Melasma, hyperpigmentation, sun damage, age spots are only few of the terms used to describe the skin condition of pigmentation.
What is pigmentation?
Pigmentation is basically stained marks on the skin. Melanin are the colour cells in our body and when there are stains on our skin, it will be because of overproduction (hyperpigmentation) or underproduction (hypopigmentation).
What causes pigmentation?
Mainly hormones and sun exposure will trigger pigmentation (unless it’s a skin condition like vitiligo).
Sun exposure plays a major role in pigmentation. Pregnancy and some medication like antibiotics, pills and antidepressants, can increase the skin’s sensitivity to UV exposure. And as we said, sun exposure is probably number 1 in contributing to the overproduction of melanin, causing the stained marks on the skin.
Prevention:
Make sunscreen your best friend. Simple.
Wearing sunscreen EVERYDAY will decrease the appearance of pigmentation, very slowly. If you are really concern about your pigmentation, it is suggested to use:
- A good sunscreen that blocks our UVA and UVB, the best one will be a professional formula that also includes antioxidants (to neutralize free radicals). This need to be applied EVERYDAY even when you are not in the sun (the UV reflects from everywhere).
- Failing step 1 – do not worry to continue and waste your money on products and treatments. When you got in the habit of applying sunscreen daily, you can start looking and step 2. Now you can look at the products you use at home, and make sure you use products that include (some or all): vitamin C, B3/niacinamide, licorice, Centella Asiatica, vitamin A, and antioxidants such as Vitamin E and Green Tea. The basic will be a moisturiser but if you would like to speed things up for a more pronounced and consistent results, use a serum. Serums designed to penetrate in to the deeper layer of the skin and work from the inside out. Just a recap: FOR BEST RESULTS: Layer your serum, moisturiser and sunscreen daily.
- In salon treatment to help with pigmentation: now that would really accelerate things up, here are your options: Chemical peels, like salicylic acid and/or glycolic acid, microdermabrasion treatment is great, laser and IPL. When you do those treatments, you will achieve best results when you are doing them as a course or a program. Visible improvement will be seen after few treatments, usually 6 – 12 depends on how deep your pigmentation is. The reality is that the damage is few years old and to correct it you would need patient.
What to do?
Results are achievable, you just need to be mindful of the sun. Every little bit of sun expositor and you will be prone to bring the pigment to the skin surface again. It is a long-term lifestyle changes and a firm commitment to achieve best results. When your are outdoors, wear broad-spectrum sunscreen, a hat and stay in the shade to protect your skin.
We offer express facials and deluxe facials with peels that designed to treat pigmentation, with a combination of microdermabrasion treatment you can accelerate the treatment for quicker results.
If you have any concern, come for a chat, we offer free skin analysis and you can ask us as many question as you would like xx Michal.
