Cica-Care in Australia: Gel or Sheet, and What It Costs After 45
Quick summary
Cica-Care is a Smith+Nephew silicone scar range sold in Australian pharmacies as a reusable gel sheet and as a gel in a tube. Both rely on silicone, and both are for closed, fully healed scars. The sheet has the longer research history. The gel is easier to live with.
The sheet asks more of you: you build up to at least 12 hours a day, wash it twice daily and replace it about monthly, so over three months it usually costs more than gel. For a face, neck or joint scar, a gel is usually easier.
At Genova Skincare we make an Australian silicone scar gel, so this comparison has our own product in it. Prices were checked on 23 September 2026, they change week to week, and results vary from person to person.
30ml, made in Australia. A cosmetic silicone gel for fully healed scars. No wear-time schedule, no washing, dries clear and sits under sunscreen and makeup. Free standard delivery on Australian orders over $50, with a 30 day money back trial.
Cica-Care gel or sheet: which suits a scar after 45?
Most people know Cica-Care as the sheet: a soft, self-adhesive silicone square you cut to size. Smith+Nephew says it is for red and raised scars, old and new. The gel does the same job as a thin film applied at least twice a day.
At Genova Skincare we hear from women over 45 who wore the sheet for a fortnight and gave up. Usually it lifted at a knee crease, showed above a neckline, or felt hot and sticky through an Australian summer.
So the useful question is which one you will still be using every day in three months.
- A sheet may suit you if the scar is on a flat, covered area such as the abdomen, you can wear it overnight, and you are happy to follow a washing routine.
- A gel may suit you if the scar is on the face, neck, chest, hands or a joint, you want makeup or sunscreen over it, or your skin reddens under adhesive.
How the Cica-Care sheet works for mature skin, step by step
The sheet comes with a build-up schedule worth knowing before you buy. Smith+Nephew's directions are:
- Clean and dry the scar and the skin around it, and cut the sheet to cover the scar with a small overlap.
- Wear it for 4 hours a day for the first two days, then 8 hours a day for the next two.
- Add two hours a day until you reach at least 12 hours a day.
- Take it off and wash it twice a day with mild soap, rinse well and let it dry.
- Replace it when it no longer cleans up well, which the maker says usually happens after about 28 days.
The gel skips all of that. You apply a thin layer at least twice a day, let it dry, and put makeup or sunscreen on top. Cica-Care says to remove any excess if it has not dried within four to five minutes. Ours dries in about thirty seconds.
What Cica-Care costs in Australia for women over 45
A sheet's price looks like one purchase, but it is closer to a monthly cost, because each sheet lasts about four weeks. Here is what we found on 23 September 2026.
| Option | Size | Australian price | Rough cost for 3 months | Where we checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cica-Care gel sheet | 3cm x 12cm | $44.99 | About $135 (3 sheets) | Chemist Warehouse |
| Cica-Care gel sheet | 6cm x 12cm | $64.62 to $101.99 | About $195 to $306 (3 sheets) | Discount Chemist, Chemist Warehouse, Blooms |
| Cica-Care silicone gel | 5g / 15g | $20.99 / $41.99 | Depends on scar size | Chemist Warehouse |
| Genova Silicone Scar Gel | 30ml | $52.95 | Depends on scar size | Direct from us |
| Genova 12-Week Course, 2 pack | 2 x 30ml | $94.95 | Sized for a full course | Direct from us |
Some caveats. The three month cost assumes one sheet a month, as the maker suggests; yours may last longer or shorter. A 3cm by 12cm sheet only suits a narrow scar. Grams and millilitres are not interchangeable for silicone gel, so compare tube sizes as a rough guide only.
We are not the cheapest gel on the shelf: DermaScar Classic costs less per unit, and our Dermatix comparison covers another pharmacy favourite. Cica-Care is made by Smith+Nephew, a medical technology company, and sold through pharmacies and healthcare suppliers, while ours is a cosmetic silicone gel. They are not the same category of product and we are not claiming they are.
What we will say is arithmetic. Our tube is 30ml against 15g in the larger Cica-Care tube, so roughly twice the gel, and a longer surgical scar often needs more than one tube. Our buyer's guide to silicone gel for scars works through quantities by scar length.
See the Genova 12-Week Course →
What the research says about silicone sheets and gels after 45
Cica-Care has its own trial. A study in Burns by Carney and colleagues followed 42 people with raised scars for six months and found the treated areas improved compared with untreated areas. It compared Cica-Care with another silicone sheet, and found the two worked similarly, with Cica-Care easier to keep on.
On gel against sheet, a small trial in the Journal of Korean Medical Science (Kim and colleagues, 25 people who finished) found no real difference in results after three months, and people found the gel much more convenient. It is a small study, so treat it as a pointer rather than proof.
A Cochrane review by O'Brien and Jones found silicone improved scar thickness and colour, and the same authors called the evidence poor quality and highly susceptible to bias. Research in Seminars in Plastic Surgery describes scars maturing over 12 to 18 months, and mature skin tends to be slower. For more, see our complete guide to fading scars with silicone gel, or our general silicone gel vs sheets comparison.
Realistic expectations
Smith+Nephew says results may be seen from about two months with the sheet, and after two to four months with the gel. Expect itch and tightness to ease first, and colour and texture to change slowly across 8–12 weeks of daily use or longer.
Older scars change less than fresh ones. No sheet or gel removes a scar. Results vary from person to person.
What Cica-Care and other silicone products cannot do after 45
No silicone sheet or gel fills a pitted or sunken acne scar, because the missing tissue sits below the surface. None of them help stretch marks, and none will fade a flat brown mark left after a scar has settled.
A large, growing or painful keloid needs a doctor, not only a sheet. Our guide to keloid scars after 45 explains where that line sits.
Who should skip Cica-Care or any silicone scar product after 45
Wait, do not buy yet, if the wound is still open, weeping or scabbed. Smith+Nephew says not to use the sheet on open wounds or unless the wound is fully healed, and ours is for closed skin only too. When to start scar gel after surgery covers the timing.
Skip the sheet if the skin around the scar has eczema, dermatitis or another skin condition, which the maker also rules out, or if adhesive leaves you red or itchy.
See a doctor first if the scar is growing, painful or changing in a way that worries you.
Cica-Care questions Australian women over 45 ask most
What is Cica-Care used for?
Cica-Care sheets and gel are silicone products for red, raised scars on fully healed skin, including surgical, burn and hypertrophic scars. They are not for open wounds, pitted scars or stretch marks.
Do silicone scar sheets actually work?
Silicone has the best support of any non-prescription scar option, though the research is modest. Sheets and gels appear to work similarly when used consistently, and results vary.
How long does a Cica-Care sheet last?
Smith+Nephew says a sheet usually needs replacing after about 28 days, once it no longer cleans up well. Over a three month course that is usually three sheets.
Is Cica-Care gel or sheet better?
Neither is clearly stronger. The sheet suits a flat, covered scar; the gel suits visible or moving areas and anyone wanting makeup or sunscreen on top.
How much is Cica-Care at Chemist Warehouse?
On 23 September 2026 the 3cm by 12cm sheet was $44.99, the 6cm by 12cm sheet $98.99, and the gel $20.99 for 5g or $41.99 for 15g. For more gel per purchase, ours is $52.95 for 30ml.
What is the best scar reduction cream in Australia?
For raised or red scars, look for a silicone gel rather than a cream, and choose one you will use twice a day for three months. Our Australian scar gel price table compares eleven brands per millilitre, and we have full guides to DermaScar and Kelo-Cote.
Cica-Care is a sensible choice, and if you are happy to wear and wash a sheet every day, it is a reasonable way to go. If you have tried and it keeps peeling off, you have not failed. A gel is the same silicone in an easier format, and the one you actually use is the one that helps.
Silicone without the sheet, made in Australia
A cosmetic silicone gel for fully healed scars. Dries clear in about thirty seconds, sits under sunscreen and makeup, and ships from Australia.
12-Week Course, 2 pack
2 x 30ml. For a longer scar, or a full course in one purchase.
Made in Australia. For fully healed skin only. Results vary from person to person.
Individual results vary. Cica-Care is a registered brand of Smith+Nephew and is not affiliated with Genova Skincare. Genova Silicone Scar Gel is a cosmetic product designed to support the appearance of scars and is not a substitute for advice from your GP, surgeon or pharmacist. Apply only to skin that has fully closed. Australian prices quoted are from retailer listings checked on 23 September 2026 and change by retailer and promotion. Always read the label and follow the directions for use.
Sources:
- Carney SA, Cason CG, Gowar JP, et al. Cica-Care gel sheeting in the management of hypertrophic scarring. Burns. 1994;20(2):163-167.
- Kim SM, Choi JS, Lee JH, Kim YJ, Jun YJ. Prevention of postsurgical scars: comparison of efficacy and convenience between silicone gel sheet and topical silicone gel. Journal of Korean Medical Science. 2014;29(Suppl 3):S249-S253.
- O'Brien L, Jones DJ. Silicone gel sheeting for preventing and treating hypertrophic and keloid scars. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 2013;(9):CD003826.
- Commander SJ, Chamata E, Cox J, Dickey RM, Lee EI. Update on postsurgical scar management. Seminars in Plastic Surgery. 2016;30(3):122-128.
- Smith+Nephew Australia, Cica-Care silicone gel sheet and Cica-Care silicone gel product pages, accessed 23 September 2026.
- Australian listings for Cica-Care: Chemist Warehouse, Discount Chemist and Blooms the Chemist, checked 23 September 2026.
