What it is
Cryopen delivers a very fine, high-pressure jet of nitrous oxide accurate to about a millimetre. It freezes the lesion within seconds and leaves the surrounding tissue unaffected, which is the advantage over older cryotherapy methods that were considerably less precise.
The treatment itself takes a few minutes. The appointment is 30 minutes because the assessment and aftercare explanation matter as much as the freezing.
What it removes
Cryopen is used on a wide range of benign lesions:
- Skin tags
- Warts and verrucas
- Age spots and liver spots
- Sun damage spots and pigmentation
- Cherry angiomas (Campbell de Morgan spots)
- Milia
Please see your GP first
Before you book, have the lesion checked by your GP and ask them directly: is it safe for me to have this removed for cosmetic purposes?
We are removing something for appearance, not diagnosing it. That distinction matters, and no reputable clinic should skip past it.
What happens afterwards
The lesion frosts over during treatment, and you may feel a sting similar to a nettle, plus an itch for ten minutes or so afterwards. Both are normal.
Over the next day the area darkens and forms a crust. Do not pick it. When it falls away naturally, usually after 10 to 14 days, the new skin underneath is shiny and pink, and re-pigments over the following weeks or months.
Skin tags typically blacken at the base and drop off within one to six weeks. Larger ones over 3mm sometimes need a second freeze, and warts and verrucas are usually re-treated four weeks later if still present.
Before a wart or verruca appointment
Soak the area in warm soapy water for 20 minutes, then gently roughen the surface with a pumice stone or emery board. Do not scrub hard enough to make it sore or bleed.
This lets the jet penetrate deeper and improves the chance of clearing it in one treatment.