Hyperpigmentation - How to get rid of those ugly brown spots.

Hyperpigmentation - Those Ugly Brown Spots!

What causes these skin discolorations and more importantly, what gets rid of the ugly brown spots that make us look old?

The brown spots we get on our skin happen from an irregular distribution of melanin. Either this can result in melasma, which is an uneven production of melanocytes causing light brown spots; or in lentigos (age spots) which are an uneven accumulation of melanocytes in the epidermis resulting in brown spots.

The melanocyte cells are located in the basal cell skin layer. These cells control the making of melanin, which gives each person their coloring. The rate of melanin production differs between each person being greater in dark skinned individuals.

Outside factors also affect the production of melanin, which may cause brown spots:

• Sun exposure
  
• Certain medications & chemicals
  
• Hormones – pregnancy, menopause, birth control pills
  
• Underlying health problems – nervous disorders
  
• Acne
  

Melasma produces irregular, pale brown blotches that usually appear on the nose, cheeks, forehead, and upper chest. On darker skin, the blotches show up lighter than the surrounding skin.

Melasma is common during pregnancy, menopause and in woman taking oral contraceptives. Sun exposure will make the brown spots worse.

Lentigos, also known as age or liver spots, are flat, light reddish-brown spots that appear on the face, throat, chest, back of hands, upper back and shoulders. Lentigos typically show up on skin, which is repeatedly exposed to sunlight. The ultraviolet sunlight causes overstimulation of the melanocyte cells in the skin. The cells clump together and show up as age spots.

Lentigos spots can vary in size from small to a couple of inches in width. They happen more often on light-skinned people and can start to be noticeable as early as the age of 30.

Even though both of these melanin-produced spots are harmless, they are unattractive to most people. So what gets rid of them?

The treatment options for erasing brown spots are-

Over the counter products include:

Bleaching (depigmenting) products which include-

Hydroquinone (use only on fair to light skin tones – possibly irritating)
Kojic Acid (an alternative for darker skin tones)
Azelaic Acid
Arbutin
Ellagic Acid


Retinoids (Retinoic Acid)
Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid)
Alpha Hydroxy Acids

Other ingredients with skin lightening effects:

Bearberry Extract
Licorice Extract
Mulberry Extract

Treatments available through a professional:

Laser Treatments (less damaging to skin)
Chemical Face Peels (irritating but faster than over the counter products)
Freezing the area with liquid nitrogen (may cause white spots)


Bleaching products work by inhibiting the production of the enzyme tyrosinase, which in turn reduces melanin. Using a bleaching product will fade brown spots. Depending on how strong the active ingredient is, it can take from 6 weeks to 6 months to fade out the spots.

Since these products are not really bleaching your skin, but stopping the over production of melanin; bleaching products will not lighten skin beyond its’ own natural color. So do not worry about losing your natural skin color.

Retinoids, Vitamin C, and Alpha Hydroxy Acids can slowly fade brown spots on their own. However, they are best used in conjunction with bleaching products since they will boost the overall effectiveness of the treatment.

So if you do not wish to seek professional help, here is what you need to do to fade your brown spots:

1) choose a bleaching product based on your skin's sensitivity and coloring.
fair to light/medium skin can use hydroquinone
medium/ darker skin should use kojic acid, arbutin, azeliac acid, ellegic acid
sensitive skin should use hydroquinone with caution - test skin first

2) If you wish, you may speed up results by adding an AHA or BHA to your regime. This will help exfoliate the pigmented skin cells fading the spot quicker.

3) Adding Vitamin C and a retinoid product will also hasten your results, BUT all these products used together may cause skin irritation. Consider starting with a bleaching product for a week, then start to add in the other products week by week. This will allow your skin to adjust and cause less irritation.

4) Apply products in this order:
Vitamin C serum (apply morning and night)
Bleaching Product (apply morning and night - make sure to cover the area completely)
AHA or BHA (apply morning only)
Retinoid (apply night only)
Sunscreen (apply morning and as needed)

If you are not using all these products, just leave out what you are not using and apply the rest as shown.

Always use adequate sun protection when using any of these ingredients.
Your skin will be extra sensitive to the sun. In addition, if you are using a hydroquinone product, it will be rendered useless if you do not use sunscreen.

http://www.better-skin-care.com/

Your complete online guide for all things skin!

Skin Care Product Labels - Learn how to read the ingredient list.

The ingredient list has lots of good information about what’s in the skin care product. It is a waste of time and money if the product you are using has nothing in it in a quantity that can help your skin.

The best feature about the ingredient list is that US federal regulations require ingredients to be listed beginning with the largest concentration down to the smallest concentration. One problem though - the FDA requires there be no distinction made between active and inactive ingredients on the label.

Active ingredient: is the substance in a skin care product
that is pharmaceutically active. In other words, what makes the product work.

Don’t expect most active ingredients to top the list or even be second.
Most of the time the first ingredient will be water (aqua), oil, or whatever base is being used to produce the product.
This is OK. Active ingredients don’t need to be first to work.
They just need to have sufficient concentration which will vary quite a bit between ingredients.

The position of the ingredient on the list can at least give you a good idea if the concentration is in its’ active range. Another option is to email or phone the company who makes the product you are interested in and ask about the concentration of active ingredients.

An example of how to compare ingredient lists for active products:

If you are looking for a product that has retinol, and are down to a couple different choices -
First count how many total ingredients are listed on each product.
If the total is close – say one has 12 ingredients and the other has 14, this is good for comparison. Then count down from the first ingredient until you reach retinol.
If you find retinol listed as # 6 on one product and #10 on the other product, then the # 6 listed is the product contains more active retinol.

Product Labels and the Rule of Thirds

Another way to think about product labels is to do it in thirds.
The top third of ingredients listed generally consist of around 80 to 90% of the entire product.
The middle third represents around 5 to 8% of the product.
The bottom third rounds out the rest of the ingredients at 1 to 3%.


A few more ingredient tips:

• Any ingredients with concentrations below 1% may be listed in any order. After 1%, the FDA is not that particular about the order.
  
• Fragrances and color additives are usually listed last not considering concentrations. Although their concentrations are usually low.
  
• When checking ingredients, make sure they are compatible with your skin. Avoid ingredients you think you might be sensitive to or test a small skin area first.
  

For a complete guide to skin care -

check out http://www.better-skin-care.com