Hyperpigmentation is a common skin condition that causes some areas of the skin to appear darker than others. Dr. David Jack, a London-based aesthetic expert explains, “Hyperpigmentation is a general term that describes an excessive production of the natural pigment, melanin.”¹ In this article we examine what causes excess melanin, the three types of hyperpigmentation, and the best treatments for hyperpigmentation.
What Causes Dark Spots on the Skin?
Melanin is the natural pigment that gives our skin, hair, and eyes their color. An increase in melanin production is caused by a variety of factors including, age, hormonal influences, and skin injuries or inflammation. However, the number one cause of hyperpigmentation is sun exposure as it triggers the production of melanin.
Melanin acts as your skin’s natural sunscreen by absorbing harmful UV rays from the sun, causing the skin to tan when exposed to sunlight. But excessive sun exposure can disrupt this process, leading to hyperpigmentation. The most prevalent hyperpigmentation types are sun spots, melasma, and post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation.
Sun Spots
Small, darkened patches of skin known as sun spots commonly appear on skin that is frequently exposed to the sun such as the face, neck, décolleté and hands. Once dark spots have developed, sun exposure can also exacerbate the issue by making then even darker.
Sun spots are also referred to as age spots. As skin ages, the number of melanin-producing cells (known as melanocytes) decreases but the remaining ones increase in size and their distribution becomes more focused. These physiological changes explain the increase of age/sun spots in those over 40.
As the sun is the number one cause of skin hyperpigmentation, effective sun protection is the most important step you can take to help prevent hyperpigmentation.
Melasma
Melasma appears as larger patches of hyperpigmentation typically on the upper lip, cheeks, and forehead and is often called the “mask of pregnancy” because it affects 15% to 50% of pregnant women. It is thought that the increased levels of the hormones estrogen and progesterone stimulate the overproduction of melanin when skin is exposed to the sun.²
Post-Inflammatory Hyperpigmentation
Post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation occurs when a skin injury or trauma heals and leaves a flat area of discoloration behind. It’s commonly found among acne, Atopic Dermatitis or Psoriasis patients and can also be caused by cosmetic procedures such as dermabrasion, laser treatment and chemical peels. The condition is worsened by overexposure to the sun’s UV rays.
Professional Skin Treatments for Hyperpigmentation
While some peels, especially AHA peels including mandelic, lactic, and glycolic acid are often very beneficial when used repeatedly for hyperpigmentation of most types, there are three main professional skin treatments we recommend at Greenwich Medical Spa.
CoolPeel for Hyperpigmentation
CoolPeel CO2 is a non-invasive treatment that uses patented technology to improve overall skin quality and hyperpigmentation. The process uses a laser beam to resurface the outer layers of the skin and stimulate cell turnover in the deeper layers. This removes pigmentation and restructures collagen to both improve dark spots and reduce wrinkles. Most people require one or two CO2 laser treatments for best results. The recovery time from a CO2 laser treatment is generally about five to seven days. CoolPeel is beneficial for adults in their 40s and 50s but can be used by people of all ages since its benefits are wider than other options with less downtime.
Fraxel for Hyperpigmentation
The name “Fraxel” comes from the words “fractional” and “laser.” Unlike traditional laser treatments that target the entire skin surface, Fraxel laser treatment delivers precise microscopic laser columns (fractional beams) into the skin. This creates small, controlled zones of damage or micro-injuries, thus stimulating the body’s natural healing process, regenerating collagen and replacing damaged cells with healthy skin.
Fraxel can help reduce the appearance of sunspots and age spots as well as treat melasma, post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation, uneven skin tone, and freckles, especially those caused by sun exposure. It can also help soften the appearance of acne scars.
Fraxel is ideal for people with active lifestyles who want to improve medium-to-severe signs of aging and are looking for a treatment that’s more intense than regular laser treatments. Best of all, there’s no downtime or redness that’s often associated with other laser skin resurfacing treatments.
IPL (Intense Pulsed Light) for Hyperpigmentation
IPL uses short, intense pulses of light energy to heat and break up excess melanin in the skin, explains Dr Jack. “With IPL used for hyperpigmentation, when the pigment is fragmented it changes its molecular structure so is removed by the immune system – as it is no longer recognized as the body’s melanin protein.” The heat also stimulates collagen production, which works to help improve your overall skin texture and tone. IPL is particularly beneficial on the face, chest, arms, and even the back of hands which is often where sun damage appears the worst. Depending on your treatment area and desired results, we recommend between 1 and 5 sessions of IPL to see long-term improvement.
¹Bridget March. The Best Treatments for Hyperpigmentation Harper’s Bazaar. July 2024. Source
²Michele Jordan. Everything You Need to Know About Melasma. WebMD. July 2024. Source
