I never had any hyperpigmentation scars on my skin from until I reached my teenage years. I didn’t have much acne but I had the odd pimple here and there and when these came up I would pop them and after the pimple healed I would pick my skin. I knew it was not a good idea, but I couldn’t help myself. You would think after seeing the dark marks left on my skin I would stop picking my skin but I didn’t and couldn’t. I started wearing make-up so I could hide the marks. I feel my hyperpigmentation marks disappeared considerably quickly and I attribute this to having young skin that regenerates quickly. However, as I have become older my skin was not recovering as fast and I still kept on picking my skin and this left me with a number of considerable hyperpigmentation marks. I therefore made a decision to seriously tackle my hyperpigmentation.
My skin isn’t perfect now, but there has been a significant improvement which I attribute to being consistent with my skin care routine (sorry there so there are no miracle products that I came across that will magically overnight get rid of hyperpigmentation marks, what I will share is a routine that I stuck by consistently that helped me improve my skin. I must preface before I go into my routine I did. get a prescription cream but I have not gone for any dermatologist treatments. The prescription cream I got was from Dermatica. Dermatica offer prescription medicine for skin, before they give you a prescription you need to provide a picture online and every so often you need to provide a picture before you receive a new prescription. The cream I got had hydroquinone and tretinoin. I used this cream for short time as hydroquinone is not recommended to be used long term. I will go into prescription and dermatologist treatment in another article. For now, I will go through the products and routine I built that I believe helped my hyperpigmentation improve.
Step 1: Cleanse
Cleansing is an important part of the routine which we can be easily overlooked. We need to remove the build up of oil, dirt and all the products we used on our skin. This enables new products to be absorbed into the skin and also allows our skin not to be clogged up. Cleansing your skin is not complicated, you should massage your cleanser all over your face for a good 60-90 seconds and then rinse your cleanser off using lukewarm water.
I am a fan of foam cleaners as I just find them easier to use. I have used the Atobarrier 365 Bubble Cleanser by Asterura. The key ingredients in this cleanser include green tea water and Vitamin E. This is stated not to have any animal derived ingredients, mineral oil or artificial fragrances. It is stated to have been hypoallergenic and dermatologically tested. Furthermore, it is stated it is made to have a pH level that is mildly acidic that is suitable for sensitive skin. I found this to be gentle and I feel it cleanses my skin without stripping it and leaving it super dry. I feel it could be more cleansing as it feels more moisturising but it still does the job. As I go through cleaners more regular and can’t get hold of this as easily as it is shipped from Korea, I tend to use the Superdrug B. Instant Foaming Cleanser as its more accessible.
Step 2. Moisturise
Moisturizing you skin is important and ensures your skin is hydrated and therefore it should be part of your daily routine to help maintain a healthy skin barrier. In addition, you can pick specific moisturiser to target a specific skin. The moisturiser I felt work best for me is the Rovectin Lotus Water Cream. This has lotus flower extract and the brand states this makes 75% of the cream. Lotus is a brightening agent that is claimed to be gentle which I found to be true. The cream also has Niacinamide which is also been said to help with brightening and also be gentle to skin. The cream in addition is vegan and has no artificial fragrances. I really liked this as it feels really light when I applied it on my skin and was easily absorbed into my skin. It is hydrating without making my skin feel oily. I have heard some opinions from others stating Rovectin Lotus Water Cream is simple but that’s why I like it! It does exactly what it is supposed to do and it is gentle.
Step 3. Essence
I started using Essences after getting into K-beauty. The essence I feel contributed most to getting rid of my hyperpigmentation marks was the Missha Time Revolution Artemisia Treatment Essence. Artemisisa is also known as Mugwort, Mugwort is grown in Korea and is claimed to be anti-inflammatory and soothing to acne prone skin. But I feel it definitely helped with making my marks lighter in combination with the rest of my skincare routine. I applied this essence in the morning after cleansing my skin and then applied moisturiser.
Step 4. Exfoliate
I made sure I exfoliated to ensure the new layers of skin came through. I will cover exfoliation in another article so I won’t go into too much detail on here. I ensured I exfoliated at least two to three times a week. I opted for chemical exfoliation and used Krave Beauty, Kale-Lalu-yAHA, this is made up of 5.25% Glycolic Acid, but don’t let the glycolic acid scare you, I found this to be a gentle chemical exfoliator even with my sensitive skin. Other notable ingredients this contains are Kale, Spinach, Parsley and Hyaluronic Acid. I recommend applying this with a cotton pad to make it more tolerable to your skin especially if you are new to acids. and then applying on to skin. This did give me tingling sensation but the more used it, I don’t really feel this anymore. I did notice when I started exfoliating that my skin became very dry and was peeling off however this only happened when I was using Dermatcia. I therefore attribute this to the fact my skin was more sensitised at the time because of the use of the prescription cream, so I would advise to use the gentlest exfoliation and exfoliate not more than once a week if your skin is sensitive or even less depending how sensitive how skin gets.
Step 5. Sunscreen
The most important step is using sunscreen. You can make all the progress in reducing your hyperpigmentation marks but if you don’t wear sunscreen your marks will continue to get darker. In addition, sunscreen protects your skin from ageing and overall sun exposure damage. It is said that the sun is the biggest contributor to aging of the skin. There are 2 sunscreens I used, Krave Beauty, Beet The Sun SPF 40 PA. This is a chemical sunscreen, and its key ingredients are Beetroot Extract, Vitamin E, Hyaluronic Acid and Propanediol. This leaves no white cast and is so lightweight and gives my skin such a glow and is really my favourite sunscreen.
The other sunscreen I use is, Dr.G Green Mild Up Sun SPF50, which is a mineral sunscreen, it is a good option if you prefer not to use a chemical sunscreen. This does have a white cast but I think it is minimal for a mineral sunscreen. You will have to really rub it in but the white cast eventually goes even on my skin which is dark. It is very gentle and is vegan and hypoallergenic.
Hyperpigmentation is not easy to treat but what I have learned so far is to be patient and try to work on prevention while still working on treating the hyperpigmentation.