As a specialist skin clinic, we recommend that Autumn/Winter is the best time of the year if you want to treat pigmentation successfully.
The sun’s UV exposure contributes to photodamage; also, most treatments will include a level of resurfacing and when left exposed to harmful rays the new skin is more susceptible to further photodamage. During the summer months, it becomes difficult to avoid UV exposure which can affect the efficacy and safety of treatment.
So, although we are sad to see the summer sun leave us, we are always excited to get ready to battle the photodamage of the summer sun would have bought upon us.
Here at Health and Aesthetics, there are many treatments available to treat surface and dermal pigmentation. Everyone’s level of pigmentation, skin type, and lifestyle are different from another, so we pride ourselves on being able to offer individual, tailored treatment plans.
The autumn and winter give us 5-6 months to get ahead of the battle and allows us enough time to prepare the skin for your pigmentation prevention programme, throughout the following spring and summer months.
There are different types of pigmentation these include;
- sun damage,
- photodamage,
- solar lentigos/ solar lentigines,
- post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation,
- ephelides (freckles) and;
- melasma.
Pigmentation can occur from many different factors, such as genetic disposition, hormonal changes in the body, and trauma to the skin i.e. excessive harmful ray exposure and/or skin injury including inflammation.
To read more about the different types of pigmentation please click here
When treating pigmentation, it is all about suppressing and resurfacing to lighten and brighten the skin. Some types of pigmentation can sit deeper in the dermis layer, these require an intense program to induce resurfacing such as Cosmelan from mesoestetic.
Suppressing and Resurfacing
The first step to pigmentation treatment is skin prep. We need to repair and rebuild the skin’s barrier function first before we can resurface it, regardless of what resurfacing method is recommended i.e. laser or retinol.
Amongst skin prep, the suppressing of pigmentation can start. Suppressing the pigmentation is almost like preparation for battle.
To suppress the overproduction of melanocytes we need to target the melanocytes at the core of their production. We use tyrosinase inhibitors to stop the chemical response, that contributes to the production and the uneven distribution of melanin. A combination of lightening complexes helps to lighten the pigmentation and suppress the appearance of the pigmentation on the surface, but they will not lift the pigmentation out of the skin.
To lift the pigmentation from the bottom layers of the epidermis and the dermis layer of the skin we need to incorporate an element of resurfacing.
We can resurface the layers of the skin with lasers and or different potency levels of retinol.
Resurfacing is where the tough part of the battle begins.
Retinols and laser resurfacing accelerate skin cell turnover at a rapid rate. They work to slough away the layers of pigmentation to bring fresh new skin cells to the surface that have not been exposed to harmful rays. The fresh new skin cells are brighter and more even in appearance.
Laser rejuvenation works to shatter the pigmentation which can lighten the pigmentation within a matter of days/weeks. The pigmentation absorbs the heat of the laser, the pigment then oxidises and becomes darker. The treated pigment will then flake away, leaving the skin tone lighter and brighter.
To maintain the results of successful treatment we continue with optimizing skin health and suppressing pigmentation and of course broad-spectrum SPF protection.
Suppress
- The ZO Skin Health Brightening Kit (contains Brightalive)
- 10% Vitamin C
- Mesoestetic skin prep kit, as per the Cosmelan 12-month programme
- Melanostop peel
- Hydrafacial brightening treatment
Resurface
- Wrinkle and Texture Repair
- Skin Brightening retinol
- Cosmelan mask 12-month programme
- Excel V+ laser rejuvenation
- Alma hybrid laser resurfacing
Protect
- Daily sheer SPF 50
- Broad spectrum SPF 50
- Sunscreen and primer SPF 30
- Melan 130 pigment control