Nothing quite chips away at your confidence like a face marred by dark spots and patches of discolouration on visible areas of your body. You’d do anything to get rid of this pigmentation.
Skin hyperpigmentation can happen to anyone, regardless of skin colour or age and appear anywhere on the body.
The good news is that skin hyperpigmentation isn’t dangerous and hyperpigmentation treatment can help rejuvenate skin.
With the right treatment, equipped with the right understanding, you can achieve flawless skin again.
What’s behind skin pigmentation?
Causes of Pigmentation
Pigmentation is what gives our skin its colour. It’s produced by special skin cells called Melanocytes.
When melanocytes become damaged, unhealthy or get wrong triggers, melanin production goes haywire causing dark pigments to be produced excessively. This process of hyperpigmentation darkens the skin unevenly and abnormally.
Melanin plays a role in protecting the skin from the sun’s harmful ultraviolet rays. UVB can burn the cells on the top layer of skin whilst UVA penetrates deeper into the dermis layer causing premature skin ageing, ie wrinkles, sagging and dull skin and also induces immediate pigment darkening.
There are 95% UVA and only 5% UVB in the sun rays.
Here are the different benign types of hyperpigmentation.
- Age spots or liver spots
- Freckles
- Sun spots (Solar Lentigines)
- Post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation (PIH)
- Melasma
- Post-acne skin pigmentation
Can Pigmentation be Removed?
Hyperpigmentation is usually harmless and as such, does not require removal unless it affects one psychologically. Treatment can consist of cosmetic creams, medical treatments performed by doctors as well as certain home treatments prescribed by doctors.
How Long Does It Take?
It could take anywhere from 3 to 24 months for hyperpigmentation to fade under good treatments. However, there are stubborn cases that will lighten significantly but will not fully fade away.
The length of time it takes to fade depends on how dark the hyperpigmentation is, compared to the non-affected skin surrounding it. The larger the affected area and the deeper the contrast between the dark spot and your natural skin tone, the longer it will take to fade.
Let’s get to the important stuff now. Here are different ways you can solve your pigmentation problem.
Medical Removal of Pigmentation
How you treat your hyperpigmentation is based on its cause, your skin type and your aesthetic goals. The first step is to find a qualified and reliable dermatologist or an aesthetician physician.
Here are some of the most common treatments for lightening dark spots.
Chemical Peels
In a chemical peeling, the dead skin cells are literally “peel off” by the acids present in the cream, lotion or liquid. As a result, the skin renews itself faster and scars and pigment spots fade.
Basically, liken yourself to shedding dull skin to reveal newer, brighter, healthier skin beneath.
Chemical peels should only be done under a doctor’s supervision.
Microdermabrasion
Microdermabrasion is also a form of peeling but done mechanically. The procedure uses a special applicator with an abrasive surface to gently sand away the thick outer layer of the skin to rejuvenate it.
Another microdermabrasion technique is spraying fine particles of aluminium oxide or sodium bicarbonate with a vacuum suction to accomplish the same outcome as the abrasive surface.
End result, skin renews, wrinkles and scars become less visible.
Laser Therapy
Laser treatments are based on the principle of selective photothermolysis. It precisely targets “problem” tissue. It then matches the specific wavelength of light and heats the tissue, destroying it with a laser without affecting or damaging surrounding tissue.
Results can further improve and prolong when consuming an oral antioxidants supplement of colourless carotenoids that preferentially attaches to the skin upon ingestion.
We have a more in-depth breakdown of all the different treatments, who they’re good for and what conditions they work best for here.
Topical Treatments
Not everyone is keen on medical treatments when there are other less invasive options that do not require frequent clinic visitations.
If you’re in this camp, you’ve probably searched online for topical creams.
And you’ll likely have come across this agent, Hydroquinone.
The claims seem great, don’t they? Fast-acting… strong… permanent…
For those who are contemplating using such bleaching agents or harsh creams that may also contain steroids, you probably want to think again.
There have been many instances where the product they bought to lighten sunspots, melasma, or other hyperpigmentation, paradoxically leaves them with tough-to-treat issues such as severe rebound hyperpigmentation.
In such cases, the bleaching effects of hydroquinone appeared more pronounced in the areas NOT affected by pigmentation. Meanwhile, the dark spots meant to be treated showed no further improvement.
To make things worse, the active melanocytes in the affected areas developed resistance to hydroquinone.
The result? The patients’ hyperpigmentation in these areas worsened instead of improving.
While this isn’t always the case, why take the risk?
For a safer option, many turn to clinically tested and medically proven safe and effective depigmentation creams such as Crystal Tomato® Skin Clarity Cream.
How to Remove Pigmentation with Crystal Tomato® Skin Clarity Cream?
Here’s the lowdown on what the Skin Clarity Cream can do.
- INHIBITS Melanin Production
Tackle the problem from the root through protection.
Its cosmeceutical formula doesn’t just work to inhibit the formation of melanin. It also stops the various aggravating factors of skin pigmentation like inflammation, oxidative stress and ultraviolet radiation.
- REDUCES Hyperpigmentation
Control the damage, repair the skin and enhance its strength.
- LIGHTENS and Evens Skin Tone
Holistic treatment for your skin begins with the right nutrients.
Crystal Tomato® Skin Clarity Cream contains super anti-oxidants like Vitamin A, Vitamin B3, Vitamin C, Vitamin E and Rumex Occidentalis extract. The cream has a blend of 17 active ingredients of mainly antioxidants, acids and includes a sun-filter.
Together, they help to lighten facial spots and give you the crystal clear skin tone you always wanted.
Ready to get rid of your skin pigmentation? Start with Crystal Tomato® Skin Clarity Cream today.
Home Remedies for Pigmentation
In general, most home remedies do not work well for the removal of hyperpigmented spots and if it does, it usually takes a lengthy period to lighten only to a very mild degree.
Worse, some home remedies, like apple cider vinegar, when used inappropriately, can cause more harm by burning the skin.
Some popular home remedies include Aloe Vera, Red Onion, Lemon with Honey and Vitamin C; of which there are many instances of users end up with allergies.
It is highly recommended not to try these home remedies to self-treat your hyperpigmented spots as they may pile on more problems on your already damaged skin.
