Winter is pigment removal time.
With the best will in the world, it is during the summer months that our skin pigmentation worsens. Even if we avoid sun exposure, the heat of summer will darken our pigment spots. Every year that we ignore pigment, it tends to worsen and darken.
For this reason, pigmentation, both hormonal and sun damage, has become a huge concern for most people. At IHA, we have done some research to find out how one can minimize the appearance and in some cases actually reduce the pigment in totality.
Pigmentation appears on the skin with the activation of, already present but “sleeping” melanocytes, which are the cells that produce pigment in our skin & hair. Melanocytes are present on the lower layer of the epidermis (the most superficial layer) and the top of the dermis (our spongey middle layer), and have little “arms” that reach into both layers, delivering melanin particles to these sites. The more concentrated and more melanin particles, the more visible the pigment becomes topically.
The key to reducing pigment is to shorten the little “arms” and stop the delivery pathway of the melanin into the epidermis and dermis.
We have the technology to treat pigment effectively with a certain fraxel laser or a Cosmelan mask, but this comes with a hefty price tag of about R20 000, with no promises that the pigment won’t come back next summer. There are also plenty of cheap pigment treatments that promise much but deliver little.
So, at IHA, we have been working hard to find you a pigment solution that is truly effective but does not cost an arm and a leg. We would like to share with you our 3-step regime to tackle pigmentation:
- Melanostop Treatment from Mesoestetic: a chemical peel with minimal discomfort, no downtime and a glow, combined with
- Minimally invasive, no downtime, microneedling, at a very superficial depth to aid the penetration of their Depigmention Solution Serum, which will “switch off/shorten the little arms” of melanin production
- The use of a home serum to prolong the benefits and further work to switching off and shortening these arms. (this step is seen as the training for your marathon and the treatments for your marathon, in the skin’s world, of course)
You should start to see improvements in superficial and deeper pigmentation after the first treatment; however, the best results are attained by doing 5 treatments 2 weeks apart and all in combination.
If you are worried about your pigment, then winter is the time to address it.
Please contact Nina or Bo-Dene at the clinic for a free skin assessment to help you decide what is the best way forwards for your skin.
