Pigment spots on the face are a fairly common problem, which primarily negatively affects a person’s appearance and causes psychological discomfort. Such spots are formed due to a local increase in the amount of melanin produced by the body. This process can be triggered by various factors, both internal and external. Most often, this skin defect occurs in women, although it also occurs in men. The size and shape of such spots may vary. In order to get rid of age spots on the face, you should use medications or folk remedies that have proven to be effective and harmless to the skin. Pigment spots themselves do not pose a threat to human health and life, however, if they are caused by internal processes and are symptoms of a disorder, the internal pathological process itself may pose a threat. Taking this into account, if you have numerous age spots, if their appearance is not associated with old age, it is worth visiting a doctor.
Why does pigmentation appear on the skin?
Spots can appear due to pregnancy and hormonal changes in the body. Such spots are medically called chloasma. If pigmentation appears on the sides of the neck, this is due to impaired liver function. Even taking certain medications provokes the appearance of age spots.
Skin pigmentation often occurs with age, as melanin accumulates in aging cells. It is known that with age, all processes slow down, including the process of skin cell renewal. Such spots are age-related, as a rule, they are uneven.
Heredity plays an important role in the appearance of pigmentation. Freckles can be considered hereditary pigmentation. Some freckles disappear when there is not enough ultraviolet radiation and appear again in the warm season. Various skin injuries can also cause spots: burns of varying degrees and inflammatory processes. It is useful to know that after some cosmetic procedures there is also a risk of dark spots appearing. Other factors include stress and lack of vitamin C.
Reasons for appearance
Among the factors influencing changes in the shade of the dermis, the main ones are:
- changes in the functional functioning of the liver and gallbladder;
- hereditary factor - genetic predisposition to the formation of pigmented zones;
- pregnancy, hormonal imbalance, taking medications based on artificial hormones;
- vitiligo is a special disease associated with the lack of melanin in specific areas of the skin;
- salon procedures – chemical peeling, laser and photoepilation;
- pathological disorders in the thyroid gland;
- prolonged exposure to the sun, abuse of solarium;
- ovarian dysfunction;
- consequences after burns and injuries;
- long-term depression, psychosis, neurasthenia.
There can be many indirect reasons for hypermelanosis. Each reason is individual and has its own characteristics.
Darkening can appear in different parts of the body. But their localization on the face brings a lot of inconvenience to women. Lighter formations can be hidden with the help of decorative cosmetics, the rest, unfortunately, cannot. In most cases, pigmentation can be eliminated using medications or cosmetics. But you have to come to terms with congenital spots.
Remember! The causes of pigmentation on the face are stress and nervous tension, pregnancy, menopause, natural aging of the skin, and taking hormonal medications.
How to remove age spots?
Of course, when you see dark spots on your face, you immediately want to get rid of them. But you should understand that this is not easy to do, and therefore you need to prepare for a long war. First of all, you should visit a dermatologist and make sure that nothing bad is happening to your body. Also, a comprehensive medical examination will not be superfluous; it is necessary to check the condition of the liver and digestive system. It is clear that we must first bring these organs back to normal, and only then remove age spots. This can be done both in salons and at home.
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Treatments using laser and AHA acids, various cleansing, polishing, massages and masks can help get rid of age spots. Many of these procedures have long been available for use at home. But one of the most popular ways to get rid of this disease has become peeling.
Professional whitening methods
1. Laser therapy.
A directed laser beam, affecting pigmented cells (chromatophores), does not affect normal ones. It heats and destroys melanin without damaging nearby skin areas. In this way, you can safely and effectively lighten age spots on your face. With a small area of pigmentation, you can get by with one procedure.
2. Chemical peels.
Using chemical peels, the upper pigmented layer of the epidermis is removed. You can lighten age spots on the face with preparations containing alpha hydroxy acids (glycolic, malic, citric, tartaric, lactic), trichloroacetic and retinoic. The effect is achieved through a series of procedures.
The use of peelings thins the stratum corneum of the skin, which protects it from exposure to ultraviolet radiation. Therefore, these manipulations are carried out in the autumn-winter period (October-March), when the sun's rays are not highly active. Simultaneously with peelings, it is necessary to use special cosmetics that do not allow melanin to be produced, and sunscreens that prevent the appearance of new spots.
Laser therapy and peelings are a contraindication for tanning (no matter in a solarium or in natural conditions). Since the superficial layer of skin with melanocytes has been removed, the likelihood of recurrent hyperpigmentation is very high.
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Peeling and its types
Peeling used in salons is divided into three main types:
- surface;
- average;
- deep.
The last two types are quite painful procedures. They are carried out exclusively under the supervision of specialists in beauty salons and clinics. Deep facial peeling may even require temporary hospitalization, and the procedure itself will be performed under anesthesia.
The essence of peeling is to remove the top layers of skin. With superficial peeling, keratinized particles of the upper layer of the epidermis are removed. With deep and medium peeling, the changes are more noticeable, since the essence of such procedures is to remove dead cells in the deep layers of the epidermis.
There is a method in which bleaching agents are introduced into the skin using ultrasound. This procedure is called ultrasonic peeling. It is necessary to carry out 8-10 procedures so that pigment spots become a thing of the past. A method that uses special acids to dissolve dead skin cells is called chemical peeling. It is curious that not only spots disappear, but also wrinkles, even deep ones, the skin is tightened and rejuvenated.
It should be noted that each of these methods can cause an allergic skin reaction. Therefore, it would be wiser to try the chosen method on a separate area of the body. If there is no rash, burning, peeling, or severe redness, then you have made the right choice. In addition, there are people for whom any peeling is contraindicated: pregnant women with various skin diseases.
Types of pigmentation
Age spots vary in color, shape and size . Most often they are harmless, they can be treated with cosmetics, for example:
- freckles. These tiny spots are usually found in people who have fair skin. Freckles appear in spring and summer, when a person is exposed to the sun for a long time. In winter they become light and invisible;
- moles and birthmarks. They differ in color, shape and size, usually do not interfere with a peaceful life, and do not increase in size. But if they begin to grow, this is an alarming fact. You need to urgently go to see a doctor, because this may be a signal of the development of a cancerous tumor;
- chloasma is a brown or brown spot, it most often appears in pregnant women, during menopause, or taking hormonal medications, but may be present if a person has hepatitis, cirrhosis, or has gynecological diseases;
- Lentigo spots are yellowish or light brown in color. They are divided into the following subspecies: dark brown senile, protruding on the hands and face;
- youthful, which appeared in childhood;
- solar - on the face, arms and neck.
What is the effectiveness of acid peeling for the face?
Acid peeling is a highly effective facial skin care product. If the general condition of your skin can be considered satisfactory, then experts do not recommend peeling before the age of 30. However, if the skin has stagnant post-acne spots, the first wrinkles, for example, “crow’s feet”, the skin is prone to oiliness, pores are constantly clogged and blackheads appear, the use of acid peeling is even welcome.
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In older age, acid peels will help get rid of wrinkles, pigmentation and other signs of aging. Also, such procedures are very effective in the fight against freckles.
Superficial peeling is more gentle. It can be done at home without the supervision of a doctor. There are two options for acid peeling: buy a ready-made mixture in a store or prepare a mixture at home. The effectiveness of the products will, of course, vary, but acid peeling made from natural products, such as fruit and lactic acids, is considered quite harmless and effective.
Contraindications
Before starting the procedure, you should consider the following contraindications:
- periods of acute solar activity (mid and late spring, as well as early and mid summer);
- inflammations and wounds on the surface of the skin;
- the presence of a large number of moles or several large birthmarks;
- intolerable allergic reaction to fruit or lactic acids;
- very dry or thin skin.
Types of acid peeling
There are several fairly simple recipes for preparing a mixture of acid-containing products. All of them are available at any store and are a low-budget option.
Acid peeling based on lemon
This type of peeling is very helpful in getting rid of freckles and stubborn acne spots. In addition, it has an excellent exfoliating effect. Simply take two lemon halves and squeeze the juice out of them, after which the lemon juice is applied to the skin in a circular motion. To do this, soak a cotton swab or disk. Leave the juice on the skin for 20 minutes, after which it is washed off and a moisturizer is applied.
Acid peeling based on grapes
This type of peeling for age spots will help restore skin elasticity, heal and rejuvenate it. Just like in the previous recipe, you need to take a handful of fresh grapes and squeeze the juice out of it. Be sure to get rid of the seeds so as not to scratch the skin. Please note that only fresh grapes are suitable for this procedure, not canned juice. A cotton pad should be moistened with grape juice, and then wiped with circular movements on the areas of the face with pigmentation. After a quarter of an hour, the consistency must be washed off.
Peeling based on fermented milk products
Kefir is perfect for this peeling. It will not only give the skin additional nutrition, but will also help fight inflammation and acne. The drier the skin, the higher the fat content of kefir. To enhance the effect, you can buy an ampoule with vitamin A at the pharmacy. Kefir is applied with a cotton pad in several layers to the skin of the face. The mask should be kept on for 10 minutes to half an hour, then removed from the face in a circular motion. After the procedure, it is recommended to apply a nourishing face cream as a supplement.
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Before any acid peeling procedure at home, you should thoroughly cleanse your skin and then apply a scrub that is suitable for your skin type.
General description of the defect
The appearance of age spots on the skin of the face is not only a cosmetic problem. The appearance of the skin is directly related to the proper functioning of the internal systems and organs in the human body, so it will not make sense to fight any skin problems with the help of various ointments, creams and masks. The use of such drugs is only an addition to the main complex treatment. The treatment method should be prescribed depending on the main cause of the appearance of brown spots, and the patient needs a mandatory examination of the patient’s entire body.
The use of various creams and ointments for external use gives only minor results: brown spots decrease in size or turn pale. As a rule, such actions are not enough to completely eliminate the defect, since even the most expensive product from a well-known manufacturer cannot overcome the main cause of stain formation. After some time, this cosmetic defect may appear again, and again it is even more pronounced.
Spots can appear on absolutely anyone, regardless of age . But most often this unpleasant defect is observed in people whose age ranges from 40 to 50 years. Sometimes the resulting spots disappear without a trace on their own, without the use of any treatment, but this does not mean that the disease does not require the use of medications. Most often, spots increase over time, and fighting them requires considerable effort.
In general, a pigment spot is an accumulation of a large amount of melanin. This is a special element that is localized on different layers of the skin.
If melanin is localized closer to the upper layer of the epidermis, then freckles and moles begin to appear on the body. These new growths are brown, light yellow or pale in color.
Folk remedies against age spots
It must be said right away that peeling from age spots is a long process, and in order to achieve a positive result, you need to be patient. You can use any products to perform peeling at home.
Thus, hydrogen peroxide has proven itself to have whitening properties. However, peroxide also tends to dry out the skin, which can have a negative impact on your face. You can also use cottage cheese in combination with ammonia. You will need very little of it: one tablespoon plus ammonia or hydrogen peroxide, ten drops each.
Another way is dandelion decoction. You need to take dandelion flowers and ammonia. Two tablespoons of flowers are poured with water, boiled for 15 minutes over moderate heat, and then filtered. The prepared decoction is applied to areas with age spots twice in the morning and in the evening.
Of course, you can also find folk remedies that will help remove age spots, and in fact, there are quite a few of them. But, as practice shows, it is advisable to combine bleaching agents with light peeling. It is recommended to add oatmeal or coffee grounds to bleaching agents. Any substances that have abrasive properties are also suitable. If you don’t have the time or desire to make mixtures, you can buy ready-made scrubs.
