We’ve all got pigment in our skin. Known as melanin, it’s the thing that gives it its colour. Hyperpigmentation, however, is where your pigmentation factories (melanocytes) go into overdrive. This can be triggered by the sun or your hormones, but either way, the result is an uneven-looking skin tone with patches of dark marks. Fortunately, at Skin Renewal, when it comes to treating hyperpigmentation, our decades of collective experience make us pros. Better yet, due to our countries fantastically diverse population, we know how to best treat it in every skin type and colour.
The right treatment for your type
What type of hyperpigmentation are we dealing with? Every skin is different, but we tend to see and treat three different types of hyperpigmentation. The most common is that caused by unprotected sun exposure. This is caused by UV rays that rev up your melanocytes, causing them to produce an excess of pigment. This eventually travels from the deeper layers of your skin up the surface. Often, exfoliation-type treatments are enough to diminish this type of hyperpigmentation but the type of solution we offer you will depend on the severity of your situation.
Another type of hyperpigmentation we treat is the hormonally-driven kind, known as melasma. This type of pigmentation can be tricky to treat because it can leach into the deeper layers of your skin. Also, there’s no point removing the dark marks if we don’t treat the cause – unbalanced hormones – as then they’ll just come back. Fortunately, the Skin Renewal team consists of highly experienced doctors who can help you bring back the balance.
The third type of dark marks we can help you shift is post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation (PIH). This is the type of hyperpigmentation that can appear after the skin suffers what it perceives to be an “injury”. This is why, after a bout of acne, eczema or even the incorrect use of a laser or microdermabrasion treatment, your skin might experience the type of inflammation that triggers the release of excess pigmentation. This is why many people think they’ve developed a “scar” after a particularly bad pimple, but that dark mark is actually PIH. While this can affect any skin type, those with darker skin are a lot more prone to it.
Real solutions, real results
One of the biggest mistakes hyperpigmentation sufferers make is that they incorrectly self-diagnose their pigmentation and then invest in the wrong products to treat it. They might also book a series of treatments that essentially aren’t what’s required to successfully shift their dark marks. For example, if you’re suffering from melasma but don’t balance your hormones – something our doctors can help you with – and undergo the kind of treatments that can reach the deeper layers of your skin, you’re not going to get results.
Fortunately, our highly-skilled Skin Renewal doctors can easily make the right diagnosis and suggest the very best treatment solutions package. For example, if your hyperpigmentation is sun-damage related and superficial, they might suggest one of our less intensive but very effective Pigmenation & Sun Damage Solutions. Many of them make use of exfoliating treatments like superficial peel and microdermabrasion, lasers such as Laser Genesis are also used.The latter is a “colourblind” laser so it’s suitable for all skin colours, including dark skin.
Suffering from melasma? You’d probably be a candidate for our Melasma & Deep Pigmentation Solutions. Many of these also include Laser Genesis as well as more intensive peels like our Dermamelan Depigmentation treatment.
The time to treat is now
So, what are you waiting for? There’s no need to keep waging a war on hyperpigmentation on your own. Make an appointment to chat with one of the doctors at Skin Renewal today. Together, we can help treat your dark marks in a way that makes a visible difference, helping you look and feel your very best.
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