Treatment of pigment spots

Skin pigmentation changes are:

congenital skin pigmentation disorders such as lentigos and cafe au lait
- freckles and liver spots
sun-induced discolouration
Hyperpigmentation is particularly common in sun-exposed areas: the face, neck and décolleté and the back of the hands.

A common problem in women is liver flukes, which is influenced by heredity, the sun and hormones. Mechanical irritation can also cause darkening of the skin. In women, brownish-red skin darkening on the side of the neck (Civatte poikiloderma) is caused by cosmetic products and the sun. Darkening of the skin can also be caused by laser abrasion.

Melasma is a skin pigmentation change that occurs mainly only in women. Liver spots in women usually appear as dark patches on the face and most commonly appear during the summer months when sunlight levels are at their peak.The most common sites are the forehead, cheekbones, upper lip, nose and chin.

The main risk factors are sun exposure and female hormones. Liver flaps often appear during pregnancy or after starting birth control pills. Melanocytes in the skin produce too much pigment, causing discolouration. Liver spots can be treated, but successful treatment requires careful sun protection from early spring onwards.

Superficial pigmentary changes can be treated with colour laser or skin peels.

The most effective treatment for pigmentary changes is laser treatment.

Treatment method

When the two energies, the light pulse and the radio frequency, act on the pigment, it heats up and the pigment decays. The skin pigment changes start to darken immediately after the treatment and the skin may become slightly red. There may be some swelling in the treated area. These symptoms usually last from a few hours to one day. If you wish, you can cover the redness with make-up. The darkened areas will flake off and disappear after a few weeks after the procedure.

Before treatment

no browning products can be used during the two weeks and the treatment is not administered to very tanned skin. Treatment should not be given if the patient has a pacemaker or defibrillator, or during pregnancy or breast-feeding.

After treatment

It is important to protect the skin well from the sun during and after the healing process to avoid further pigment changes.

After the treatment, it is a good idea to exfoliate and renew the area, so that the broken pigment rises to the surface of the skin and peels off as quickly as possible.