It’s no secret that the harsh winter months can have dire effects on your skin. You would think that with all the rain your skin wouldn’t dry up as it does, but the wintery air, combined with that aircon-driven warm air once you hit the office, means you can say goodbye to any glow – and hello to awful pigmentation.

However, if you change up your beauty routine just a tad in the winter, those effects can be averted.

Sort of.

The problem is that there are various kinds of pigmentations your skin can be vulnerable to, and it all depends on what type of skin you have.

Considered a chronic skin condition, pigmentation that occurs on the face in the form of brown patches that needs lifelong management.

Yup, if you manage it right, it can be avoided. Here are the various pigmentations that can affect you:

A less easier one to avoid, hormonal pigmentation can be triggered with any change in one’s hormonal status, where estrogen levels are increased, for example during pregnancy, or during hormone replacement therapy.

There’s also Post Inflammatory Hyperpigmentation (or PIH), caused mainly by chronic inflammation of the skin caused by acne or dermatitis.

UVA rays from the sun stimulate melanin, the body’s natural brown pigment. If the melanin leaches into the dermis, it is known as Dermal Pigmentation. Epidermal (or superficial) pigmentation is the most common and can be treated with a combination of chemical peels.

Whether or not you see it as a problem, the evidence of sun damage only shows at a later stage. Because of the intensity of our sun, South African women often face pigmentation issues – just one day of sun exposure can do real damage.

Fortunately there are treatments available to safely deal with pigmentation, but you do need to know what kind of pigmentation you’re dealing with, and what the severity of it is:

• First off, you need to visit Skin Renewal. A consultant will look at your skin and determine which kind of pigmentation is affecting you.
• You will then go ahead with a skin peel, depending on your consultation results. For each pigmentation, there’s a peel to help – here’s a summary of peels.

The skin peels will result in a substantial improvement in uneven pigmentation, while making your skin look and feel softer, smoother and more radiant.

And while the winter months bring harsh conditions for your skin, they are more ideal for treatments such as peels due to the limited sun exposure.

Competition

To win a consultation and a peel with Skin Renewal (value determined after the patient’s’ consultation, ranging between R525 and R1000), email us at henk@2oceansvibemedia.com and explain why it is important to look after you skin and why you need it.

Let’s face it – a day of treatment is EXACTLY what you need..