Healthy Glow

By: Dr Simon Bentley
Created on 11th August 2010

Most of us feel better with a tan, but sun worshipping can cause uneven pigmentation and freckles, making us look older than we are. Dr Simon Bentley of Minerva Clinic discusses the various ways in which we can keep our skin tone even and youthful

When it comes to our skin, we Brits are renowned for taking risks – we’ve all heard the old adage about mad dogs and Englishmen! And when we do finally start to take more care of our skin, it’s usually wrinkles that worry us most.

However, recent studies have confirmed that the quality of your skin tone gives away your age more than the odd wrinkle. Of course, pigmentation problems caused by overexposure to the sun can be avoided through the use of a decent sun block, but what do you do if it’s too late, or if your problem is caused by something else entirely?

Thankfully, these days there is a wealth of different procedures to choose from, with varying levels of efficacy. As a cosmetic doctor, I obviously want to be able to offer my clients the very best treatments available, so a lot of thought goes into the machines and products I choose to be used in my clinic.

The most common pigmentation problems we deal with at Minerva Clinic are: melasma – also known as chloasma or the ‘mask of pregnancy’, solar lentigo – including freckles – and postinflammatory hyperpigmentation.

Melasma

This condition presents as defined areas of excessive pigmentation on the cheeks, forehead and chin. It is very common, particularly in women of childbearing age, but it can also affect men, especially those with skin of colour.

Melasma can be found near the surface of the skin – these are known as epidermal melasma and are light to dark brown in colour – or deeper in the skin – these are known as dermal melasma and have a blue to black appearance.

Three factors appear to be important: ethnic background, hormone imbalance and exposure to ultraviolet light.

In the past, treatment for some pigmentation problems – especially dermal melasma – was difficult if not impossible, but thanks to a better understanding of the underlying problem and the development of new technology, treatments to improve the appearance of a wide variety of pigmentation problems are now a realistic aesthetic option.

As with all problems, prevention is better than cure. We encourage all our patients to wear a good quality SPF30+ sunscreen, ideally with zinc oxide, every day. This helps protect against the ageing effect of ultraviolet light and the zinc oxide – a potent antioxidant – will significantly reduce inflammation.

Before we start actively treating the melasma we get our patients onto a skin-refining programme. This may be simple and involve nothing more than using an alpha and beta hydroxy acid serum on a daily basis. The idea is to improve skin turnover and hydration, which will allow for a more predictable outcome.

For many years chemical peels have been the corner stone for treating pigmentation problems. Unfortunately not all conditions, especially dermal melasma, respond to chemical peels.

At Minerva Clinic we exclusively use the Procedure Precision Peeling System™, as all the peels are superficial, with little or no downtime. We usually offer three peels at two weekly intervals, rest the skin for one month then review.

More recently and with very promising results we have been using Genuine Dermaroller. We have found that even traditionally resistant conditions like dermal melasma have responded remarkably well to this treatment.

Genuine Dermaroller offers high quality medical microneedling via a single use device. Treatment can be repeated at six weekly intervals until the desired result is achieved.

Solar lentigo

Solar lentigo or sun spots are brown-pigmented marks on the skin caused by exposure to ultraviolet light. We have a variety of treatment options available depending on patient skin type and treatment expectation.

We encourage daily use of a sunscreen and to establish a skin refining programme. We may also recommend niacinamide to reduce inflammation and sebum production and/or retinaldehyde to help fade pigmentation and repair sun damage.

We then discuss treatment options and explore their expectations, ensuring they are realistic to avoid disappointment. Unless contraindicated we would normally start with a series of three peels.

Our choice of peel will vary according to the patient’s age and skin type. We then may offer a further series of peels or medical micro-needling.

Post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation (PIH)

This can occur as a result of a variety of skin problems including acne, eczema and surgery. It is significantly more common in people with a darker skin tone and unfortunately tends to reoccur.

It can occur anywhere where there has been skin inflammation and often appears as darkly pigmented spots. As this condition is caused by inflammation we are very cautious about treatments like TCA peels because they can trigger inflammation and make PIH worse.

We tend to suggest a series of Dermaroller treatments at six weekly intervals. Genuine Dermaroller and Dermastamp are proving to be increasingly popular treatment choices.

There is little downtime and it has the benefit of being ‘chemical free’, relying on stimulating the skin’s own natural growth hormone to improve the appearance of pigmentation problems, fine wrinkle and scars.

Difference between Dermaroller and Dermastamp

Genuine Dermaroller has become the latest hot treatment, popular with celebrities and mere mortals alike, as it achieve great results with very little downtime.

Now, AesthetiCare have launched Dermastamp, the new micromedical skin-needle device which both complements Genuine Dermaroller treatments and can be used for the treatment of isolated and deeper atrophic scars and lines.

Dermaroller and Dermastamp work on the same principle of puncturing the skin to stimulate the regeneration of skin cells, blood vessels and collagen, but the Dermastamp repeatedly punctures deep scarring and lines. By doing this it helps release the tissue tethering scars and lines.