What Gives Skin its Colour & How To Prevent Skin Pigmentation

So lets start with a quick skin biology lesson?

The colour of your skin is determined by the melanin or pigment in the skin, be it yellow, dark brown or black. Levels of melanin depend on race and amount of sunlight exposure. Melanin production increases with exposure to the sun, as a natural protection to the skin to fight against harmful ultraviolet (UV) rays.

Causes of skin pigmentation can range from auto immune conditions to drug reactions, hormonal changes or genetic inheritance. However sun damage is probably the leading cause of skin pigmentation. Skin pigmentation disorders occur as a result of the body producing either too much or too little melanin. Skin pigmentation creates a darker or lighter skin tone that may be blotchy and uneven.  Almost all problems associated with hyper pigmentation (dark skin patches) can be traced to over-exposure to the sun. The first step in treating or preventing any type of skin discoloration is to make sure that you are taking good care of your skin to begin with. An important part of that is protection from the sun and its UV rays.

Make sure to always wear a sunscreen with at least an SPF 30 and protects against both UVA and UVB rays (look for the words "full spectrum" or "broad spectrum" on the bottle). The second step in treatment is to gently exfoliate.  Removing dead skin helps to remove impurities from the skin and allows newer skin cells to surface, which is crucial for treating any externally, caused pigmentation.

Products with active ingredients (AHA's and BHA's) tend to produce the best results. Adding a serum or vitamin serum to your skin care regime can help target your pigmentation problem. Serums are designed to penetrate skin and deliver concentrated product to gain fast, effective and intense results.  Serums with Vitamin A, Vitamin C and Vitamin E are proven to help even out skin tone and promote healthy skin.

At AbsoluteSkin we recommend the following Skin Care Brands to help treat and prevent further pigmentation.  Alpha-H, Skinstitut, and Dermalogica Chromawhite TRX.