How to Fade Pigmentation Without Making It Worse

“If pigmentation is your biggest skin struggle, you're not alone, and it's not hopeless.”

Today, we're sharing the top 10 most effective ways to fade pigmentation from melasma to sunspots, as well as how to achieve brighter, more even skin tones without wasting time or money.

Alright, today we are going to go through 10 ways to fade dark spots, finally.

Alright, let's have at it.

That is a big problem for many people.

Absolutely. It's probably the second problem. Anti-aging and wrinkles are our primary concerns, particularly with skin issues, followed by pigmentation. Those two are really up there.

Yes, all day long, I'm saying the same thing, so let's just list all those things.

Yeah, exactly. The first step is to understand the type of pigmentation you have. There are about three types that you can have. Those are melasma…

The worst.

Sun damage and post-inflammatory pigmentation.

Yes, so post-inflammatory, that's something you've almost caused yourself.

Or it could be from a bug bite or something.

To clarify, post-inflammatory refers to the condition that occurs after inflammation has subsided, resulting in pigmentation.

Yeah, after something happened, it got inflamed.

The pimple is the biggest one, you know, a pimple or a bug bite. You know, if you are somebody that when you get a pimple or a bug bite it turns pink, you're generally not going to deal with too much of that. If you get a pimple or a bug bite and it turns brown, you will run the risk of developing post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation.

Let's say you did a peel and it was too strong, or something along those lines, and you ended up with PIH; that's something that needs to be treated, for sure.

Well, sun damage seems to be pretty self-explanatory, but let's dive into melasma a little bit. 

Yeah.

Why is it so stubborn?

Well, I mean, that's what I have. I have melasma, and it is just hyperpigmentation, but it's worse because it's not just aggravated by, you know, if you're in the sun, it's aggravated by heat and hormones. So anytime you get fluctuating hormones, it gets worse.

It's just, it's harder to treat and it's not curable, let's say. You're just, you're prone to it. You'll always have it.

If I were to spend an afternoon in the sun and didn't put on sunblock, that's it. I'm all done. All the work I've done over the past year is now ruined because I'll have dark splotches here and there, and then you get almost a line in the beard area, which is a common area. Located above the foreheads, specifically in the temples. It's just like you're a raccoon with a beard, and it's not pretty.

And that's why A, to avoid all these things, use sunblock, wear a big hat, shade your face, and, of course, don't try to tan because tanning isn't worth it.

Well, that's a perfect segue into number two is daily sunscreen.

Daily sunscreen. I love this one. This is the Flawless SPF 50. This is my favorite one. Obviously, we have all the different ones.

It's our best-selling sunscreen, too, among the ones we carry.

It also comes in different tones. Like this one, it's medium to dark in color. They call it richly tinted, and then they have lightly tinted. I use the lightly tinted because I don't ever have a tan.

Yeah, these are great. We also carry the Cotz line. We have the face, and if you have oily skin, we have a sensitive skin option that doesn't contain any colors. It's just the white, really good. That one is even good because you can apply it right after a treatment, such as a needling or chemical peel. If you were to go off that, that sensitive one, that's exactly why we have that one.

But yeah. And now there's a lot of talk right now, crazy talk about how, you know, the sun is good for you and it's curing all these things and it doesn't cause cancer. The sun is beneficial for you.

Vitamin D.

Vitamin D is good for you. All that is good for you, but you don't need to be tan to utilize the benefits of the sun. You can get those benefits in, you know, 10 to 15 minutes, and it certainly doesn't need to be on your face.

Okay. Get that on your arms or legs, or something like that. You know, spend your time out there.

Not to say the sun isn't good for you, but excessive sun exposure can cause sunburn.

Yes.

That has been proven for many, many decades that it does cause skin cancer. And the only way to avoid that is to either A, avoid the sun, or B, put some sunblock on. And the people are worried about the chemicals in sunscreen, and I don't like the chemicals in sunscreen either.

Right.

We don't carry a brand that uses anything other than natural titanium dioxide or zinc. That is what's in the Cotz products. How they work is that they don't sink into your skin like the chemicals do. The other chemical sunscreens sink into your skin. That invites heat and inflammation, and all that kind of thing; I don't want my sunblock to be absorbed into my skin.

When you use titanium dioxide or zinc, that is your last layer. It sits on top of your skin, and all it does is reflect the sun's rays away from you. It's like a thousand, way more than a thousand, a hundred thousand mirrors on your face that's just reflecting the sun away.

So it's just protecting your skin and keeping it safe. It's a secure type of sunblock to use. I really like this one. They do a lot of testing. They're reef safe. All this kind of great stuff.

Nice. Nice.

But that's so important. If you're not applying SPF every day, you're inviting numerous problems. Pigmentation is one of them.

Sure. Peels. Let's talk about peel strategy.

Peels, yeah. There are a couple of acids that I tend to reach for when someone has pigmentation. If you have very light surface layer issues, they're all right on top. Something new, such as sun damage, and things like that.

You don't necessarily need an aggressive peel to address those issues. And let's say not everybody wants a lot of downtime, right? So I tend to run to either the Mandelic or the Lactic 50.

Right.

Both are good choices.

Both of those. The Lactic 50 will give you virtually no downtime. You can do it weekly if you want.

Mandelic, same thing. Hint of dryness. Maybe a flake or two.

If you need a stronger peel, such as if you've a lifetime of sun damage, I recommend Jessner. I would do Jessner first. Sometimes you can use it with TCA as well, but I find that Jessner contains resorcinol, and it also includes lactic acid.

And Resorcinol is somewhat similar to hydroquinone in this regard. It's very, very similar, so it helps to lighten in those same ways.

And then there's also Salicylic in here.

That is one of the best ones. The Dream Peel can also be very effective. The Dream Peel could be another option because retinoids are extremely helpful in accelerating the skin's turnover, removing damage, and improving its appearance.

A Dream Peel would be a good one, too.

Excellent.

Is there anything else you suggest, or are those the ones you typically grab?

Yeah, I believe those are the ones I normally recommend. Obviously, Jessner would be the peel of choice for most, and then if they want to bump it up a little, they can go add the Dream Peel as a finisher.

There you go.

Yeah, that's always good.

Jessner plus Dream Peel.

Alternatively, if they prefer something milder, I usually opt for the Lactic or Mandelic, which is what I recommend.

Yeah, so that's the same thing. Those are just the best ones for pigment.

Okay, so then using pigment-safe brightening ingredients.

Yes.

Yeah, absolutely.

Yeah, very important. So obviously, we love our Fade Bright. And this has, you need a melanin inhibitor. There are also many melanin inhibitors. Many different things possess those properties.

However, the strongest and most focused ones are products like Alpha Arbutin or Hydroquinone, which are prescription-only. Of course, we use an over-the-counter ingredient in our product, and this is Alpha Arbutin. And you know, the regular daily percentage is, I think, a maximum of 2%. Ours is 4% because I have melasma, and I need to treat this. So that is really important to have something like that.

Yes, Azelaic is great. Kojic is great. Glutathione is great. Retinoids. I mean, this even has, has all of those in there. This contains the granactive retinoid. All of those are super.

The thing is, though, that you have to use it consistently. You can't use it just occasionally, once a week, or something similar.

You have to build up to it. Like ours is pretty strong. I would suggest starting three times a week, and then adding extra days as needed. But once you're doing that every day, you can use it once or twice a day.

And if you're continuously using a melanin inhibitor, that will help to fade any pigmentation you have. That's a way to treat post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation. You know, prevent your melasma from getting out of hand.

So super, super important.

All right. Number five. Let's discuss our Viss IPL.

Yeah. IPL. IPL is excellent for a variety of conditions, including acne and wrinkles, among other issues.

Yes.

However, it is also beneficial for reducing sun damage. And this particular one is the Viss IPL. This comes with, used to be three different cartridges. Now they're alleviating it, getting rid of the acne, because the Rejuvenate covers acne.

Yes.

And Rejuvenate is also what I would recommend right here for hyperpigmentation.

Right. Yeah.

And that can be done a couple of times a week.

Sure.

It can be done in conjunction with other things. You know, you just alternate.

And then let's also not forget about considering our Illuminates. The LED. Red is good for hyperpigmentation, and yellow. And this happens to have the red and yellow mixed together.

Right.

So you're getting both red, infrared, and yellow when you're on setting one.

And then the alternative setting is blue, which isn't especially helpful for hyperpigmentation, but the red one is. And that's so easy and painless. You can do that every single night if you want to. Every other night is perfect. That's going to help.

And no, it does not contain UV rays. It won't give you a sunburn. It's not going to, you know, change your skin tone in any way, because that happens to be a question that sometimes people think like it's going to cause sun damage because it's a light.

Yes.

However, LED lights do not emit UV rays, making them perfectly safe, and they can actually help treat pigmentation.

Awesome. Okay, so number seven, stop making it worse.

Stop making it worse. How are we making it worse?

Over-exfoliating.

Being a little bit too aggressive, thinking that, well, Fade Bright plus Serum 15 plus a peel plus this, plus that, plus, or they're putting on just too much.

The key things are your daily melanin inhibitor, your sunblock, and a retinoid at night. Something like this, which is in a normal daily regimen, is enough to help treat that. Then you can add on things like peels or other products if you want to, to give a boost, but use your everyday products as well.

Blocking the sun is recommended because the sun's rays can cause more spotting. Using your inhibitors can help if you tend to get a little sun exposure, which will also help. And then the retinoids.

Yeah.

It's really helpful.

Speaking of retinoids, let's talk about the nighttime must-haves for pigmentation.

Just what I said, right? Fade Bright.

Yes.

And Fusion A. Nighttime must-haves for hyperpigmentation.

Yeah.

Moisture is also key, as it can be found in the moisturizer.

Yeah, put your moisturizer on.

Absolutely. But those are the two must-haves.

Must-haves. Actually, our Fade Bright contains a small amount of retinoid, so let's say you had to be really choosy and pick just one.

If you have melasma or any of these issues, you have to choose one. Go ahead and pick Fade Bright. Because this has everything in there, you could technically get away with that.

Number nine, be patient, but not passive.

Be patient, but not passive. Yeah, it's going to take time.

Pigmentation runs very deep in the skin. Some is surface, so your brand-new pigmentation is surface. You can remove it quickly with a light peel and some inhibitors. But most is from your entire lifetime. And it's going to take a series, it's going to take your everyday products, plus probably a couple of series of peels to really get that off if it's on the body.

Same thing. A lifetime of damage may require 20 peels, in addition to daily products, to achieve your desired results.

And that segues us into number 10.

Find a routine and stick with it.

Yeah, consistency is key.

That's it.

You must continue doing this every single day, or every single week, or every single month, and take a photo of what you're doing, right? Because I can't state enough, like, you know, I get 12 freckles here, and if I were putting a pigmentation, like I'm putting Fade Bright on there, and I did a couple of Jessner peels, and I'm like, I still have freckles. Okay. But then if you looked at the picture of this arm next to the picture that you took four months ago, and you look and you're like, well, that freckle's gone. That one's gone. That one's gone. However, I have one here and one here.

Those eight are gone, but these two remain. But if you were just looking at your arm, you're not realizing that. You're like, oh, I still have things. That doesn't mean it didn't work.

Be patient.

Be patient.

Be patient, grasshopper.

Exactly. Andrea always says this on the page. It's a marathon, not a race.

Yes. You're going to keep going.

It's very true. You just, you know, you just got to, you know, like you said, it takes a long time for this pigmentation to get there, and it's going to take some time to correct it. And it's a lifestyle change, too, because you have to be diligent in wearing sunscreen, protective clothing, and thinking ahead. It's just something that…

Hats.

Yeah. And before you know it, you won't even realize that you're doing all the proper things.

Yeah. You'll just be automatically doing it. And then before you know it, you're looking beautiful and people are like, yeah, the prettiest skin.

Yeah.

And you're like, no, I don't.

Right.

Maybe I do.

Right. And then you run to the mirror. You're like, ' My gosh, I do look good. '

Thank you, Jennifer, at Platinum Skin Care.

You're welcome.

Perfect.

Good, good, good. I believe these 10 tips will help keep people on the right track.

Yeah. Simple.

If you have any further questions, please call us at 1-800-917-3155. We're happy to help.

Yep. Or you can email support@platinumskincare.com or join the Facebook group, Platinum Skin Care Gurus.

Absolutely.

Have a great day.