If you find your skin is dull, tired, uneven or with patches here and there, this is the guide for you to restore your even skin tone.
An uneven skin tone, also called hyperpigmentation, usually associated with irregular darkening of the skin. The reason of cause pigmentation normally is overproduction of melanin, the pigment responsible for skin colour which resulting dark patches and spot on skin surface. Those pigments and spots are typically perceived as “aged spot” which make you look aged and unhealthy.
Causes of Pigments, Dark Spots and Uneven Skin Tone
- Inflammation: This is one of the most common causes of uneven skin tone, for example acne breakout, wound or skin treatment. All these traumas on skin can cause melanocytes to be damaged or overstimulated, resulting post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation (PIH), a darkening of the skin as a result of scarring.
- Sun exposure: When your skin is repeatedly exposed to UV light without sufficient protection, sun damage occurs. The formation of excess melanin in the skin is your skin’s natural defence system against sun damage. Dark spots and pigments develop as a result of too much melanin being produced during this protection process.
- Pollution: Exposure of the skin to air pollutants has been associated with skin aging and inflammatory or allergic skin conditions such as atopic dermatitis, eczema or psoriasis. This oxidizes the surrounding tissue and leads to free radical damage, triggering an inflammatory response that results in the formation of dark spots.
- Hormones: Melasma is hormone-related hyperpigmentation caused by hormonal imbalance. It’s most commonly experienced by women who are pregnant, taking contraceptives or during menopause, but can also be a reaction to cosmetics or medications.
How to Avoid Pigmentation and Get an Even Skin Tone?
You don’t have to spend a fortune on laser treatments and prescriptions. Here are some natural ways to safely and non-invasively fade dark spots for a more even skin tone:
- Adequate Daily Fluid Intake - The U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine determined that an adequate daily fluid intake is about 2.7 litres of fluids a day for women. These recommendations cover fluids from water, other beverages and food. About 20% of daily fluid intake usually comes from food and the rest from drinks. That means we should drink 2L of water every day. You might need to modify your total intake based on several factors such as exercise, breastfeeding or under different weather condition.
- Apply SPF daily - Applying a sunscreen or moisturiser is the number 1 rule to prevent new dark spots. Look for an SPF or moisturiser that also includes ingredients to help fade dark spots, such as Niacinamide.
- Exfoliate - Treat existing hyperpigmentation by first sloughing off dead, dulling skin cells at the surface. This clears the path for the ingredients in your serums and moisturisers to better penetrate the skin. Look for a natural skin softening serum (Natural AHA Serum) which is gentle enough to use every day to clear the pollutant on skin surface. Also use micro-fine exfoliant (such as Jojoba Esters) once or twice weekly to further remove dull and dead skin cells regularly in order to maintain skin complexion.
- Non-harmful ingredients. Seek out products that contain beneficial ingredients which also help control melanin production such as Vitamin B3 (Niacinamide) and Vitamin C; and Vitamin A (Retinol) and Vitamin E to restore skin.
- Be patient. There’s no quick fix for dark spots and uneven skin tone. Normally it takes at least 4-6 weeks of active skin care treatment before you see any result. The fading of dark spots can take time, so don’t give up!
That is extremely important to choose safe and natural ingredients to address your skin problem, as it helps fading pigments and dark spot while nurturing your overall skin health, maintaining the treatment result in a healthy way.
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Discover our Routine for Pigmented and Uneven Skin Toner here.
This routine contains active brightening ingredients, Vitamin A, B, C, E and Licorice extracts, that help lighten hyper-pigmented areas, promoting even skin tone. It also inhibits melanin formation resulting in a brighter and visibly more radiant complexion.
