragrances, alcohol, or parabens. The product can be used by pregnant and nursing women, people with sensitive skin, as well as children.

About Stratamed

Stratamed is a transparent self-drying gel designed for faster wound healing. Like Stratamark, this one also dries to form a thin layer that is waterproof to protect and hydrate the affected skin areas from microbial and chemical invasion. The difference with Stratamed is that it can be easily applied on fresh incisions and excisions, compromised skin areas, open wounds, dermal abrasions, chemical peels, as well as first and second-degree burns. It may be used on pregnant and nursing women, infants, children and people with sensitive skin. By applying Stratamed immediately after an incision you can help prevent abnormal scaring right from the start. Stramamed is ideal for use on C-sections as well as all surgical incisions.

About Strataderm

Strataderm is another non-sticky, quick-drying and transparent gel product. It is designed to treat old and new scars and prevent abnormal scars in the form of keloids and hypertrophic scars. This silicone gel serves as a protective layer that protects and hydrates your scars to soften and reduce their appearance.

It is designed to address scar-related issues, such as raised scars, itchiness, redness, discomfort, discolouration and others. It can be safely applied on all skin areas, including the face, neck, and joints. You can also use it on hairy areas, where shaving is no longer required.

Scars start to form within 48 hours of a wound closing. It is in this initial 48 hours that most wound infections develop which contribute to the unsightliness of scars and so it is the most important time to care for and look after the wound. Stratamed by Stratpharma was designed specifically for use on non-epithelialized wounds – this basically means you can start using it straight away on fresh incisions and wounds before they even start to close. We take a look at how you can minimise scars with Stratamed.

Stratamed can be used on Fresh Scars

You will have heard of a few different scar gels and creams, but most of them you have to wait until the wound has closed and then you can apply them. This can take anywhere between a few days to a few weeks. The problem with this is that by the time the wound closes, the scar is already starting to form. Stratamed is a gel that you can use on broken skin and starts to help heal the skin even before the scarring process begins.

One of the great things about Stratamed is the gel forms a thin film or protective layer over the top of the wound which helps protect it from outside bacteria which often causes infections. It is a self-drying, waterproof gel too so you can put your clothes or bandages right over the top without wiping it off. Many surgeons use tapes to put pressure on incisions after surgery, however many patients have allergic reactions to the adhesive in the tape including red, raised and itchy skin. This can adversely affect the scar and make it worse than what it would have been otherwise.

Stratamed contains the only silicone recommended for use on a wound after surgery. It is this silicon that helps soften and flatten the skin, keeping it hydrated and moist allowing it to heal faster, hence reducing the appearance of any scars. Lynne Charisis from Stratpharma explains, “So you want to use something that is going to have the minimal impact in terms of adverse reaction, so, allergies and those sorts of things. And silicon is actually an ingredient that does that – it’s very uncommon for anyone to have a reaction to silicon. But what silicon does, is it helps soften and flatten and keep the skin hydrated and moist so that it’s in the right environment to heal faster. And while it heals faster, you get a better scar outcome. And that’s why you want to start it right from the start, so you don’t have a gap where the skin’s not healing as fast as possible, and can impact the scar outcome that you have. Stratamed is bacteriostatic. And what that means is it helps prevent infections because bacteria can’t get in. It produces the moist wound environment that gives the best healing and the fastest healing. And, by doing that, also helps to minimise the scar that you might get.”

Stratamed is suitable for any kinds of incisions or wounds including fresh incisions, open wounds, any kinds of dermal abrasions or grazes, non-surgical treatments such as chemical peels or first and second degree burns including those caused by a laser treatment. It is completely fine for pregnant and nursing women, and children, as well as those with sensitive skin. Many women use it on their C-section scars.

So, if you’re looking for a gel or cream to minimise your scarring from any sort of plastic or cosmetic surgery or treatment definitely check out Stratamed. You can also purchase it in our Plastic Surgery Hub Shop.

Stratamed

Many of us have old scars, whether they are from a surgical procedure or a roller skating accident from when we were 16! And for those of us who’ve had kids or put on and off large amounts of weight, many of us have old stretchmarks. Mothers of today are more aware of the creams, gels and things to reduce stretchmarks but there’s more than a few of us who didn’t think about stretch mark prevention ten or twenty years ago. However, there is hope! Many of you will know by now that I love the Stratpharma products, but I’ve got a whole new respect for them based on the fact that they’ve helped me reduce the appearance of an old scar I had. So I wanted to share my story in the hope it might help a few more of you!

Lynne from Stratpharma told me a couple of years ago that Stratamark can help with old stretchmarks and the other products can too. She told me, “The good news is that Stratamark actually helps to reduce those old stretch marks. A clinical trial that was done in Adelaide also showed that ladies that had stretch marks that were more than a year old, it improved them by 20%. And they were quite old stretch marks, so quite hard to treat. Then the ladies that had stretch marks that were not quite that old, they saw half, a 50% improvement in colour of their stretch marks. It’s non-invasive, it’s really safe to use, and compared to the more invasive treatments to treat stretch marks later on, it’s quite inexpensive.”

Which Stratpharma products are best for old scars?

Stratamark can be used on new and old stretchmarks. The older the stretchmark, the longer you may need to use the product for. Strataderm is also able to be used on scars anywhere from around two weeks after the incision/scar is created to years and years afterwards. Again, for older scars you may need to use the product for longer. To read more about when you can use the different Stratpharma products go here and here.

The not so secret active ingredient in the Stratpharma products is silicon. Lynne tells us the earlier that you introduce silicon straight onto a wound, the better the scar outcome. However, it can also be effective on older scars. She says, “Silicon is the recommended first line of treatment for scars in the international guidelines for scar management. That’s a published document that all the plastic surgeons and dermatologists should know about. The guidelines are a result of an international body that looks at all of the treatments that are available for scars. Those guidelines recommend that silicon is the first line management for managing scars.”

The other thing I love about all the Stratpharma products is that they are able to be used on pregnant ladies and those with sensitive skin.

Stratamark Q & A – Your Questions answered about Stratamark Wound and Scar gel treatment

Stratamark Q & A – Your Questions answered about Wound and Scar gel treatments…

We receive dozens of questions each month about Stratapharma scar gels and products – how to use them and when. We thought we’d pop these questions, and their answers, all in the one spot for you. We love the Stratapharma products and stock them in our online shop.

Does Stratamark help with stretch marks during pregnancy?

Stratamark has a great reputation for helping to prevent stretch marks during pregnancy.
Here is a link to a real life trial that was done on four different ladies specifically for stretch marks that you might find really interesting. There were certainly very positive results with these ladies.

Can you use it in conjunction with other products?

There are so many other products on the market, with different ingredients and applications. We suggest you consult with your GP to check if the Stratpharma product you are looking at is ok to use in conjunction with other products.

Can you use Stratamark early in first trimester and all through pregnancy?

You can start using the product at any time during your pregnancy. It contains no alcohol, fragrances or parabens, which makes it suitable for pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers, children and people with sensitive skin.

Which product is recommended for a cesarean section scar?

If you are having a c-section surgery, then it is recommend to apply Stratamed immediately after the surgery. Stratamed creates an optimal environment for faster wound healing, and helps prevent abnormal scarring. However, you should also take on your advice from your doctor or surgeon for this as well.

Once the wound has completely healed over, you can apply Strataderm to help reduce the appearance of the scar, reduce any redness or discolouration and relieve any itching and discomfort that you might experience from the scar.

Stratamed has an indication for use on the open wound, so definitely Stratamed straight after surgery. Strataderm should only be applied once the wound has healed.

What’s the difference between Stratamark and other options on the market for stretch marks?

Stratamark is based on specific understanding of the physiological causes of stretch marks, and ways to prevent that. Stretch marks are thought to be a version of scarring, and the principle ingredient of Stratamark changes the way the tissue scars and helps normalise the collagen synthesis cycle.

How long should you use Stratamark to prevent and treat stretch marks?

It is recommended that you should start using Stratamark as soon as you see your first stretch mark (in pregnancy this is usually around the beginning of the second trimester). You should continue using it until no further improvement is seen on the scars (it is suggested you keep using it at least 2 – 3 months minimum after birth of your baby).

For older or more severe stretch marks you may want to continue the treatment for a longer period.

Does Stratamark work on older or more severe stretch marks?

See above question. Yes, but it may require longer treatment.

How much Stratamark do you need to use for effective treatment?

It depends on how many stretch marks you are treating. It is suggested that approximately 3 tubes of a 50g of Stratamark will be required if you use it from the beginning of your second trimester right up until two to three months post-partum when used on your breasts, thighs and abdomen.