Thanks, or rather no thanks, to our weather, many Malaysians experience uneven skin tone. When our skin is exposed to UV light, melanin is produced to protect the skin from the damaging rays. However, this results in brown spots and uneven skin tone.
I would firstly advice the patient to apply sunblock and reapply every 3 hours a day. In fact, for prevention, everyone is advised to use sunblock whether they are outdoors or indoors as believe it or not, there are UV rays emitted from indoor lighting. Those who wear makeup will be happy to know that there is oral sunblock available.
There are a few options to treat pigmentation problems and these include laser treatments, skin peel treatments and of course, the ever popular products available in the market. However, to be on the safe side, the first thing you want to do is seek advice from an aesthetic physician or dermatologist.
The most effective method I have encountered is laser treatment. I use Medlite laser for pigmented lesions and skin lightening. When the laser is applied to the pigmented area, the cells with excessive pigments absorb the light. The tissue surrounding the pigmented lesions will not absorb the laser. As such, the cells are stimulated by the Medlite laser to eliminate the excessive pigments without damaging the surrounding tissues.
Skin peel is another recommended treatment to reduce pigmentation. During the treatment, a cold compress will be continuously rolled on the treated area as you will experience a warm sensation on the skin. There may be slight redness for about 4 to 5 days after the treatment and patients may experience peeling. There are also newer versions of skin peel available such as Enerpeel that does not peel off the top layer of skin. Most people are not aware that the peeling is actually a side effect and not the aim of the treatment. If your skin does not peel, it doesn’t mean that the treatment was unsuccessful.
For both the Laser treatment and Skin Peel treatment, patients are advised to avoid direct sun exposure for at least a week, use moisturisers and sun block with a minimum SPF of 30.
If you would like to try products, don’t just get any cream that claim to reduce the pigmentation. Consult a qualified doctor first. I have seen many ladies come in with badly hyper-pigmented skin which is caused by off the counter and online products that claim to whiten skin.
