Treatment of Hyperpigmentation (dark spots on skin)
Hyperpigmentation or Discoloration Removal treatments are used to fade darkened areas of the skin which may result from hormones, sun damage, injuries, skin-type characteristics, medications, acne and more.
Areas of hyperpigmentation can be anything from melasma/choalasma (often attributed to pregnancy or hormonal imbalances) where brown or tan patches appear on the cheeks, upper lip and forehead after oral contraceptives and/or pregnancy, to areas of dark spots remaining after blemishes resolve, to dark areas remaining after injury, to freckles.
Treatments for hyperpigmentation include:
hydroquinone
Retin-A (retinoic acid)
kojic acid
Retin-A (retinoic acid)
kojic acid
chemical peels
azelaic acid
azelaic acid
laser
The treatments of hyperpigmentation wholly depend upon your needs and skin type. Some treatments can actually cause hypopigmentation (lack of color) in some individuals. If products containing hydroquinone are used for too long, the areas can actually start turning darker; a condition know as 'exogenous ochrinosis'. The treatment of hyperpigmentation can be extremely difficult and some patients simply may not respond to any form of treatment.
At the Ethnic Skin Specialty Center of New York at NYC Dermatology we will design a prescription strength, customized program to give you the best chance of successfully treating your hyperpigmentation, as we did for these patients.
