You’ve enjoyed fun summer activities like biking, hiking, boating and swimming, but as summer comes to an end, you may be seeing changes to your hair and skin that you don’t enjoy.
If your hair is dry and bleached out, you don’t have to worry because summer hair can be conditioned and recolored. But, what can you do to treat the dark splotches you see on your face, hands, neck or du00e9colletage?
Hyperpigmentation
Your skin is on your side. It tries to protect you from sun damage by creating a dark brown pigment called melanin. Sometimes, your skin tries too hard to keep you from harm, and your melanin production becomes excessive. This is when you’ll see signs of uneven skin tone called hyperpigmentation.
Prevention
Hyperpigmentation is not always easy to treat. Once the harm is done, it’s a challenge to repair the effects of sun damage. The best way to deal with hyperpigmentation is to avoid it in the first place. That’s why it’s imperative that you are diligent about using sunscreen products. Choose sunscreen that has an SPF rating of 15 or above and one that shields you from both UVA and UVB rays. Apply sunscreen liberally and frequently and limit your time in the sun.
Exfoliate and moisturize
Over-the-counter exfoliation products help to remove dead skin cells and may lighten spots and blotches through repeated use. Moisturizers help to keep your skin soft and supple so that skin discoloration is less noticeable.
Microdermabrasion
Medical spas are able to help kick-start your skin to a more youthful, even-toned appearance by microdermabrasion treatments. Performed by a skin care specialist, a hand-held device gently removes the dry dead cells in the top layers of your skin. This treatment helps to fade brown spots and blotches.
Chemical peels
Chemical peels can rejuvenate sun-damaged skin, fade brown spots and give your skin a healthy, youthful glow. Peels vary in intensity from superficial peels for mild sun damage to aggressive peels for more serious cases of hyperpigmentation
Laser treatments
Sun-induced hyperpigmentation responds well to laser treatments. Your skin care expert can target the unsightly brown spots and blotches with pulses of light that break up the pigment into tiny particles that disappear during normal skin exfoliation.
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