Savlon is a familiar household brand and most people will, at some point have bought a tube of the original cream to rub on their cuts and grazes. Well, it seems as though the company are expanding their product range and diversifying into new and innovative products designed to aid the healing process. One such product is the new Savlon Healing Gel, a hydrocolloidal gel designed to aid the healing of burns, grazes and wet wounds.

This is nothing like the original savlon antiseptic cream that you rub into the skin. It works very differently. The gel works on the "moist healing" theory of wound treatment. In other words, that a wound will heal quicker if kept in a moist environment as it will allow the skin cells to regenerate better. The moist wound method usually involves covering the damaged skin with hydrocolloidal gel or vaseline and then applying a dressing over the top to seal in moisture. It is a well recognised technique that is used in many applications in modern medicine.

I bought the gel after reading about moist wound healing. I have a sore area on my leg that is not healing well, as it keeps forming a papery scab that falls off easily. I hoped that the gel would help heal up the injury effectively.

There is an instruction sheet with the gel that explains that it should be applied quite thickly to the skin, ideally under a dressing. it should not be rubbed in. The gel is designed to absorb any liquid weeping from the skin and at the same time create optimal healing conditions.

The first time I used it I did not use the dressing. I applied it directly to the wound area. The gel dried to a shiny sort of cap, which felt a bit sticky to the touch. It didn't really do a lot to stop the wound weeping and it didn't seem to stop it forming the papery scab either. I was not impressed. It did not live up to its claims.

The next time, I used the dressing over the top. This was even worse. I used the dressing overnight and unfortunately, the gel dried and tightened, causing the dressing to stick fast to my skin. Any healing that had taken place was undone as I wrenched the dressing from my skin, taking the top layer of skin with it! Ouch! It was like pulling a plaster off!

I have tried the gel for about a week with absolutely no success at all, either on its own or under dressings. I substituted good old vaseline instead and it did the trick, healing the skin beautifully and for a lot less money!

In my opinion, this gel falls down on a number of accounts:

It is pricey (about £4 a tube)

People will confuse it with regular antiseptic cream because of the packaging and tube.

It does not live up to its claims.

It makes the dressing stick to your skin!

I will not be buying this gel again. the only good thing I can say about it was that it was nice and cool upon application and also that I had no allergy or adverse reaction from it.

I am disappointed in this gel, as I am usually a fan of savlon products.