Hyperpigmentation: What is it, anyway?

Oh No! What Is That Brown Spot?

As our skin ages, we start to experience all sorts of lovely changes 😉 Most common is the development of Hyperpigmentation; often referred to as sun damage.

Hyperpigmentation appears as a dark spot or area on the skin caused by an excess amount of melanin. In most cases it is harmless, but when you look in the mirror, or as we at Balance fear the most – the rearview mirror *eek!* – it can be incredibly annoying and often upsetting to find.

Most hyperpigmentation is a result of overexposure to the sun.  Remember those days of laying out on your towel for hours with your favorite bottle of tanning oil? The one with a maximum of SPF 2, if any?  Yep.  That’s when most of it happened.  Unfortunately,  we don’t see the damage we are doing right away.  It’s years later, as our skin (okay, and us too) begins to age.  Extreme hormonal and chemical changes – pregnancy, stress, illness, medication, menopause – can also trigger melanocytes to start working overtime, resulting in those lovely dark “sun spots” we are all trying to get rid of.

So, what can you do about it? Well, you’re in luck! There are a lot of effective, affordable treatments you can do to help minimize the production and appearance of hyperpigmentation.  Professional treatments such as corrective facials, chemical peels, HydraFacial treatments, and laser resurfacing are all excellent ways to combat melanin production.

In conjunction with professional treatments there are two things you MUST DO in order to have real, lasting results: be consistent with the home-care routine your Esthetician prescribes for you and ALWAYS wear sunscreen! Your professional grade home-care products will prep your skin for further corrective treatments as well as provide constant melanin suppressant support through the use of ingredients that will help slow and minimize further production of melanin in the skin. And yes, you must wear sunscreen all year long – not just in the summer! Even those pesky fluorescent lights at your office give off UV rays! Didn’t think of that, did ya? An SPF of 30 should be the final step of your daily routine, every day.

So, if you’ve started noticing some “sun spots” popping up, maybe along side a few fine lines and wrinkles you’re still hoping will just go away.. Don’t wait! Call Balance Face and Body Wellness to schedule an appointment with one our highly trained Estheticians to find out the best course of treatment for your skin.

You deserve to feel and look the BEST you can!  It doesn’t take a lot to achieve your skincare goals and it would be our pleasure to get you there!

hyperpigmentation treatment
By Michelle Cronin, Esthetician, Balance Face + Body Wellness