Now most of us are working from home, we may have more time to glance at our face more close up, than before. We are often more susceptible to noticing minute details about our face than anyone else. Pigmentation spots are one of those finer details that often don’t get overlooked on a bright sunny reflection in the mirror.
The sun is to blame when it comes to pigmentation spots, but then it’s also the root cause of wrinkles and other skin conditions.
Hyper-pigmentation is in fact the result of over-production of Melanin. Your approach to minimising the appearance of these dark spots, requires the combining of several methods.
Gentle cleansers!
Glycolic Acid!
Daily Sunscreen!
There’s not any particular skin type or tone that is free from hyper-pigmentation, but darker tones are at a higher risk or susceptibility.
Using careful methods correctly and carefully can help you get your skin tone back to flawless and pigmentation-free. But, it is sunscreen that is key for prevention and maintenance!
Photoaging is how your skin tries to protect itself from harmful UV rays. So your skin produces more melanin as a barrier on the upper layer of the skin to block the rays. This can leave you with uneven skin darkening that turns into solar lentigines, also called age spots or liver spots.
Screen!
Wear sunscreen everyday, regardless of season or weather. Yes, even on a windy day in the winter. This means you will use up your sunscreen a lot quicker too so it doesn’t start clogging up in your make-up drawer.
This is no doubt, the best way to prevent hyperpigmentation.
Activate!
Use active topical ingredients such as arbutin, kojic acid, azelaic acid
Exfoliate!
Chemical exfoliation is better than scrubs. Intense scrubs and exfoliants can create micro tears on your skin and in return hyperpigmentation through trauma. Again, darker skin tones are more prone to this.
Glycolic acid is a favourite chemical exfoliant because it’s well-tolerated, giving brighter, more even skin over time.
Cleanse!
Thoroughly cleanse every night without stripping all the goodness. Alpha hydroxy acids keep skin clean as well as nourished.
All treatment approaches for hyperpigmentation are similar. As they all have the clear objective of stopping or preventing steps of the pigment-production process, breaking down deposited pigment, exfoliating to enhance turnover, and decreasing inflammation.