This Is How Skin Peels Help Fix Your Hyperpigmentation
Hyperpigmentation is very common in our sunny South Africa – winter and summer. Chemical skin peels are an extremely effective professional hyperpigmentation treatment. How do skin peels work and what are the best hyperpigmentation products to use safely in between peels?
Let’s start with the condition:
WHAT IS HYPERPIGMENTATION
The colour and tone of our skin comes from its pigment. It comes from a natural organic molecule our bodies produce called melanin. More melanin means darker skin. And less melanin gives lighter skin. All skin types have melanin, just in different quantities.
Now, for the ideal skin tone, you want every part of your skin to contain the same amount of melanin. When skin becomes “hyper” pigmented, some parts of the skin start producing too much melanin. The result is hyperpigmentation: areas of skin with spots, dark marks, freckles or patches that are darker the skin around it.
WHAT CAUSES HYPERPIGMENTATION
We distinguish between 3 main types of hyperpigmentation.
Sun-induced hyperpigmentation is caused by sun exposure: Melanin is your skin’s natural sun-defence mechanism, so being in the sun a lot triggers your skin to produce more of it.
Hormonal hyperpigmentation is caused by an imbalance or fluctuation in hormones: One of the most common forms is melasma, which affects women during pregnancy and after childbirth, but can also flare up from using contraceptives (anything that changes the balance in your hormones).
Post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation is caused by inflammatory skin lesions: Acne, wounds, burns – any kind of injury that causes inflammation in the skin can trigger it. Discoloured skin from acne and pimples is a very common example of this type of hyperpigmentation.
HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO GO AWAY?
Individual dark spots and marks are often temporary, but note that a single spot of hyperpigmented skin can take anywhere between a few months to two years to fade away on its own. If you don’t treat the underlying cause, more dark spots will keep forming in that time. To really get rid of hyperpigmentation, you need to have it treated.
HYPERPIGMENTATION TREATMENTS
Treating hyperpigmentation is two-fold: You want to treat the condition in the long term, by employing a specialised product such as an advanced hyperpigmentation Moisturiser.
You also want to get rid of the existing dark marks and spots. The most effective ways to get rid of unwanted hyperpigmentation in the short to medium term is to stay out of the sun (the sun worsens all types of hyperpigmentation) and boost skin cell turnover. Basically, you want your skin to shed: to strip away dead and dying skin cells at a faster rate. This will allow new, even-tone skin cells to take their place.
And one of the most popular and effective treatment options is having Lamelle skin peels.
WHAT ARE CHEMICAL SKIN PEELS AND ARE THEY GOOD FOR YOUR SKIN?
Our bodies naturally shed skin cells – about 40 000 per hour or 1 million of them per day (you have about 1.6 trillion of them, and they all live for only about four weeks before they need to be shed). It’s a completely natural process that’s vital for keeping you and your skin in top health.
This is how your skin regenerates. It’s vital for life. But, as we get older, our skins often have trouble shedding at the right time. That’s when you start getting poor complexion, enlarged pores etc.
Chemical skin peels do exactly what the name says. They assist your body in “peeling” away old and unwanted skin cells, to speed up the regeneration process. The skin peel breaks the bonds between old, unwanted cells, making them “drop off”, to allow new cells to grow in their place. So, yes, skin peels can be very good for your skin.
This process gets rid of the dark spots of hyperpigmented skin cells faster. This allows the new, even-tone cells to take their place. So doing, the hyperpigmentation goes away faster.
TYPE OF SKIN PEELS: THE BEST FOR HYPERPIGMENTATION TREATMENT
Your skincare therapist or doctor will advise you which peel is best for your individual skin. But, in general, we use three main types of skin peels to treat hyperpigmentation.
1. Glycolic Acid – Alpha Peel
Part of the fruit acid family, glycolic acid peels are alpha-hydroxy acids and one of the mildest and most popular types of skin peels available. Used to treat epidermal hyperpigmentation (on the surface layers of the skin), it’s an ideal lunchtime peel since there’s no downtime after the treatment.
Recovery time: None – no need to take off work/school, just follow your therapist’s after-care and moisturising instructions for a few days.
Side effects: None – your skin won’t visibly peel and there is no pain. Your skin might feel a bit dry and tight for a day or two – which is what the after-care moisturising treatment is for.
2. Salicylic Acid – Beta Peel
Called “beta” because it’s a beta-hydroxy acid, the alpha’s slightly harder working cousin. Salicylic acid peels also exfoliate (make skin shed) the top layers of skin like alpha peels, but they have an added antibacterial effect and helps clean and renew pores in the face.
We use salicylic acid peels to treat all three types of hyperpigmentation. Like alpha peels, only a qualified skincare therapist or doctor can do the treatment on you.
Recovery time: None – no need to take off work/school, just follow your therapist’s after-care and moisturising instructions for 2-3 days.
Side effects: None – your skin will flake slightly and there is no pain. Your skin might feel a bit dry and tight for a day or two – which is what the after-care moisturising treatment is for.
3. Trichloroacetic – TCA Peel
TCA is an acid that doctors often in medicine to destroy or kill unwanted skin imperfections, such as warts. A special variation of TCA that Lamelle Research Laboratories designed to be used on the face is stronger and penetrate deeper than the other peels. We use it to treat really deep-seated hyperpigmentation.
A popular TCA peel treatment is to only use the TCA as a spot treatment along with a beta peel. This is because TCA is quite strong. Only a qualified professional can perform this treatment and it might call for some downtime.
Recovery time: Although there’s usually no need to take time off work if only small areas of skin were treated, your skin might feel sensitive for a day or two. You might want to consider taking that time to recover if the peel was performed over a large area of the skin.
Side effects: Expect some temporary sensitivity where the skin was treated, as well as dryness and parchment-like skin. This shouldn’t be prominent with small spot treatments. But if a large area of skin has been treated, it’s normal for that area of skin to turn a little darker. This skin will shed in the next day or so, to reveal youthful new skin underneath.
Because they exfoliate and promote new cell turnover, skin peels speed up the treatment of any kind of hyperpigmentation.
Speak to your skin therapist or doctor about chemical skin peels to get perfectly even-tone skin. But also remember you have to treat the underlying cause of your hyperpigmentation.
LONG-TERM HYPERPIGMENTATION TREATMENT
While skin peels help treat the condition in the short term, treating the root cause of the hyperpigmentation takes a more specialised approach. For over a decade, Lamelle Research Laboratories has been at the forefront of research and innovation in hyperpigmentation. We created the first available product range that treats the condition by influencing the steps that cause hyperpigmentation.
THE BEST FOR HYPERPIGMENTATION AT HOME: LUMINESCE RANGE
Made with a unique and scientific formulation of bio-mimicking peptides and skin-brightening ingredients, Lamelle’s Luminesce range is safe to use on all skin types and is proven to influence the formation of pigmentation in the skin. A special new delivery complex means it absorbs faster and more effectively. It now contains the skincare industry’s first-ever ingredient that influences melasma at the DNA level.
And you can use it at home, safely and as part of your skin peel treatment regimen. Discover the Luminesce range.