Over the years some of us will notice changes in our skin colour. These changes can range from mild to severe. It can become quite aesthetically displeasing and can cause huge stress. However over the years many therapies have been thought out to treat this condition effectively.
In this blog Skin+ Hair would like to shed some light on this very common yet unpleasant condition.
What is pigmentation?
Pigmentation in essence is the colouring of a person’s skin. When a person is healthy, their skin colour will appear normal. In the case of illness or injury, the person’s skin may change colour, becoming darker (hyperpigmentation) or lighter (hypopigmentation).
Skin pigmentation disorders affect the colour of your skin. Your skin gets its colour from a pigment called melanin. Special cells in the skin make melanin. When these cells become damaged or unhealthy, it affects melanin production.
Hyperpigmentation is an umbrella term used to cover any number of conditions where one patch of skin becomes noticeably darker than the surrounding skin of the same area. This term covers a number of more specific conditions such as liver spots, freckles and melasma.
What causes pigmentation disorders?
- Exposure to heat:
Any activity which exposes you to intense heat can cause a disturbance with the melanocytes leading to pigmentation. If you are prone to pigment, it’ll be worthwhile to avoid saunas, hot yoga and be aware of spending lots of time cooking over a high flame.
- Hormonal imbalances:
Hormonal changes such as puberty, pregnancy, menopause and any hormone triggering contraception may result in pigmentation.
- Medication:
Medicines such as antibiotics, cortisone and hormone treatments may cause pigment as a side effect.
- Skin Injury:
After a wound heals, pigmentation often appears, it may worsen due to picking at the skin.
- Sun Exposure:
This is one of the biggest causes of pigmentation, the sun’s UV rays are not only the cause of pigment, it accelerates the ageing process.
Types of hyperpigmentation
Melasma / Chloasma, also referred to as “the mask of pregnancy”, is easily identifiable by brown to greyish-brown patches on the skin, commonly found on the cheeks, bridge of the nose, forehead, chin and upper lip. According to statistics, Melasma is far more common in women (only 10% of people who get melasma are male). Melasma is mainly triggered by hormonal changes, especially during pregnancy.
Post Inflammatory Hyper Pigmentation (PIH) refers to darkening of the skin following an injury or chronic inflammatory response in the skin. It is caused by damage to the epidermis (superficial) layer of the skin. Following an injury, inflammation occurs and this stimulates the pigment producing cells (melanocytes) to increase melanin production and transfer the pigment to surrounding areas. PIH affects all skin types but mostly occurs with darker skin types.
Solar Lentigines is the most common form of hyper-pigmentation. Often referred to as sun spots, this type of pigmentation occurs on areas with high exposure to the sun, such as the face and hands. These tiny lesions increase with age which makes them more common amongst middle aged to older people. Sun spots are caused by an increase in the pigment cells located in the superficial layers of the skin and are commonly characterised by their dark appearance with irregular borders.
How do we treat hyperpigmentation at Skin+Hair?
At Skin+Hair our therapist make use of Mesoestetic Cosmelan/Dermamelan treatment to treat hyperpigmentation. This treatment is also known as the world’s gold standard depigmentation method.
This intensive treatment has a dual action: it both corrects and regulates hyper-pigmentation, achieving short and long term results. Cosmelan acts by blocking the melanin producing enzyme(Tyrosinase), therefore reducing the production of Melasma. The appearance of new, luminous and rejuvenated skin is present and skin continues to improve with the use of the maintenance products.
Benefits:
- compatible with all skin types
- effective on most types of hyper-pigmentation
- minimally invasive
- anti-ageing, skin is rejuvenated
Managing hyperpigmentation is a lifelong commitment. It is important to constantly feed the skin with ingredients that will suppress further pigment from surfacing.
Once the initial 12 month period of Cosmelan is completed, Mesoestetic’s powerful Tran3x concentrate and Gel-cream will slow down the activity of Tyrosinase, inhibit inflammation caused by external aggressors and reduce excessive vascularisation which characterises recurrent hyper-pigmentation.
Heliocare’s 360 Sunscreen range is phenomenal at reducing the risk of hyper-pigmentation, it offers protection against all spectrums of light-UVA, UVB, Infrared, visible blue light (cell phone screens, computer screens and indoor light)
Skin+Hair is a Mesoestetic certified depigmentation centre. To book your consult and to receive your personalised treatment plan, send us a Whatsapp on 064 493 36 15 or send us an email on skinandhairclinic@icloud.com. An inititial skin analysis consultation costs R300. This amount will be deducted from your future booked treatments and product purchases.
We look forward to helping you get your glowing skin back.
The Skin+Hair Team
Bernitha and Andrea