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As summer comes to an end, our time spent outside in the sun decreases significantly. With this being said, fall and winter are the best times to treat pigmentation and sun damage accumulated over the spring and summer months.
Here are three ways we recommend treating pigment and sun damage both in-office and at home:
1. Skincare:
Incorporating products such as an Antioxidant, a Chemical Exfoliant, a Retin-A, Pigment Correcting Serums, and Hydroquinone helps to treat the pigment and prep the skin for any treatments in-office.
Antioxidants help protect the skin from intrinsic and extrinsic aging- meaning both environmental and natural factors. This will help prevent further pigment from forming, specifically red, brown, and yellow tones in the skin.
Cameo Staff Pick: SkinBetter Science Alto Advanced Defense and Repair Serum
Chemical exfoliants contain AHA and BHAs to encourage skin cell exfoliation. This product helps to provide gentle yet effective removal of dead skin cells.
Cameo Staff Pick: ZO Skin Health Exfoliation Accelerator
Retin-A is a Vitamin A derivative (that is more potent and effective than retinol). Vitamin A encourages skin cell turnover, encouraging the newest, freshest skin cells to be on the skin’s surface. This is an essential product to incorporate into your routine if reducing pigment is one of your goals! More skin cell turnover leads to a quicker reduction of pigment.
Cameo Staff Pick: SkinBetter Science AlphaRet Intensive Overnight Serum
Pigment-correcting serums can brighten and even the appearance of skin by targeting brown patches, sun damage, discoloration, hyperpigmentation, and some instances of melasma. Additionally, serums improve the appearance of yellowing in the skin that commonly accompanies hyperpigmentation.
Cameo Staff Pick: SkinBetter Science Even Tone Correcting Serum
Hydroquinone is a depigmenting agent that works to rapidly correct uneven skin tone, discoloration, brown patches, hyperpigmentation, and melasma. This product requires a prescription and can only be acquired from a medical provider. Hydroquinone can only be used for about five months at a time to avoid your body developing a tolerance to the product. Fall and winter is the most ideal time of year to incorporate this product into your regimen.
Cameo Staff Pick: ZO Skin Health Pigment Control Crème
2. Chemical Peels:
A chemical peel is an in-office treatment that improves the skin’s appearance by reducing pigmentation, sun damage, melasma, age spots, and freckling. We offer the ZO Skin Health 3-Step Peel at Cameo. During this treatment, the skin is thoroughly cleansed, and a solution is applied to the surface of the skin, which will cause it to shed and peel starting a few days later. The peel solution from ZO is a moderate-depth peel that contains a blend of salicylic, lactic, and trichloracetic acid. Following the peel solution, a retinol and hydrating crème are applied, and the patient is sent home with these products to continue the regimen. The peeling period will last from five to ten days and will cause the top layer of skin to slough off, leaving behind glowing bright skin. Some patients require a series of chemical peels to achieve the best possible results. The fall and winter are the ideal times to complete this treatment, as you want to keep your fresh skin away from the sun to maintain pigmentation reduction.
3. IPL/Intense Pulsed Light:
An IPL treatment is another effective method to treat pigmentation, discoloration, and sun damage in-office. The IPL targets irregularities in the skin (such as dark spots, for example), and these impurities absorb the light administered from the IPL device, killing off the damaged, pigmented cells. Once these damaged cells die off, the body flushes them out, leaving even bright skin behind. The IPL requires a series of treatments to maintain the best results. Typical areas of treatment include the face, neck, décolleté and hands. We have the Harmony IPL device at Cameo.
The best way to treat pigmentation is with a combination of an at-home skincare regimen along with in-office treatments. To create a customized plan for your skin, visit us at our office at 1065-C Johnnie Dodds Blvd in Mount Pleasant, SC. To get in touch with us, call or text 843-819-5055 or DM @cameo.facial.aesthetics on Instagram!
