UK - Hyperpigmentation Products – Find out everything you need to know

Hyperpigmentation, also sometimes known as photodamage or melanin spots are dark areas of skin anywhere on your body. They mostly occur on your face and hands as these are the areas that are most exposed to the suns rays. Exposure to the sun without protection can result in many damaging effects to your skin and can include; areas of pigmentation, lines and wrinkles, dryness and roughness. These effects don’t happen immediately and they will show in the years after unprotected exposure.

We are now so much more aware of the damaging effects the sun can have on our skin and overall health, and most of us now use a sunscreen with a high UVA and SPF factor. Low UVA and SPF protection suncream won’t protect your skin from the suns damaging rays even if it is applied regularly.

Hyperpigmentation or photodamage is where areas of your skin become darker and discoloured compared to the skin around it. It is caused by your body producing excess melanin in these areas which forms dark deposits in the skin. It is a common and usually harmless condition, however, dependent on its severity it can make you feel very self-conscious. It doesn’t cause any physical discomfort and it is visual rather than a physical condition. Hyperpigmentation is one of the most commonly known skin problems and it normally comes in both men and women as we get older. Hyperpigmentation is really difficult to cover up with make-up as the pigmentation shows through quickly after application.

What is melanin?

Melanin is a dark brown or black pigment which naturally occurs in the hair, skin, and iris of the eye and it is produced by our bodies to protect our skin from the UV rays of the sun. It comes in different shades and is dependent on the genetics of an individual as to its colour.

What are the benefits of melanin?

The more melanin produced in your skin the darker it will be. Not many people are aware but it is the melanin pigmentation that protects us from DNA damage and allows our bodies to absorb the right amount of UV radiation needed by our bodies, as well as protecting against folate depletion which is inadequate stores of folic acid within the body.

When your skin is damaged it finds it difficult to regenerate its original pigments and when this happens darker pigments form over the damaged area.

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What can I do about the hyperpigmentation spots I have on my skin?

A lot of people choose to leave the condition as it doesn’t have any physical impact on them, however, for some people, it can make them very self-conscious so they want to do something about it.

The first step you can take is to ensure you wear a good sun cream every day, even if it’s cloudy your skin can be damaged by the UV rays so don’t be fooled by this. Wearing a high SPF, UV and UVB factor sun cream will prevent the pigmentation from darkening in colour and further patches appearing.

There are salon treatments and professional home use products that can reduce, eliminate and prevent further hyperpigmentation and these are detailed further into the article.

Read our full article on Hyperpigmentation and products that will help here: hlcosmetics.co.uk/hyperpigmentation-products/