A picture of Beverley Wright sits in pride of place on the mantelpiece surrounded by framed photos of her nieces and nephews. To the casual eye, it is simply a picture of a smiling woman dressed in a ballgown but to Beverley it is much, much more.

“I self-harmed for a number of years and during that time and after I could never wear short sleeves. I didn’t want people to see what I had done,” she said. “But I wanted to believe that one day I could get my confidence back and wear a dress like the one I have on in the photo.”

Today Beverley, 49, from Gorleston-on-Sea, Norfolk, is one of the 7,500 people with skin disfigurements in Britain who are helped by the Red Cross each year. As the sole provider of skin camouflage advice for more than 30 years, the Red Cross’s work offers people like Beverley the chance to rebuild their self-confidence.

Before she sought counselling, self-harm seemed a natural way for Beverley to wrest back control of her life as she battled with depression and came to terms with an horrific sexual attack.

“I first started to self-harm in 2000. I just wanted to feel pain,” she said. “It was a release. I felt out of control but I could control what I did to myself.” After she began her mental recovery, Beverley thought there was nothing she could do to mend her physical scars. Then she came across the British Red Cross’s skin camouflage service.

“At first I was really scared. I did my scarring on purpose, so I thought they would judge me. It took me a long, long time to pluck up the courage to phone. Lots of people have scars that are not their fault and here was I deliberately self-harming. But the Red Cross was brilliant.”

Beverley, who now works for Julian Housing, a Norfolk charity that helps people with mental health problems, said: “It has been an amazing help, I just feel so different. I went away on holiday this year and I was able to go in the pool and could wear sleeveless tops. And this year I am going overseas to see my nephew, who has had a little girl.”

Unlike make-up, camouflage creams are opaque and provide long-lasting, waterproof cover. They are easy to apply, available on prescription and can be used to cover a wide number of visible conditions, including scarring, birthmarks and tattoos. The Red Cross accepts referrals from GPs and consultants for its free consultations, which are provided by 280 highly trained volunteers.

Sheila Hannay, the Red Cross service development officer for skin camouflage, said it costs £1,000 to train and equip each volunteer. “The crux of the service is the skin matching,” she said.

“One in four people has a skin condition that could benefit from medical attention. We are all very aware of what we look like and skin conditions aren’t particularly well understood. Skin camouflage is about helping people to get on with their lives without comments from other people.”

Beth Illsley, 17, a student from Belper, near Derby, was left with a 7in- (18cm) scar on her chest after heart surgery when she was 12. She went to the Red Cross after an unpleasant conversation with a stranger. “I had a part time job in the summer holidays a couple of years ago at a café,” she said. “I was serving a customer when a lady came up to me and said, pointing to my scar, that ‘that is disgusting’ and I should cover it up. It really battered my confidence.

“But the Red Cross was really helpful. I used to be really self-conscious and now it’s barely visible.”

Second skin

• The Red Cross skin camouflage service was established in 1975
  
• The most common conditions seen in Red Cross clinics are vitiligo (loss of pigmentation), rosacea and scarring, 45 per cent of which are on the face
  
• Camouflage cover cream has a beeswax or oil base, whereas make-up tends to be water-based. The aim of camouflage is to draw the eye away from a disfigurement
  
• Red Cross volunteers deliver the service in NHS dermatology departments, GP practices and other community locations
  
• The service is also delivered in five prisons to help inmates cover scars from self-harm, trackmarks from drugs, scarring and tattoos

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