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Notoriously tricky to treat (but not impossible), pigmentation is so much easier to manage when you know what you’re up against.

Most of us notice dark marks, patches and uneven skin tone that mess with our desire to have a smooth, even complexion but don’t understand what the causes of these marks are, or how to treat them.

Once you understand the spot of bother you’re in, you can figure out how it needs to be targeted and treated.

From non-invasive yet effective treatments available at Skin Renewal to effective, scripted at-home therapies, getting your glow back means regaining a uniform facial look and feel.

 

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Banishing Melasma

Known as an active or dynamic condition, melasma falls into the chronic family of pigmentation issues. This means you need to take control and manage it like you would any health condition. With Melasma, you need a clear game plan, which often means a daily well-scripted skincare regime.

Melasma affects both men and women (although women do seem to get hit the most) and any skin type (from the lightest to darkest skin tones). As much as it’s very much about hormonal flux, understanding inflammation is key to understanding melasma.

Slow and steady wins the race and ongoing care and treatment means you’re always one step ahead of your melasma marks. You can properly treat tricky melasma not only at Skin Renewal but also at home. Mesobrite is safe for all skin types and works on stubborn melasma as well as post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation (PIH). A de-pigmenting mask is applied after the skin is thoroughly prepped and its barrier has been repaired against a devious culprit – inflammation. Both inflammation and pigment are treated in a combo to help regain control. The third part is an at-home maintenance kit. This is done to hone in on the results of the in-clinic treatment. In other words, it’s all teamwork, and that’s where the magic lies.

Taking Sunspots Down

Also known as age spots, these dark marks (also unattractively referred to as liver spots sometimes), are simply due to too much sun exposure. They’re also a reminder of, you guessed it – age. Appearing where the sun naturally hits (like your shoulders, face, neck and hands), how you deal with them is varied. While it’s vital that you think of preventative measures (broad-protection SPF), if you need to go to more extreme lengths, then laser is the way to go.

From Pearl Fusion to Limelight, these laser options ensure damaged cells are broken down while new healthy skin is restored. All skin types will be safeguarded with new-age micro-needling like the Secret RF Fractional Microneedling. It combines radio frequency (heat energy) with micro-needling to help heal skin through collagen stimulation. It’s also able to refine skin texture and boost radiance with very little downtime.

Ridding Post Inflammatory Hyperpigmentation (PIH)

For many, dark marks are seen as purely cosmetic; a “beauty” issue. But having big feelings around pigmentation that crop up just because your skin was injured or inflamed is completely valid. And it’s a response so many South Africans genuinely have and feel.

Why should you have to deal with the reminder of acne, burns or even an insect bite? More common for those with dark skin types (Fitzpatrick skin types 4 to 6), the stress of “what’s going to happen next?” if you have a breakout for instance, means double to deal with. Even certain treatments – often unsuitable for your skin tone – can cause PIH, reinforcing how important a proper skin analysis and consultation is.

Luckily, the right course of therapy that helps fade discoloured patches is totally solution-based. With expert care, topical treatments like azelaic acid to advanced treatments such as chemical peels and Photo Dynamic Therapy are game changers. And even for entrenched PIH, deep treatments like Mesobrite with Brightening IV Infusions work hard to undo the damage.

While the quest for complexion perfection is often more obsession than ever having a fault-free skin, know this: if you understand your pigmentation, treating it won’t be hit or miss. You’ll be so glad you did your research and have a partner as invested in your results as your Skin Renewal team. Those skin goals you had in mind will be yours for the taking and your complexion will be the best it’s ever looked.

Speak to one of the Skin Renewal doctors sooner rather than later and banish your pigmentation issues.