Are you noticing brown spots on your face? Perhaps some brown splotches here and there? What about uneven skin tone? These are all signs of Hyperpigmentation.

Hyperpigmentation is a common skin condition where patches of skin become darker than the surrounding area due to excess melanin production. While it’s usually harmless, hyperpigmentation can affect your appearance and confidence.

Hyperpigmentation can result from a variety of factors, including sun exposure, hormonal changes, and skin trauma. The good news is there are effective ways to address it and even prevent it from worsening.

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What Causes Hyperpigmentation?

Sun Exposure: The most common cause of hyperpigmentation is sun exposure. UV rays stimulate melanin production, which can lead to dark spots or “sun spots,” especially on areas frequently exposed to the sun like the face, hands, and shoulders.

Hormonal Changes: Conditions like melasma, which is triggered by hormonal fluctuations (often during pregnancy or while taking birth control), can cause brown or gray patches on the skin, primarily on the face.

Aging: As we age, our skin’s ability to regenerate decreases, leading to dark spots and patches, often referred to as age spots.

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So, What Can You Do About It?

Fortunately, several treatments and practices can help lighten dark spots and prevent future pigmentation issues:

Sun spots, for example, tend to see fantastic results with Photo Facial treatments. Sun spots are most commonly located in the upper layer of the skin (epidermis), and usually respond well to treatment. Most often, we see significant improvement in even just one treatment. For best results, we recommend a series of 1-3 treatments.

If we don't see marked improvement after your first 2-3 treatments, it is most likely that the hyperpigmentation is lying deeper in the skin layers (dermis). If that is the case, we may recommend laser or C02 treatments. Every client and skin issue is unique, and may respond differently to treatment.

If, however, you are seeing splotches or blotches of hyperpigmentation, that is often a sign of Melasma.

Melasma -- commonly known as a "pregnancy mask" is a hormonal issue. It is easily stimulated by sun exposure and even heat. This is a more difficult form of pigment to treat as it can be aggravated by IPL or photo facial treatments (heat based treatments), therefore we typically recommend peels and microneedling which will help with the reduction of the hyperpigmentation and rebuilding of collagen, helping to improve skin function.

Regardless of the treatment, though, when treating any form of hyperpigmentation, we can't emphasize enough the importance of a proper skin care regimen. You must absolutely wear daily sunscreen and use a melanin inhibiting serum daily as well. Without a proper regimen, treatment results are generally temporary. Unfortunately, once the melanocytes are damaged, there is no real way to repair them. We can only help them to work better.

Remember your skin is your best accessory! Nurture it now and it will look fabulous as you age….gracefully of course.