The key to tackling pigmentation is to identify the type of pigmentation you have, know its triggers and learn how to manage and maintain your skin to ensure it doesn't reoccur once you have it under control.
Postinflammatory Hyperpigmentation (PIH)
This type of pigmentation occurs due to injury or inflammation. For example, if you suffered from acne in the past you're often left with brown spots where there used to be acne lesions. This is due to squeezing, picking and the inflammatory nature of the acne lesions.
Treatment Options:
Consult a Skin Renewal Doctorso that the severity of the condition can be assessed and analysed. Luckily this type of pigmentation can be treated fairly easily through chemical peels, Limelight, Laser Genesis, Microdermabrasion and Transdermal Mesotherapy.
Sun Damage and Sun Spots
Repeated sun exposure causes this type of pigmentation - the older we get, the more the sun damage from our youth rises to the surface. You can however also get pigmentation from just one bad case of sunburn.
Treatment Options:
Consult a Skin Renewal doctor to ascertain the severity of the condition and the integrity and hydration of the skin. This type of pigmentation can be treated with Fraxel DUAL, Pearl Fusion, chemical peels, Limelight, Laser Genesis, carboxytherapy, microdermabrasion and Transdermal Mesotherapy.
Hormonal Pigmentation (Melasma)
Melasma is one of the most difficult types of pigmentation to treat as it has multiple internal and external triggers, including hormones, leaky gut syndrome, uncontrolled inflammation in the body, etc. Unfortunately, it's like a disease that you will have to manage and maintain for the rest of your life as the chances of reoccurrence are high if not managed correctly.
Treatment Options:
This is more challenging to treat and may require intervention by a Health Renewal doctor who can order blood tests to investigate hormonal profiles, gut health, and possible deficiencies. Generally, hormonal pigmentation requires gut restoration, hormone balancing and a reduction in inflammation, before in-clinic treatments will work. Topical treatments are used to suppress pigmentation while targeted treatments such as MesoBrite™ and MesoBrite Lite™ and non-inflammatory treatments like Mesotherapy slowly and systematically target the pigmented areas.
Hypopigmentation
Hypopigmentation is when an area/s of the skin starts to lose pigment, and you're left with white patches or spots. Again, it's very difficult to treat as it can have multiple causes, including injury, severe sun damage, scarring and certain diseases. In some cases, especially when related to diseases that completely destroy the pigment producing cells (melanocytes), hypopigmentation is completely irreversible.
Treatment Options:
It is essential to first consult a Skin Renewal doctor to ascertain the cause and whether there is any chance of restoring the natural pigmentation process by the melanocytes (pigment-producing cells). If not, your only option is to replace the pigment artificially, using permanent makeup.