What is Skin Pigmentation or Hyperpigmentation? How to Treat it?

 Hyperpigmentation isn’t necessarily a condition but a term that describes skin that appears darker. It can:

• occur in small patches
• cover large areas
• affect the entire body

While increased pigmentation usually isn’t harmful, it can be a symptom of another medical condition.

Pigmentation means coloring. Skin pigmentation disorders affect the color of your skin. Your skin gets its color from a pigment called melanin. Special cells in the skin make melanin. When these cells become damaged or unhealthy, it affects melanin production. Some pigmentation disorders affect just patches of skin. Others affect your entire body.

If your body makes too much melanin, your skin gets darker. Pregnancy, Addison's disease, and sun exposure all can make your skin darker. If your body makes too little melanin, your skin gets lighter. Vitiligo is a condition that causes patches of light skin. Albinism is a genetic condition affecting a person's skin. A person with albinism may have no color, lighter than normal skin color, or patchy missing skin color. Infections, blisters and burns can also cause lighter skin.

How to get rid of hyperpigmentation

Although hyperpigmentation is harmless, some people wish to get rid of it. There are a range of possible treatment methods and home remedies that people can try.

To prevent hyperpigmentation, or to stop it becoming more prominent:

• Avoid exposure to the sun. Use a sunscreen with an SPF of 30 or higher to protect the skin and stop hyperpigmentation from becoming darker.
  
  
• Avoid picking at the skin. To prevent hyperpigmentation from forming after an injury, avoid picking at spots, scabs, and acne.

How to Treat and Prevent Future Hyperpigmentation?

Keep Skin Moist to Boost Cell Turnover

While your primary goal with hyperpigmentation is to lighten the dark spots, an effective over-the-counter (OTC) product should contain ingredients that benefit the skin in other ways. "In addition to addressing the pigment issues, a good product will have moisturizing agents like glycerin or hyaluronic acid, and maybe even a retinol to boost cell turnover," 

Broad Spectrum Sunscreen: 

The use of broad-spectrum sunscreen like SPF 30 and above is highly recommended during sun exposure in order to prevent any further skin damage due to UV rays exposure.

Hydroquinone & Kojic Acid: 

Both are very effective cosmeceutical skin lightener products. Hydroquinone is also referred to as the ‘Gold Standard’ for treating hyperpigmentation. For enhancing the results of this hyperpigmentation treatment, it can be used in combination with antioxidants, hydroxy acids retinoids. Kojic acid offers almost similar results to that of hydroquinone and even better when used in combination with hydroquinone and glycolic acid.

Vitamin A products: 

these include Retinol and Tretinoin that helps in skin rejuvenation and resurfacing and also helps to increase the turnover of cells.

Alpha Hydroxy Acids:

these not only exfoliate skin but also smooth the skin and increase the cell turnover while giving even skin tone.