We are all bound to suffer from hyper-pigmentation at one point in our lives. Whether you like it or not, and regardless of your age, DNA, hormonal balance or imbalance, sun exposure or not, hyper-pigmentation always happens to invade your peace and privacy and wrecking havoc on your skin totally unwelcome. Hyper-pigmentation; sun spots, dark spots, or age spots, what ever names you go by, you SUCK! Really! Considering that I am one of the millions of women out there struggling with the fact that nothing so far has ever efficiently and effectively worked to erase those nasty skin blotches for good, and that working on inhibiting the process might exist without guaranteed results, I have reached to a point where giving it one last chance is all I have got for you my ladies. Let’s try and banish hyper-pigmentation once and for all, let’s make sure we are giving our all before we raise the white flag, you never know it might be worth it! Let’s all unite against this skin enemy, before we consider them our lifetime tattoos!!!
From the mildest to the nastiest form of hyper-pigmentation, here’s a rundown of your best options to annihilate hyper-pigmentation plus the top products recommended for every solution..
*HP is short for hyper-pigmentation*
1 || Sunblock
You’re young and want to avoid HP? You already started developing them and want to stop them? You are way beyond a beginner sufferer from HP to the point where you they conquered quite a noticeable territory on your visage? Any situation you find yourself in, daily sunscreen must be the basis of your skincare. Full stop! Without that being the case, don’t bother to read on, honestly..
2 || Vitamin C In Serum Form
THE most crucial antioxidant-rich serums are those potent in vitamin C. This vitamin helps brighten skin’s appearance all over, including those pesky marks. Use a stabilized formula and make sure the bottle is in a dark tint. Put this on every morning. If you want to go that extra mile, start swallowing vitamin C pills, however, always go for the Liposomal formula, it tends to be absorbed much better.
3 || Acid Cleansers
A.k.a. AHA’s and BHA’s. Cleansers with beta hydroxy acids, like salicylic, and alpha hydroxyl acids, like glycolic and lactic, are marketed to teens and those who suffer from acne (so perfect if your discoloration comes from pimples). Those can also help other skin types by gently exfoliating the surface and unclogging pores, and help in fading marks as well.
4 || Targeted Spot Treatments
Concentrated doses target really deep and tough spots. Brightening ingredients to look for are peony and licorice root extract, kojic acid, vitamin C and E, niacinamide, and alpha arbutin.
5 || The Patch Technology
This might be the new method we never mentioned to you before. A few brands have developed nightly patches with a rare technology behind them. By sticking a circular patch over a dark spot, this will send microcurrents down into your skin. The microcurrents diminish discoloration with the help of retinol, peptides, and niacinamides, which are all fused into the cloth sticker.
6 || Tough-ER Brightening Serums
If your case is advanced and you want a more invasive treatment, reach for an intense formula. The most popular one amongst the choices below would be SkinMedica’s Lytera 2.0 Correcting Serum. The four hero ingredients (with super science-y names like tranexamic acid, phenylethyl resorcinol, niacinamide, and tetrapeptide-30) are major correctors that are safe for all skin types and tones. It evens out the entire face, not just the dark spots.
7 || OTC Retinol or Retinoid
Of course this do-everything ingredient also helps with pigmentation. By speeding up cell turnover, it penetrates really deep into the skin and interferes with pigment production..
8 || Hydroquinone
Although a disliked ingredient in the beauty hub, prescription hydroquinone reduces the production of melanin in your skin. However this hardcore topical has some side effects—increased exposure to UV radiation, sensitivity to sunlight, and irritation—so it’s best to proceed with caution and be extra protective of the skin while using it. If you don’t want to go all the way with a prescription, the Murad Rapid Age Spot and Pigment Lightening Serum.
9 || Microdermabrasion And Salicylic Acid Peel
Microdermabrasion when gentle enough is a great option to buff away the top layer of the skin revealing the new (and less pigmented) layers underneath. As for salicylic acid, it should be applied in the 20-30 percent range. It will penetrat down into the oil glands, but it also has this great ability to lift that stain left behind from the inflammation. Try and get one peel every month.
10 || Last But Not Least; Lasers
When all the above fails, this means your pigmentation is thriving in a deeper level than you think. Almost acting like a tattoo. Q-Switch Laser, which is actually originally used to remove tattoos uses low heat and energy, so it won’t make pigmentation or inflammation worse, and because it’s a longer wavelength, it’s safe for all skin tones too.
