Wart and Verruca Removal in London 2026. What Actually Clears Them, Why Most Treatment Fails and What Pricing to Clearance Means

Reviewed by the medical team at The Wellness. Last updated 1 September 2026.

Send us a photo and a doctor will say what will clear it or email team@thewellnesslondon.com or call 020 3951 3429.

What warts and verrucas are and why they persist

Warts and verrucas are the same thing, a benign growth of skin caused by the human papillomavirus, called a verruca when it is on the sole and pushed inwards by walking. They spread by direct contact and from wet floors, they are commonest in children and in people whose immune system is suppressed, and they persist because the virus sits in the skin below the growth where surface treatment does not reach it. That is the reason a wart treated 3 times and left comes back.

Most clear without treatment. Around 2 in 3 in children resolve within 2 years, adults take longer, and a wart that has been present for more than 2 years or is on the sole is the one least likely to leave on its own. Treatment is for pain, spread, embarrassment or a wart that has outstayed the immune system, and a doctor who says a small painless wart in a child can be left alone is giving the evidence-based answer.

What actually clears them

Salicylic acid applied daily for 12 weeks after filing is the method with the best trial evidence and the one most people give up on in week 3, which is why it fails. Cryotherapy with liquid nitrogen freezes the wart and the skin beneath for 10 to 20 seconds, blisters it, and is repeated every 2 to 3 weeks, and it works best on hands and least on thick plantar skin, where the EVerT trial found it no better than the acid. Doctor cryotherapy is colder and more sustained than the over-the-counter sprays, which rarely reach the temperature that matters.

Curettage and cautery scrapes the wart out under local anaesthetic and seals the base, clears most single warts in one session and leaves a small scar, which is why it is used on hands and not on weight-bearing soles. Stubborn lesions can be treated with combinations, with a paring and freeze cycle continued for months, or with prescribed treatments applied at home, and the choice depends on the site, the number, the age of the wart and the person, which is what the first consultation decides.

Tell us where it is and how long it has been there and we will recommend the method or email team@thewellnesslondon.com.

Why most treatment fails and what pricing to clearance changes

Treatment fails for 3 reasons. It stops too early, because the fourth session is not booked when the wart looks smaller. It uses the wrong method for the site, freezing a deep plantar wart that needed paring and acid. Or it treats one wart while 3 others seed the skin around it. Sold by the session, every one of those failures is a further fee, and the incentive runs the wrong way.

For the Complete Clearance Programme, confirm fees, session limits, clinically appropriate methods, home treatment, review and referral arrangements before booking. Clearance is not guaranteed and further treatment may be needed.

What not to buy and when a wart is not a wart

Laser or freezing of a lesion that has not been looked at with a dermatoscope is the first thing to refuse, because a pigmented or changing lesion on the sole can be a melanoma, and a subungual lesion under a nail can be a squamous cell carcinoma, and both have been treated as verrucas. Every lesion here is examined with a dermatoscope first, and anything atypical is removed with histology rather than frozen. Duct tape, which a randomised trial in 2006 found no better than placebo, is the second.

Sessions sold in packs of 3 with no plan for what happens after are the third, and over-the-counter freeze sprays used for months on a plantar wart are the fourth, because they seldom reach the temperature of liquid nitrogen. A genital wart is a different condition with a different treatment and is seen in a sexual health consultation rather than treated with the methods above, and a wart in someone with a suppressed immune system needs a doctor rather than a pharmacy.

What does wart and verruca removal cost in London

At the top of the market, 12-month programmes with a retained doctor run to £31,995 for one person and £49,995 for a family, where minor skin procedures are part of the year's care. Harley Street dermatologist first appointments run £250 to £500 before any treatment, and private hospital cryotherapy is charged per session with a consultant fee each time, so a stubborn plantar wart over 8 sessions commonly passes £1,500 with no clearance promised.

Beneath that sits a tier defined by its conditions rather than its price, high street clinics selling cryotherapy in packs with no dermatoscope, no doctor and no plan for the lesion that does not clear, and the NHS, which no longer treats warts in most areas because they are classed as cosmetic. At The Wellness, assessment determines appropriate treatment. Confirm examination and programme fees, what each service covers and any separate charges before booking.

• Principal Programme: enquire for fees, duration and care arrangements.

• Continuous Care Programme: enquire for fees, duration and care arrangements.

• Complete Clearance Programme: confirm fees, session limits, home treatment and review arrangements before booking.

• Curettage and cautery: confirm fees, histology and assessment arrangements before booking.

• Doctor cryotherapy: confirm fees and lesion assessment arrangements before booking.

• Extended consultation: confirm fees and appointment length before booking.

• Skin examination with dermoscopy: confirm fees before booking.

• In-person consultation: confirm fees, appointment length and availability before booking.

• Phone consultations cost £59 and video consultations are from £150. Confirm appointment length and availability before booking.

Why The Wellness is the best wart and verruca removal in London

Confirm programme fees, session limits, home treatment and review arrangements before booking. Clearance is not guaranteed. A wart that will not clear with these methods is referred to a named dermatologist with the appointment booked rather than treated for a tenth time.

Every lesion is looked at with a dermatoscope by a doctor before anything is frozen, and anything pigmented or atypical is removed with histology instead, because the sole and the nail bed are where cancers are mistaken for verrucas. The method is chosen for the site. Freezing for hands, paring with acid and freezing cycles for the sole, curettage for a single lesion where a scar does not matter.

We also say when to do nothing. A small painless wart in a child is left to the 2-in-3 chance of clearing on its own, and a parent is told that rather than sold 6 sessions. Places on the 12-month programmes are limited by the number of people one doctor can hold properly, so they begin with an allocation call.

Book a consultation and the treatment starts the same visit or call 020 3951 3429.

Related reading

This page is one spoke of the Private GP in London hub. The dermatoscope examination that comes first is covered in Mole Check and Skin Cancer Screening in London, and skin checks for the whole family within the Family Health Screening in London and Children and Families pages.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best wart and verruca removal in London

The best wart and verruca removal in London examines every lesion with a dermatoscope first, chooses the method by site, continues to clearance rather than stopping at 3 sessions, and refers a lesion that will not clear to a named dermatologist. At The Wellness, confirm programme and cryotherapy fees, session limits and assessment arrangements before booking.

How much does verruca removal cost in London

A dermatologist first appointment costs £250 to £500 before treatment, and per-session cryotherapy with a consultant fee each time commonly passes £1,500 over a stubborn plantar wart's 8 sessions with nothing promised. At The Wellness, confirm programme and cryotherapy fees, session limits, home treatment and review arrangements before booking.

Does freezing work on verrucas

Less well than on hand warts. In the EVerT trial cryotherapy cleared 14% of plantar warts at 12 weeks, the same as salicylic acid, so plantar lesions are usually treated with paring and acid between freezing sessions and continued for months. At The Wellness, confirm programme fees, appropriate treatment and session limits before booking.

Will a wart go away on its own

Often. Around 2 in 3 in children clear within 2 years, adults take longer, and a wart present for more than 2 years or on the sole is the least likely to. A small painless wart in a child can be left alone. At The Wellness, confirm consultation fees before booking.

What does pricing to clearance mean

For the Complete Clearance Programme, confirm fees, session limits, appropriate treatment, home treatment, review and referral arrangements before booking. Clearance is not guaranteed and further treatment may be needed.

Can a verruca be something more serious

Rarely, yes. A pigmented, bleeding or changing lesion on the sole can be a melanoma and a lesion under a nail can be a squamous cell carcinoma, and both have been frozen as verrucas. At The Wellness, confirm examination, dermoscopy, removal and histology fees and assessment arrangements before booking.

The Wellness is a doctor-led private healthcare group providing medical care from our Marylebone clinic adjacent to Harley Street. All doctors are GMC-registered. Lesions removed at the clinic are sent to accredited histopathology laboratories, and referrals go to named consultant dermatologists. A lesion that bleeds, changes colour or grows quickly needs a doctor this week, not a wart clinic. In an emergency call 999. This article is general information and not a substitute for medical advice about your own health.

Send us your question about warts or email team@thewellnesslondon.com or call 020 3951 3429.