Is your skin giving you a spotty outlook on life?

Is your skin giving you a spotty outlook on life? Many people find hyperpigmentation, commonly called sun spots or brown spots, to be bothersome but aren’t sure how to clear their skin.

First, it is important to understand what causes hyperpigmentation. Hyperpigmentation happens when our skin produces too much melanin—the pigment that causes our skin to darken. Normally, melanin creates an even layer of pigment, causing our skin to tan. However, hyperpigmentation happens when too many melanocytes (the cells that create melanin) are stimulated. There are a number of reasons why this happens but the most common reasons are sun exposure and hormonal changes in the body.

Treating hyperpigmentation takes a bit of time and patience. The brown spots on our skin did not appear overnight so clearing the spots are not a quick fix. Clearing up hyperpigmentation requires changes to your skincare routine at home and regular treatments with your esthetician.

Start by using a bleaching cream that contains hydroquinone. Hydroquinone doesn’t actually bleach your skin, it stops the body from creating melanin so that the brown spots do not get darker. If your skin is sensitive, you can also use a lightening cream that contains other ingredients that inhibit pigmentation such as azeliac acid, ascorbic acid (vitamin C), or ellagic acid, just to name a few. Also, begin using a retinol cream at night to encourage cell turnover and exfoliation. As always, it is an absolute must that you wear a sunscreen at all times. Since hyperpigmentation is caused by UV exposure, you need to protect your skin in order to keep the brown spots from getting dark. Also, both retinol and hydroquinone (and other lightening agents) increase sun sensitivity.

Your esthetician can treat hyperpigmentation with a variety of services that exfoliate the skin and disrupt pigment. Typically, once my clients have been using proper home care for a month, I will start them off on a series of chemical peels.  Laser treatments are also great for more stubborn cases of pigmentation.  Both chemical peels and laser treatments bring the darkened pigment to the surface of the skin so at first, the pigment appears to be getting darker. However, with regular treatments, the pigmentation will fade or be eliminated entirely.

Consistency is key to treating pigmentation. If you do not stay out of the sun and use sunscreen, use proper skincare at home, and keep up with treatments with your esthetician, you won’t see results. Also, the old saying that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure is true when it comes to pigmentation: keep your skin free of brown spots by using sunscreen and by working with your esthetician at the first sign of hyperpigmentation.