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subscribe to beauty blog via RSSDr. Sapna Westley On Spot Treatments
June 23, 2010 3:07 pm
This column features weekly tips and advice from a revolving cast of industry leaders, on hand to discuss your beauty dilemmas, from blemishes to Botox. To submit a question, e-mail celia_ellenberg@condenast.com.
My tendency toward hyper-pigmentation in the summer months is making me anxious about going outside. What is the best way to handle sun spots and still enjoy the warm weather?
I always emphasize that sun protection, one with full UVA and UVB coverage, remains the most important tool. Because no matter what you do to treat it, pigmentation always comes back or flares up—literally sometimes within ten minutes. Throughout the year, I recommend hydroquinone, whether it’s over-the-counter or prescription level. Products that have ingredients like fruit acid, alpha hydroxy acid, or even kojic or azelaic acid are also good for treating hyper-pigmentation in the colder months. But in the summer, with the sun getting even stronger, it’s important to keep your face shaded with a hat during the peak hours.
Even with sunblock on, though, you can still get pigmentation. While there are effective in-office treatments like a glycolic peel, microdermabrasion, and lasers, I tend to avoid using those for pigmentation in the summer because they do end up making your skin a little bit more sensitive to the sun. Another thing to be aware of is that the birth control pill can trigger melasma, a form of pigmentation. Even people who’ve been on it for a very long time can have one summer where they get a lot of sun and that can lead to melasma.
Dr. Sapna Westley is a board-certified dermatologist based out of Mercer Street Medical in New York’s Soho neighborhood. She is focused primarily on skincare, cosmeceuticals, and cosmetic dermatology. Westley also serves as a consulting dermatologist for Kao Brands.
tags: Dr. Sapna Westley, Hyperpigmentation, Skincare
