Hyperpigmentation Treatment in Black Skin: What You Need to Know?

Hyperpigmentation in Black and Ebony skin

Let’s not kid ourselves, most of us would love to enjoy going out without a hint of makeup on. But you might not have that level of confidence because of hyperpigmentation on your skin, a condition that can manifest as uneven discoloration, blemishes and dark spots.

Although hyperpigmentation occurs in all skin tones, it is common in different shades of brown skin and can be complex to treat.

By 2050, nearly one-half of the U.S. population will be non-white according to a study from the Department of Dermatology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston Medical Center. Obviously as diversity in the population shifts, issues relevant to darker skin tones need to be more commonly understood and recognized by the health/beauty and cosmetics industry. Imagine having balanced even-toned skin free of hyperpigmentation, melasma, and dark marks. Keep in mind flawless skin, though a sought-after feature for women that struggle with different skin conditions, doesn’t always mean healthy skin. Nevertheless, it has significance among all of us.

We’ll discover in this post how to help you treat hyperpigmentation, and thus improve your self-confidence.

What is Hyperpigmentation?

These are dark spots, patches or blotchy uneven skin tone. Hyperpigmentation on face and body can affect anyone at some point in their life and is commonly seen in darker skin shades.

Hyperpigmentation is a sign of high levels of melanin, the pigment that gives color to the skin, hair, and eyes. This happens when melanin is produced in excess in localized areas, producing the presence of hyperpigmentation

Hyperpigmentation includes:

This could be the end result of your skin’s response to inflammation, an infection or scarring, but it could equally be the result of the use of bleaching products containing substances such as hydroquinone or even dermocorticoids.

Types and Symptoms of Hyperpigmentation

Below is a table of the most common types of hyperpigmentation and their symptoms:

Type	Symptoms	Where on the body?	Who can it affect?
Age spots, also called liver spots or solar lentigines	Brown, tan, or black spots that appear on skin with sun overexposure	They commonly appear on the face and hands, or on sun-exposed areas of the body	They usually appear on older adults or after extended sun exposure
Melasma, also called chloasma or the mass of pregnancy	Large patches of darkened skin	Often appear on the forehead, face and stomach	Women, people who are pregnant or taking birth control pills, and people with black skin are more likely to develop melasma
Post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation	Spots or patches of darkened skin that appear after an inflammatory skin condition, such acne, razor bumps, or eczema	They usually appear on the face or neck but anybody area can be affected	People who have had inflammation or an injury to the skin

What are Age Spots?

Age spots (also known as sun spots) are small areas of discoloration that frequently appear on our faces, the back of our hands and other parts of the body that are regularly exposed to the sun.

Age spots are caused by an increased production of melanin. The melanin acts as your skin’s natural sunscreen by protecting from harmful UV rays, which is why people tan in the sun. Excessive sun exposure over time increases the amount of melanin your skin produces, and the result is hyperpigmentation and dark spots.

What is Melasma?

Also known as Chloasma, melasma is a condition where larger patches of hyperpigmentation develop mainly on the face. Although it can affect both genders, melasma is most common in women triggered by changes in hormone levels.

During pregnancy, endogenous hormones are produced naturally within the body and stimulate the melanocytes to produce more melanin.

• Melasma occurs in 10–15% of pregnant women. and is sometimes referred to as “the mask of pregnancy”.
• occurs in 10–25% of women taking oral contraceptives
• It is not in any way harmful but the psychological impact can be significant.

What is Post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation?

As its name suggests, post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation (PIH) occurs following skin injury or inflammation when skin is left darkened and discolored after the trauma has healed. PIH often affects people with acne and it can sometimes be triggered by skin treatments such as dermabrasion, chemical peels and laser therapy.

The more inflammation there is, the more obvious the area of discoloration will be both in terms of size and color. And, in cases where PIH is caused by acne, picking pimples can worsen the condition.

Who gets Hyperpigmentation?

It is common in men and women regardless of skin color. However, black skin is much more susceptible to these irregularities. As mentioned, this occurs when melanin is overproduced in certain areas.

However, it is important to indicate that this excess of acquired pigment can also be attributed to several previous pathological processes that affect the skin, such as infection, allergic reaction, mechanical injury, adverse reaction to a medication, phototoxic eruption, trauma (e.g., heat exposure, burns) and inflammatory disease (e.g., lichen planus, lupus erythematosus, atopic dermatitis).

Where does Hyperpigmentation come from?

Many factors can trigger an increase in melanin production, but exactly how Hyperpigmentation occurs? The main reasons are:

PIH will improve over time, but this can take anywhere from three months to three years depending on the severity of the pigmentation.

• Disease & Medication

Hyperpigmentation can also be a physical manifestation of certain illnesses. This can encompass some autoimmune and gastrointestinal diseases, metabolic disorders and vitamin deficiencies. It can also potentially be triggered by certain medications such as chemotherapy drugs, antibiotics, anti-malarials and anti-seizure drugs.

Why do we see Hyperpigmentation in a condition called Addison’s?

Addison disease most commonly results from nonspecific autoimmune destruction of the adrenal gland but can also be caused by an infection, hemorrhage or tumor that leads to damage of the adrenal cortex. we possess 2 adrenal glands that reside above both of our kidneys that regulate our metabolism and blood pressure.

Addison’s itself is a complex conditions with multiple features. The cosmetic aspect of it having its own implications that can affect the person’s level of self confidence. According to a study by George T Griffing, MD Professor Emeritus of Medicine, St Louis University School of Medicine.

The onset of symptoms most often is insidious and nonspecific:

• Hyperpigmentation of the skin often precedes all other symptoms by months to years.
• As a characteristic, it is prominent in the areas of the skin exposed to the sun such as the knuckles, the elbows, the knees, and the scars formed after the onset of the disease.
• Hyperpigmentation, however, need not be present in all long-term cases and may not be present in short-term cases.

Other skin findings include vitiligo, which most often is seen in association with hyperpigmentation in idiopathic autoimmune Addison’s disease. It is due to the autoimmune destruction of melanocytes.

Can Hyperpigmentation go away?

Hyperpigmentation can be treated. All cases are worsened by sun exposure and hyperpigmentation can spread, so proper sun care is essential.

Will Hyperpigmentation fade?

It can disappear with time, and the word time is precisely one of the keys:

• Can usually take 3 to 24 months to disappear, although in some cases it may take longer, depending on how dark the spot is compared to the surrounding skin.
• Hyperpigmentation doesn’t always fade away. Even with treatment, some may not completely erase blemishes, but they will at least lighten them considerably.
• The treatment can also help speed up fading time if you don’t want to wait for spots to clear naturally.

Some hyperpigmentation will be permanent but it really depends on the severity of the darkened skin and its extent.

Are Hyperpigmentation scars permanent?

Hyperpigmentation is not really a scar:

• Hyperpigmentation looks like a bruise, or freckles.
• Although it leaves a mark over a period of time, it does not exert any permanent damage on the follicle.
• The blemishes are flat. They are not hollow or inflated, simply a little darker than other portions of the skin.

Acne scars are the result of a loss of tissue, and this, in turn, causes an area on the skin with holes, or also an unjustified growth of tissue that can leave a scar.

Untreated severe acne can lead to permanent scars

When to see a doctor?

Certain hyperpigmented lesions on the skin such as melanoma (a type of skin cancer), can be life-threatening. it’s important to see your doctor for an evaluation

if you have any concerns about your age spots, such as if:

• They change shape, size, color.
• Become itchy.
• Start to bleed.

Hyperpigmentation Treatment: How to Get Rid of Dark Spots?

Prescription Creams & Skin Bleaching

In some cases prescription creams with tretinoin and a cortisone cream may be used. These may be somewhat irritating to sensitive skin and will take 3-6 months to produce any signs of improvement.

How exfoliation plays a major role in skin care:

• The key to a successful skin-care routine is making sure you exfoliate your skin regularly. It is not recommend that you exfoliate more than twice per week.
• Home remedies are easily doable and available for women who don’t have time.
• A sugar and honey scrub would do marvels. Mixing and mashing them together creates a natural skin exfoliator. Once you are done, add some moisturizer to your skin.

Chemical Exfoliators

Because pigmentation affects multiple layers of skin, you will need to be consistent to see the results, but it’s a great way to speed up the recovery process, especially when used in conjunction with oxyresveratrol. It gets rid of dead superficial skin cells, shed pore-clogging remains and aids in exposing a smoother complexion. Chemical exfoliators are often gentler for sensitive acne-prone skin and oily faces because they detoxify pores and eliminate bacteria but sometimes they can still be irritating. In that case an enzymatic exfoliator which is gentler is recommended.

Chemical Peels

A professional treatment such as the skin peel to treat dull and hyperpigmented skin is very effective.

1. Gently apply advanced exfoliating acids.
2. Let dead and discolored skin melts away.
3. Wait until depigmenting agents penetrate deep into the skin to mitigate hyperpigmentation at the cellular level.

Hydroquinone & Kojic Acid

These products are highly for treating the skin. Even though hyperpigmentation cream without hydroquinone exists, it is used as the standard treatment. If we want to have better results with this hyperpigmentation treatment, we can use it in combination with antioxidants, retinoid hydroxy acids.

Kojic acid, for its part, gives us results similar to those of hydroquinone and can overcome them if it is used in combination with hydroquinone and glycolic acid.

Topical Retinoids

They are prescribed for acne-related hyperpigmentation treatments. Hyperpigmentation acne occurs when a dark spot appears on the skin where a pimple was found and vanish. This rapid exfoliation can be beneficial in the fight against it. Retinoids fight acne by accelerating the rate of skin cell renewal.

Retinoid creams are composed of:

• Retin-A (tretinoin) and Retin-A Micro,
• Tazorac (tazarotene) and Differin (adapalene).

The fact that they reduce post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation while treating breakouts is an added benefit.

Which foods may help your skin and Hyperpigmentation?

How important your food really is for your skin? If you want to have beautiful, healthy-looking skin and prevent premature signs of aging, eat well, nutrition is a major factor in taking care of your skin condition and melanoma prevention.

You should eat foods that are high in antioxidants if you are prone to sensitive skin that gets affected easily.

• Deep greens, as spirulina, wheatgrass, spinach, kale, matcha, alfalfa, chlorella.
• Leafy-dark green veggies, like kale, brussels sprouts, zucchini, broccoli, peas, and leafy-greens contain lutein and zeaxanthin—carotenoids. (carotenoids filter UV radiation to help reduce oxidative stress in the skin).
• Red-pink color fruits, like berries and pomegranates, tomatoes, pink grapefruit, watermelon, papaya, and guava. (lycopene is a carotenoid that helps reduce oxidative stress that contributes to DNA damage).
• Grapes, grapes seeds, green tea, blueberries and cranberries, are high in Proanthocyanins and resveratrol.
• White and green tea are high in epigallocatechin-3-gallate. These elements have demonstrated promising anti-cancer effects toward melanoma.
• Orange-pink sea food, including algae, shrimp, lobster, crabs, red trout, and salmon, source of omega-3 and astaxanthin that has been touted as a stronger/longer-lasting antioxidant than lutein and lycopene.
• It helps protect your skin from the inside-out by scavenging free radicals and reducing inflammation).
• Drinking lots and lots of water. Water helps your skin and body rid itself of toxins, and three water bottles should be an everyday goal, at the very least.

Okay, now if you didn’t get anything out of this article I’m giving the best takeaway broken down into the 7 reasons why your hyperpigmentation isn’t getting better and what to do about it:

• Giving up too early

it takes a long time for hyperpigmentation to fade. You need to stick to a regimen for at least 3-4mths to see improvement. I oftentimes tell patients to expect to not see dramatic changes until even 6 mths out after they begin a regimen.

• Stop picking at your skin!

Your creating more injury, scars and discoloration

• Not using enough sunscreen. Yes, dark skin needs sunscreen too!

If you don’t have adequate sun protection (spf 30) over your skin than expect that dark spot to tan and pigment. Sunscreen is the first step to prevention and also to preventing dark spots from getting worse. Use physical sunscreen over chemical sunscreens (this is your zinc and titanium types)

• Over exfoliation or wrong type of exfoliation

As mentioned earlier, using over-the counter mechanical exfoliation more than 2 times a week would be considered too much or if your using a chemical exfoliant that is too strong for your skin. You’ll be able to tell it’s too strong in most cases by how sensitive your skin feels.

if your using an exfoliating acid the normal recommendation is to start with the lowest concentration available and go slow. If your skin is overall too sensitive than  enzymatic exfoliators are a lot more gentler.

• Constant heat/thermal exposure to your face or body

Direct heat to the skin such as saunas, facial steaming and other methods can exacerbate hyperpigmentation or activate or worsen melasma.

• Overmedication

sometimes using way too many products or procedures can lead to further irritation (and lead to more hyperpigmentation) in the area or cancel out your hard work. Check your ingredients. two ingredients we highly recommend are niacinamide and vitamin C.

• Skin hydration is key

make sure your also using the right cleansers and moisturizers as well for your skin to maintain a healthy skin barrier that will help to seal in those actives that you’ve used to help your hyperpigmentation. Those agents (niacinamide, kojic acid, licorice extract should all be applied prior to adding your moisturizer) just remember that a consistent long term regimen is key and your best ally.

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