If you’re anything like us, you find yourself gazing at your morning flat white/perfect steamed filet-of-fish bun/bowl of melted chocolate and think: “what’s her secret”. Apart from a tasty snack, their totally smooth, completely even and almost creamy complexion has you enraptured. We get it, us too. The eternal search for bright, clear even skin tone and texture is one we’re all too familiar with.
Whether your facial pigmentation has popped up as a result of Post Inflammatory Hyperpigmentation (PIH) (that’s the dark spots left behind after pesky blemishes), or whether you’re experiencing pregnancy-related melasma, spend a little too long under the sun in your youth or some other variation which has caused an uneven spread of pigment across your face - we’ve got options.
This is a toughie, because of all the skin concerns, pigmentation is one of the most difficult to treat, and can easily come back or be exacerbated.
The first step is a solid pigmentation serum - for some, this is a Vitamin C Serum for treating pigmentation, for others it might be an exfoliating serum such as a Glycolic Acid Serum for pigmentation, or perhaps a lactic acid or mandelic acid serum for those with more sensitive skin. You may even like to layer serums, or to create a morning and evening routine that takes different approaches. A Vitamin C Serum morning serum and an evening exfoliating serum is a great place to start.
You may like to support that with further pigmentation products, for example, a cleanser that helps with pigmentation or a moisturiser that targets pigmentation.
The other essential step is SPF. Every day. No really, every day. Pigmentation is the same as freckles, whether its acne marks, melasma or otherwise, and so pigmentation darkens in the sun. That means a dedicated SPF 30 product every day - not just an SPF15 in your foundation or moisturiser. And SPF50 is even better, but don’t forget to reapply!
Absolutely! Vitamin C is a fantastic ingredient for targeting pigmentation (among its antioxidant and anti-ageing properties too!)
Vitamin C helps by acting as a tyosinase inhibitor, which is one of the enzymes that promotes melanin production. It’s also a great ingredient because it will lighten pigmentation, without lightening the rest of your skin.
The same way you target other forms of pigmentation. It might sound strange, but you will need to wear daily SPF and target it with Vitamin C, a tyrosinase inhibitor or another exfoliating serum just the way you would for melasma.
