The simple truth about HYPER-PIGMENTATION.

One of the most common skin care concerns for especially women are hyperpigmentation – or some refer to it as brown marks/patches on their skin (facial area).

What are the most common causes?

1. Age (and sun exposure) – Due to years of sun damage you see sun spots/age spots/liver spots appear on sun exposed areas as you get older.
2. Hormones (and sun exposure) – Many women develop a type of hyperpigmentation called chloasma during pregnancy but this can actually appear any time during a woman’s life.  It generally only appears during the late 20’s and can progressively get worse.
3. Inflammation (and sun exposure) – Some people hyperpigment as part of the healing process (inflammation) after an injury.  You often see this in acne sufferers.
4. Other – for example certain types of medication/diseases and chemicals (like certain perfumes) can cause hyperpigmentation.

You will see that all these factors go hand in hand with SUN EXPOSURE.  So sun exposure is the COMMON DENOMINATOR.

What can you do about it?

Let’s BE REAL about this before I get into who you can see and what you can potentially do…

Hyperpigmentation in MANY cases is something that you will struggle with to a certain extent for the rest of your life.  You might be able to lighten it when doing treatments/using products, but the chances of it disappearing completely and staying away is very RARE.

So you need to learn to manage it.  What I mean by this is that you learn to:

1. Properly protect your skin from the SUN (An effective UVB/UVA + anti-oxidant sunscreen and things like a hat when outside).
2. You might decide to regularly go for a skin treatment that treats hyperpigmentation
3. Use a product for hyperpigmentation together with your other skin care products
4. Get good quality make-up if you feel you would like to camouflage it a bit during the day.

Hyperpigmentation is a condition that is understood by the medical and skin care community to an extent, and there are many products and treatments that claim to be effective.

But I once had a chat with a renowned dermatologist (from Johannesburg) who did his thesis on hyperpigmentatoin – and he told me that he believed it is something that is not yet understood 100% and there is nothing yet on the market that can claim that it will work 100%!

So my suggestion:

USE SUNBLOCK EVERY DAY!

Chat to your dermatologist/skin care specialist about your treatment and product options – BUT BE REALISTIC IN YOUR EXPECTATIONS.

AND FINALLY… Love yourself and your skin… I can promise you that you are more aware and self-conscious about it than anyone else!  Take good care of your skin and do what you can, but don’t obsess about it… Because it IS a difficult one…and best made peace with to a certain extent…and managed well.

Love Helene xxx

PS.  I am not going to talk about product options in this blog… Will have to cover it in another blog – so much to say but I want to keep my blogs short(ish) 😉

 

Sunblock – your cheapest anti-ageing skin product?

A respected medical doctor in the skin care industry recently made this comment, and it stuck with me.  He said that wearing a sunblock every day is your cheapest anti-ageing skin care product.  Some food for thought if you are interested in maintaining your skin health and youth.

Approximately 80% of the skin ageing that has happened in your skin is caused by UVR.  Physical signs of ageing – Facial lines, wrinkles, age spots, sagging and dull skin to name a few.  UVA and UVB are by far the biggest culprits when it comes to skin damage and ageing – so it is a VERY GOOD idea to wear a BROAD SPECTRUM sunblock.  See my post on this here.

Have a look at this shocking image of a truck driver exposed to the sun for years on end on the driver’s side.  It clearly shows how the exposure to UVR has AGED his skin significantly more than just chronological (genetic) skin ageing.

Some practical tips:

1.  Apply a liberal amount (some say at least a teaspoon!) every morning on the face and neck after applying your other skin care products.  Apply make-up over your sun protection product.
2. Don’t fall in the trap of thinking that your make-up’s SPF is sufficient.
3. If you have an outdoor lifestyle you might want to consider re-applying around midday.
4. In general – try to stay out of direct sunlight between at least 11 and 3.
5. Cover up with protective clothing, wear a hat when you can and put on those gorgeous big sun glasses for protection of your eyes and the delicate skin around the eyes.
6. Don’t neglect your neck and décolleté as well as forearms and hands!

Have a look at this cool video showing how important wearing sunscreen is!

Love

Helene x x x