Treating Hyperpigmentation

Pigmentary issues are a concern for many of our patients. You’d be hard pressed to find an individual above the age of 40 that doesn’t have some pigmented spots on their face, hands, or chest. Changes in skin pigment, specifically hyper and hypo pigmentation, can add up to 15 years to a person’s perceived age.

While there are many factors that contribute to the color of skin it’s primarily due to melanin, which is produced by the melanocyte cell. All skin contains melanin but it’s important to recognize the two different types, pheomelanin and eumelanin. Lighter skin mostly produces pheomelanin whereas darker skin produces mostly eumelanin. Pheomelanin is red to yellow in color and eumelanin is dark brown to black. Other elements that influence skin color are:

  • Deoxygenated red blood cells that give the skin a blue hue

  • Oxygenated blood near the skins surface which contribute to redness

  • Yellow hue from carotenoids found in food

TYPES OF PIGMENTATION:

  • Hyperpigmentation-abnormal or accelerated production of melanin resulting in uneven skin tone, pigmentary lesions, freckles, and a mottled complexion

  • Hypopigmentation-melanocyte becomes inactive and melanin synthesis is hindered resulting in loss of skin pigment

  • Melasma-hormonally induced pigmentation that causes an increase of melanin in dermal and epidermal tissue

  • PIH-stands for post-inflammatory-hyperpigmentation and is the result of pigmentation caused by injury or trauma to the skin

UNDERLYING CAUSES:

Hyperpigmentation always has an underlying cause and identifying that cause is important to treat and prevent unwanted pigmentation. Some causes of hyperpigmentation include:

  • Sun exposure

  • Skin trauma

  • Diet

  • Aging

  • Skin diseases and disorders

  • Acne

  • Hormones

  • Genetics

CONTROLLING & PREVENTING PIGMENTATION:

Once lifestyle, skincare, and dietary factors have been addressed, an effective treatment plan for controlling and preventing pigmentation can be created. The most obvious means for preventing pigmentation would be to apply SPF protection daily but treating existing pigmentation is a whole other ball game. Fortunately, there are many ingredients in topical skin brightening treatments that have shown to be highly effective at both preventing and reducing pigmentation. Those ingredients include but aren’t limited to:

Treating pigmentation can be a long and sometimes frustrating process. Managing expectations for pigment reduction and prevention is imperative as pigmentation is hands down the most difficult skin condition to treat. On average it takes anywhere from 3-12 months to see a noticeable reduction in pigmentation when properly treating and preventing it.

People are by nature impatient and don’t usually want to wait 12 months for anything! It’ll usually take about 2 months to start seeing improvement and often times the pigmentation will appear darker as it’s lifting (resurfacing from the inside out). Also, the depth of pigmentation will determine how quickly and effectively it can be treated and the deeper it is, the longer it’ll take. Time and time again we see patients who are religious about using pigment brighteners and melanin inhibitors but often forget their sunscreen. Treating and preventing pigmentation requires individuals to be militant about skincare and sun protection and also requires a hefty dose of patience!

Do suffer from hyperpigmentation? Schedule a skin consultation with our Aesthetician who will assess your skin and suggest a customized skincare routine perfect for you! Book online or give us a call 415-409-6500.

To learn more, contact our San Francisco office and call us at 415.409.6500.

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