It’s all about pigmentation...

In my last 2 pieces, we covered Sun Pigmentation and Post-Acne Pigmentation, how we get them and how to get rid of them. If you missed them, and wish to have a little read, go ahead and click on them!

In this final piece, we’re going to cover Age Spots and the elusive Hormonal Pigmentation.

Age Spots

Let’s begin with Age Spots, also known as Liver Spots due to their colour and irregular shape.

How do we get it?

Age Spots tend to start appearing after the age of 40, which is when our skin begins its true ageing process. When our skin has entered this dimension, it tends to want to protect itself more than it has done in the past, mainly against environmental aggressors. The result is that it consistently produces more melanin (pigment), to act as a shield, creating these Age Spots.

The main culprit here, again, is unfortunately the sun. Overexposure to the sun in our younger years promotes our skin to produce high concentrations and build-ups of melanin, which eventually come to the surface in our later years.

How do we treat it?

As discussed many times when talking about the dreaded “Pigmentation”, prevention is absolutely ALWAYS key! Don’t allow your skin to burn, it’s as easy as that …. It’s just a shame we didn’t care much about it in our more youthful years as we tried to glint every shred of warmth and glow the sun could give us!

But it is treatable!

There are several ways of treating this type of pigmentation, our favourite way is to treat is with an acid peel. Due to the strength of this peel, we only provide it professionally in our clinic, so it’s unfortunately not a home-use product.

The Soin aux Acides de Fruits is an acid peel which is completely full to the brim with fruit acids. Each one works on a different aspect of the ageing process;

• some work on revitalising the skin and giving you that glow
• some work on ironing out the wrinkles
• some work on plumping up the skin
• some work on refining the skin and providing that baby soft and renewed feel
• some are concentrated exclusively on age pigmentation, and slowly eradicating these age spots.

As always, our approach is always the one which we believe will be the most effective, whilst still respecting your skin and focusing on creating as little damage as possible. So little, that neither your skin nor you will notice the damage, and only benefit from the beautiful results!

However, there are always other options out there, which are much more abrasive, can create side effects such as itching, burning or sensitivity, or even scarring, but can also be quite effective. Although we do not offer these services, I have listed them below:

• Medications such as prescription bleaching creams (hydroquinone)
• Laser and IPL Treatments
• Cryotherapy (freezing)

Regardless of which treatment you choose, please do protect your skin during this time using a breathable SPF. Your skin will be sensitised as you will be removing some layers of skin, so always protect and care for your skin. The main products I would recommend whilst going through any of these skin resurfacing treatments would be the following:

Emulsion Gel Biosensible - for a non-oily tendency skin to not only soothe the skin, but also to reconstruct and repair it. It’s immensely comforting and an absolute MUST following any damaging treatment or surgery.

Emulsion Gel Biosensible S.R. - which stands for Sebo-Regulating. So this emulsion does pretty much the same as the one above, but it’s formulated for an oily tendency skin.

The Protection U.V.  as you will always need to protect your skin whilst you’re experiencing these treatments. Our SPF not only protects your skin from UVA rays, but it also protects from UVB rays and infrared radiation, so you’ll be completely covered … literally!

Hormonal Pigmentation

Now, the elusive Hormonal Pigmentation, also known as Melasma.

Melasma usually appears in darker irregular shapes, but they are well demarcated. It can appear on the upper cheek, nose, lips, upper lip and forehead.

How do we get it?

Melasma is thought to occur due to the female sex hormones oestrogen and progesterone, and when there are specific surges of these hormones. This can occur during pregnancy or if the pill is taken. In most cases, when the hormones regulate again, the Melasma pigmentation disappears (although it can take several months), however it can also remain, which is when we need to give it a helping hand!

How do we treat it?

There are many different theories on the best and most effective ways of removing melasma, but there is also a lot of confusion. In my experience, there in no point trying to treat the melasma whilst the hormones are surging or are unbalanced, as it will only keep coming back. So at this time, the focus should be on regulating your hormones ladies, not on trying all these different methods to rid ourselves of these patches, only to find out they have not gone anywhere or have creeped back onto the very same spot they were on in the first place! We have to deal with the root cause, and that is our blasted hormones.

In the meantime, so as not to exacerbate the situation, avoid sunlight as it will stimulate the pigment and make your patches worse. Apply Protection U.V. to the entire area, or even just on the areas which are affected.

Once we think our hormones have stabilised, wait a couple of months to see if the melasma is fading or disappearing on its own. It may do so, and your troubles will be over! If, however, it doesn’t seem to be going anywhere, the usual treatments for sun pigmentation will sort it out for you.

This would conclude my Pigmentation Saga. It really is something that rears its ugly head, in its many shapes and forms, to all of us at one point or another, and we feel that we’re stuck with it because it’s so stubborn. But as you can see, in the vast majority of cases, it is actually treatable. So I hope I have injected some hope and clarity regarding Pigmentation, and as always, please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions regarding this subject or any other regarding skin.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to email us at concierge@embassyofbeauty.co.uk or call us on 020 3358 9998. We’re always more than happy to give you advice on pigmentation issues or any other skin concerns!