Hyperpigmentation - By Sara Ottevaere

• The most demanded pigment treatment is removal of lentigo's (also called sunspots or age spots). These are the limited brown spots that often appear on cheeks, hands and décolleté. Although these spots are often very noticeable and can be annoying, they are fairly easy to remove with the right laser device. Lentigo's are a local discoloration of the epidermis and after 2 non invasive treatments almost invisible. These spots need to be very well protected from the sun afterwards. The DNA of these cells has mutated and the spots will return when there is a high UV exposure. A repeat of the laser treatment after a few years is therefore possible. With the right laser most hyperpigmentation problems can be treated. The melanocytes (cells that create the melanin - brown color - are located in the basal cell layer and release their pigment to the upper dead skin layers. In other words, when this layer is treated, the brown discoloration disappears.
  
  
• When the hyperpigmentation has a hormonal cause, these melanocytes are confused and inject their melanin also in the direction of the dermis (the deeper skin layers). A superficial treatment will therefore not be sufficient to tackle the discoloration. On the contrary, a laser treatment using heat will 'trigger' the condition and exacerbate hyperpigmentation. Nevertheless, a hormonal hyperpigmentation can be treated with special exfoliations that really focus on this condition. There are some very effective melasma peelings on the market, this is usually strong stuff, so get yourself treated by an expert!
  Fortunately, every disadvantage has its advantage; those who suffer from hyper-pigmentation will soon learn to protect themselves against UV, so a tight and radiant skin at a late age will be yours! And also good to know, in most cases hyperpigmentation disappears automatically after a few years (sometimes only during menopause). If you suffer a lot from the discoloration, changing contraception can also help, as it is known that a hormone spiral aggravates the melasma. Something to discuss with your gynaecologist.

• Other treatments that also give nice results on lighter hyperpigmentation are (fruit acid) peelings and microneedling. The choice of the peeling or the active ingredients incorporated plays an important role in this.
  
  

Multiple treatments are sometimes required. For the perfectionists among us there is another pigment treatment that is gaining popularity, namely the 'Intimate Bleaching'. Yes, you can hear it well, the bleaching of your noble parts. In short, everything is possible!