1. How To Fade Brown Spots
You can convince yourself that laugh lines around your eyes are not all that bad because it shows
that you have had a pretty good life. But what about skin discoloration? What if your skin tone was
uneven, meaning certain parts are visibly darker than the rest? You probably will not think too
kindly of blotchy skin especially around your face. There are several factors that contribute to
hyperpigmentation: hormones, genes and over exposure to the sun. Many women begin to
develop this skin problem when they hit their 40s. As the tan you got during summer fade away,
the unwanted spots begin to show. Although summer is over, but the evidence of sun damage
remains. The damages are the result of not only this year but also from the past years of sun
exposure.
Of course, using sunscreen lotion helps in protecting your skin from harmful ultraviolet rays. Even
so, it does not protect you from the sun entirely.
Today, you are more concerned and aware about your skin than any woman of the last two
decades. Do you despise those dark blemishes? With the right strategies and the help of effective
products, you can make them go away forever.
Some typical complaints that are reported among women with skin discoloration are horrible-
looking dark spots, itchiness, dryness, and irritation.
Do you know how you get brown spots? Your skin produces melanin, which gives your complexion
its unique shade. Melanocytes releases a steady amount of melanin under normal circumstances.
This is not the case when they start to get lots of sun. It causes an increase in melanin production.
The parts of your skin that have more-than-normal melanin appears as darker skin. So, if you want
an even skin tone, you need to determine the type of spots on your skin.
Post-Inflammatory Hyperpigmentation
If you have dark skin, you are more prone to post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation. You'll discover
that your skin has darkened following a trauma to the skin like a burn, scrape or even a pimple.
This form of hyperpigmentation will take longer time to fade because the excess melanin is buried
deep beneath the epidermis.
Melasma
Women are easily afflicted by melasma. Approximately 90% of women are experiencing this form
of pigmentation. The loss of pigment causes the balance of 10% to have white blotches. However,
eventually, the white patches will become dark.
2. Compared to women, men are less afflicted by skin discoloration, probably because of hormones.
The spike in the level of estrogen is the result of pregnancy, sun exposure, and birth control pills.
This explains the development of melasma in women. Some women discover that they experience
more pigmentation after the delivery of their babies. Melasma will diminish at some point with
ongoing breastfeeding. Unfortunately, there are times it refuses to budge.
Liver Spots
Liver spots generally occur at places most exposed to the sun. It takes a while before you are hit
by age spots, most often months or years down the road. The moment they are visible, they
usually won't fade on its own. However, they are responsive to treatment because they linger near
the epidermis.
Do not expect to correct your pigmentation woes in a few weeks. Nevertheless, improvements to
your skin is possible if you do the right thing.
Consult With Your Dermatologist
Acne scars tend to be darker. This is known as post inflammatory hyperpigmentation (PIH). Over
time, these spots will fade. For speedy fading, you can use skin lighteners. They produce faster
results than laser because of their dependence on hydroquinone.
For hyperpigmentation treatment, the maximum concentration of hydroquinone allowed by the US
Food and Drug Administration is 4%. Arguably, it is the gold standard as far as treating
hyperpigmentation is concerned. So, all existing lightening substances are no match to it.
Similar to the fear of steroid creams, the fear of hydroquinone is baseless. Hydroquinone exists in
daily foods that we consume including, coffee, tea, watermelon, molasses and tomatoes. You just
need to use it according to the instruction given by your dermatologist. The need of medical
supervision should discourage skin care companies from using it in their OTC products.
Treat Your Spots With Creams
Women today are wiser about the real causes of pigmentation problems. They use skin whitening
products, which convinced them that these products can tackle pigmentation and help return luster
to a dull skin.
Many companies like to use kojic acid in their products. Yet if you have sensitive skin, you should
avoid it as it can irritate your skin. Niacinamide is a promising skin lightener. This is based on
recent clinical trials that demonstrate its effectiveness of fading discoloration in less than four
3. weeks.
Meladerm is a natural remedy to clear your skin from dark spots. It does not contain paraben and
is fragrant free. It utilizes the natural fading properties of 12 lightening agents like kojic acid and
arbutin to reduce the production of tyrosinase that triggers the manufacturing of melanin. You can
learn about this skin whitener by surfing to any search engine and type Meladerm reviews.
Remove Dead Skin Cells With Exfoliation
Exfoliation is largely understood as the removal of dead skin cells and this varies from chemical
peels to microdermabrasion, and includes the simple facial scrub. Exfoliation is the only method to
get rid of dead skin cells. The reason behind this is that melanin forms clusters in the corneocytes
and sooner or later they are sloughed off as the cells in the skin are replaced.
Prevention Is The Best Way
If you already have dark spots, you can only regret. BUT now that you are wiser, why not do what
you can to stop future dark spots from popping up. It is important to protect your skin with
sunscreen. Make sure you are using one that says "broad-spectrum" as that will cover both UVA
and UVB sun rays. Don't go out without rubbing some on, especially on body parts that are not
covered up. Remember, the brown spots are because of the many months or years in the sun. So
you have to protect your skin every day. This way, the damage doesn't build up over time.
If you are expecting and have melasma, you should use a sunscreen with a minimum of SPF25
during the first trimester.
Aggresive Medical Approaches
If you have stubborn spots, laser, intense pulse light or chemical peels are your options.
Freckles are usually treated with laser. If you are treating melasma with laser, be prepared to visit
your dermatologist's clinic for more than six times. Q switch Yag laser, another laser which is used
to remove tattoos can help in treating pigmentation. To see those spots lightened, it requires at
least ten treatments.
Although intense pulsed light (IPL) is not a laser but it targets the pigmented areas. Light waves
are emitted to cause melanin pigments to fragment. You may experience discomfort with this
method.
When it comes to IPL or laser, you should first determine the credentials of the doctor who
handles the equipment. Lasers or IPL must be administered very carefully as they can cause
4. scarring and burning, particularly in very dark skin.
If you want to improve the color of your skin, try chemical peels. Using fruit acids, they can slough
off the uppermost layer of the skin. Your skin will feel dry after the treatment. Redness is also a
common after effect. However, this is nothing to worry about. New skin will soon develop. It may
take one week or two. The peels come in different strengths and that will influence the length of
the downtime.
Don't assume that the spots are gone for good after treatment. The spots will return if you go out
in the sun.
Keeping those spots at bay is a daily habit. Every day, you need to apply sunblock and skin
lightening creams. If you have completed the dark spot treatment with either laser or vitamin C,
you will need to perform these treatments again over the years.
It is true that there is no guarantee that the spots will never return even the treatments can be
invasive. They may be more effective but you have to paid more compared to skin whitening
products. In addition, you will usually need a two-week down time to make it possible for the skin
to heal. Well, you can consider a concealer if you are not happy with the results.