Hyperpigmentation - The Basic Facts
Achieving a golden tan is a must for most people when they go away on holiday or if we manage to get warm weather here in the UK. A tan is thought to look radiant and show health and vitality not to mention it being fashionable and appears to help the body look ‘slimmer’ and more toned. However, whilst we bask in the UV rays, do we actually realise the harm that we are doing to our skin? Although a tan can make a pale skin look ‘healthier’ it actually can have harmful effects on the skin that can be anything but healthy.
When we tan our skin it is due to pigment-forming cells called melanocytes that contribute to the colour change in our skin. Some people naturally have more melanocytes than others hence people’s skin tone varies and explains why some people will tan easier than others. Melanocytes secrete a pigment called melanin; it is this pigment that defines your characteristic skin tone. Melanocytes help to protect the skin and ward off dangerous UV radiation because the melanin on the skin surface absorbs UV light, protecting the cells below.
So in actual fact when your skin tans, it is your bodies way of protecting it from the harmful UV rays that it is being exposed to, think of it like your bodies very own defence mechanism from the sun. People with darker skin tones are generally more resistant to UV damage because of the increase of melanin in their skin, whereas lighter skinned people tend to suffer and find that their skin will redden when exposed to the sun and may experience burns and even blisters. The sun is the skin’s worst enemy, as well as it thickening the skin making it look ‘leathery’ it is also the greatest cause of pigmentation problems. Pigmentation can appear anywhere on the face or body, but more commonly is found on areas that are constantly exposed to the sun, therefore the backs of the hand, neck and face tend to be worst hit.
The best defence that you can do to protect your skin from hyper pigmentation (also known as sun spots or age spots) is to wear a broad spectrum sun factor protection. If it is broad spectrum it means that the product will properly protect the skin from the damaging UVA, UVB and infrared rays,
by wearing a broad spectrum product every day, it can help to prevent new pigmentation marks from appearing and prevent existing marks from darkening. Don’t be fooled into thinking that you should only wear this protection on sunny days, even on overcast days the harmful rays are still attacking our skin, therefore it is advised to wear SPF everyday.
Other factors that can contribute to hyper pigmentation are hormonal imbalances which can be triggered by pregnancy, birth control pills and other forms of contraception such as the implant etc. Some studies have indicated that up to 75% of pregnant women suffer from pigment problems, and about 30% who take birth control pills. This is due to the influence of oestrogen, progesterone and melanocyte stimulating hormones. Common areas that tend to be affected are the face, many women experiencing pigmentation across the upper lip, forehead and cheek areas too. Usually after the
pregnancy is over or contraception methods are stopped the pigmentation can reduce considerably or disappear. But for a few, the pigmentation can remain.
Products that contain artificial fragrance or alcohol can also cause the skin to pigment quicker, one common area especially on women, where pigmentation tends to be noticed is on either side of the neck, the areas a lot of women will spray their perfume. If the skin is not protected with an SPF, when exposed to the UV rays, the delicate skin on the neck will pigment, it is advised to either protect the area well, or spray any fragrance underneath clothing so as it is more protected.
As suggested earlier, wearing an SPF daily will certainly go a long way at initially preventing pigmentation from occurring as well as limiting your time in the sun as the sun is the biggest contributing factor to hyper pigmentation. But what do you do if you already have hyper pigmentation? The answer is to look for products that have been specially formulated to help to reduce the pigment marks, whether it is by using a product which contains a lightening agent, or by using a product that can aid in quickening up the skins natural desquamation process.
Ingredients such as Vitamin C and Arbutin (derived from Japanese mushrooms) work at lightening and brightening the skin and giving a more even looking complexion, helping to reduce the areas of darkened skin, but giving radiance and vitality to the rest.
Other products that utilise such ingredients like glycolic acid, would generally be applied directly to the pigmentation mark and work by shedding the skin quicker, therefore causing a peeling like action on the skin, this can in fact significantly lighter unwanted pigmentation marks whether they are on
the face, back of the hands or elsewhere on the body.
As well as the use of professional homecare products you can use yourself at home, professional treatments that have been developed to help lighten and brighten the skin would be highly recommended to try, professional treatments will use higher active ingredients than you could use
yourself at home therefore achieving a quicker result for you.
Acid peels will work at reducing unwanted pigmentation marks and many of the peels have no down time which means you can have the treatment and you will be able to go about your daily business without noticing any major peeling of the skin or reddening. Obviously professional treatments
combined with homecare will have you seeing quicker results.
Some spas and salons will be able to offer you a skin scan, either using a woods lamp or by using high-tech equipment such as the Beau Visage machine. By having a skin scan, your therapist will be able to have a closer more in-depth look at your skin and be able to advise you on the best products and/or course of treatments specifically for you. A skin scanner can look at the pigmentation you currently have, but some can also detect areas of pigmentation which will appear in the near future giving you an advanced warning of what you may see appear on your skin over the next 6-12 months.
Noticing an uneven skin tone doesn’t always mean having darker areas or spots on the skin, but in fact can show the opposite, some people may notice white spots on the skin. The darker spots and white spots on the skin are due to different reactions within the skin.
Hyper pigmentation caused by the pigment-producing cells going into overdrive, to try and protect the skin against damage. This can be caused by accumulated unprotected skin damage over a period of time, or by an injury or trauma to the skin. Therefore hyper pigmentation is an over production of pigment. However Hypo pigmentation is when a melanocyte becomes extremely damaged, so damaged that it actually shuts down. Eventually the skin in the area begins to lose all pigmentation and becomes white, (known as Vitiligo). These white spots will never tan, making then especially susceptible to skin cancer formation.
There is no treatment that can restore pigment in a hypo pigmented skin but having the understanding and knowledge on how to best protect the skin will result in minimal damage to the skin lessening the chances of hyper or hypo pigmentation.
