How to remove melasma? Recommended methods to lighten spots! Can melasma be cured?

This is a purely popular science article. After reading it, you can have a more rational understanding of facial spots, how to remove melasma and look at the various scams on the market for treating spots from a more scientific perspective.

The article will analyze chloasma, freckles, and age spots in detail, and give corresponding treatment plans. It will also expose the lies about spot treatments on the market, allowing you to become more professional and rational. Refuse to pay the IQ tax and protect your wallet.

Freckle

The reason why we talk about freckles first is that freckles are the simplest of the three spots. The cause is very simple, it is caused by heredity (autosomal dominant inheritance). Generally, the spots on the face gradually appear after the age of 5, and become more and more serious with age. However, some people tend to get better in adulthood. Pay attention! Some people have a tendency to get better!

This product is greatly affected by sunlight, and the color and number of freckles will increase after sun exposure. Therefore, it will increase in seasons with strong ultraviolet rays and fade in winter.

What’s even more speechless is that freckles are not all over the body, but appear wherever there is light, making you so ugly that you have nowhere to hide, such as on the face, arms, and forearms.

Let me tell you something quietly. Freckles are not like melasma, which is passed on to men. Freckles are rarely passed on to men, but mainly to women. You will find that although you are born from the same mother, your face is dotted like a painting, while your brother’s face is smooth like a peeled egg.

The structure of freckles:

Electron microscopic observation revealed that the melanocytes in freckles were similar to those in black people, with more stage IV melanosomes. The melanosomes in the melanocytes were numerous and often rod-shaped.

In plain words: freckles are darker in color and more numerous.

Misconceptions about removing freckles:

I don’t know if you have heard of medical beauty projects such as laser and picosecond, which can remove freckles and prevent recurrence. If you believe it, I can only say that the money is gone.

Although laser and picosecond therapy can break up the melanosomes in melanocytes and metabolize them through the skin, they can brighten the skin tone and lighten spots.

but

Cells will be renewed, and when new melanocytes grow out, the melanosomes inside them are still the same number and the color is still the same. With the skin’s metabolism, they slowly appear on the epidermis, and the freckles come back. Those who don’t know why may think that the freckles have recurred.

Of course, there is one situation where freckles can indeed be removed through medical beauty treatments, and that is for those people whose freckles will fade or disappear after adulthood. For these people, even if no treatment is done, they will disappear. It just happened that you had medical beauty treatments, and naively thought that the money was worth it, and they really disappeared.

Freckles skin care principles:

Do a good job of sun protection

This is fundamental because the ultraviolet rays in the sun will aggravate the symptoms of freckles, making the spots darker and more numerous.

The principle of sun protection is no sun exposure > cover up > sunscreen. You can follow this sun protection standard on weekdays. Try to avoid going out during the period when ultraviolet rays are strong. If you really have to go out, arrange sun umbrellas, sun-proof clothes and other covering clothes, and finally sunscreen. Choose a sunscreen that suits you, and the comprehensive sun protection effect will be better. But don’t overdo it. After all, sunlight is very important to your health. On weekdays, you can get sun for ten to twenty minutes when ultraviolet rays are weak (morning and evening).

Do a good job of anti-blue light

The blue light emitted by mobile phones, computers and other electronic products will accelerate the evaporation of moisture in the skin, activate the activity of tyrosinase, produce a large number of pigmentation, and aggravate the symptoms of spots.

To protect against blue light, you can do the following:

1. Use skin care products that feature carnosine, because carnosine can block blue light damage and delay the shortening of cell telomeres. In other words, it can delay skin aging and protect against blue light radiation.
2. Don’t stare at electronic products for a long time at a time. You can adjust the time you spend looking at the screen, take a break for a few minutes or about ten to twenty minutes before looking at the electronic screen again.
3. You can eat more antioxidant foods to slow down skin aging from the inside out and tighten your skin. Such as blueberries, pomegranates, mulberries, broccoli, grapes, mangosteens, etc.

3. Do a good job of hydration + moisturizing

Use skin care products that are suitable for you and take good care of your skin. However, it is not ideal to use one product to make your skin supple and plump.

because

Different skin care products have different effects on the skin:

Cleansing: Cleanses the face of impurities and excess oil.

Water: It can replenish moisture for the skin in time, but because it does not have closed oil, it has no water-locking effect, and the water applied will evaporate in a short time. In addition, water can also adjust the pH value of the skin, allowing subsequent products to be better absorbed.

Essence: Highly concentrated nutrient solution that can deeply nourish the skin and make it better.

Lotion/Cream: It mainly plays a sealing role, preventing the evaporation of moisture from the epidermis, allowing the effective ingredients of skin care products to remain better on the epidermis and play their maximum role.

However, cream is thicker than lotion, has stronger occlusive properties, and is more suitable for dry skin.

Applying the whole set of skin care products can enhance the skin’s ability to lock in moisture and make the effect more obvious.

4. Arrangement of whitening products

In fact, you can choose a set of whitening moisturizing products, which can moisturize and whiten. Moisturizing is particularly important. If the skin is not well moisturized, it will easily dry out, and it will become dry skin in the long run. Dry skin barrier is damaged, it is easy to become sensitive skin, and dry skin will also increase the color and number of spots.

It is important to be clear that whitening products can only lighten the color of freckles. The ideal state is to lighten them to the point where they are no longer visible. However, whitening products need to be used for a long time. Generally, a whitening cycle is 28 days, which follows the skin growth cycle.

But don’t be greedy, be greedy for the strength and time of whitening, whitening is a long-term thing, it takes time to accumulate. If there is a product that says it can remove spots in 3 days or 1 week, you can avoid it.

Age spots

The medically recognized reason for the formation of age spots is related to the action of free radicals and their products. That is, as we age, a large number of free radicals are produced in the body, and the body’s own antioxidant system function declines and cannot properly handle the increasing number of free radicals. These free radicals will remain in cells and organs in the body in large quantities, causing lipid peroxidation. The final product of lipid peroxidation is malondialdehyde (MDA). MDA has a strong cross-linking property. It can cross-link with biological macromolecules such as phospholipids, acylethanolamines, proteins or nucleic acids containing free amino acids in the body to form Schiff bases (NHR), namely lipofuscin, which is the so-called age spots.

Of course, the formation of age spots is also related to ultraviolet radiation, because ultraviolet radiation will cause epidermal cells to produce a large number of free radicals, which can not only damage the 8-hydroxyguanosine (8-OHdG) of DNA and cause genetic mutations, but also produce or accelerate epidermal lipid peroxidation and form lipofuscin (age spots).

In addition to sunlight, air pollutants, radiation, ozone, etc. will promote the production of free radicals, accelerating the formation of age spots on the skin.

Age spots do not appear all at once, but are a process of continuous accumulation of aging. The appearance of age spots is a precursor to the aging of internal organs of the body.

Aging process

The human aging process begins at around the age of 25. After that, age pigments will gradually accumulate in human cells, occupying some submicrostructures within the cells, thereby disrupting the spatial position of the cells and affecting their normal functions. This process is irreversible and can accompany one’s life.

The relationship between the formation mechanism of lipofuscin and cell aging, as well as the biochemical process of lipofuscin formation, have certain scientific basis.

The good news is that age spots are more common in men, with the highest incidence being between 50 and 59 years old. The highest incidence in women is between 40 and 49 years old.

By the way, the formation of age spots is also related to genetics, which is why some people have age spots and some do not.

Age spot treatment methods

Do a good job of anti-oxidation + sun protection . Whitening products on the market are ineffective for age spots, because whitening products on the market mainly target melanosomes in the skin, and the cause of age spots is not melanosomes but lipofuscin.

It is more appropriate to buy more anti-aging products with strong antioxidants for mothers and grandmothers. Taking mothers and grandmothers to do medical beauty can alleviate the symptoms, but it cannot eradicate them.

chloasma

The reason why I put the most concerned and most wanted to know about melasma at the end is because it is too complicated. At present, it is still a difficult problem in the medical field to remove it. Because its formation is too complicated, it is usually the result of multiple reasons. It feels like a mess that can’t be sorted out.

Let’s first look at its causes. It’s no exaggeration to say that this is the most comprehensive introduction to the causes of melasma on the market. Collect it now!

Causes of Melasma

It is divided into two parts: endogenous factors and exogenous factors.

Let’s look at exogenous factors first , because they are simple:

UV rays

Ultraviolet rays can directly stimulate the proliferation of melanocytes and stimulate keratinocytes to release NO, which increases melanin synthesis. Therefore, sun protection is one of the most important measures to prevent and reduce chloasma.

Blue light

The blue light emitted by electronic screens such as mobile phones and computers can promote the activity of tyrosinase and the production of melanin. Blue light can also accelerate the evaporation of skin moisture and make the skin dry. At the same time, blue light can also produce a large number of free radicals and accelerate skin aging.

Imbalance of skin microecology

Studies have shown that the number of live Propionibacterium acnes in chloasma lesions is significantly lower than that in normal skin, while the number of live Corynebacterium, aerobic Gram-negative bacilli, Micrococcus and other pigment-producing Micrococci is significantly higher than that in normal skin. Moreover, the number of live Micrococci that produce pigments increases with increasing temperature and time, and the pigment produced also becomes significantly darker.

Chloasma patients’ pigmentation deepens or recurs in spring, summer and autumn, and improves or disappears in winter. In addition to being related to the intensity of ultraviolet rays, this may also be related to a certain extent.

Endogenous factors:

1. Genetics

Javaheri et al. found through research that 30% to 47% of melasma patients have a family history, especially in men, where melasma is often related to genetics.

2. Endocrinology

The onset of melasma in women is clearly related to endocrine dysfunction and imbalance of the hypothalamus-pituitary-ovarian axis.

Estrogen binds to estrogen receptors in melanocytes, enhancing the expression of tyrosinase. At the same time, estrogen can also relieve the inhibitory effect of glutathione or sulfhydryl on tyrosinase, thereby increasing melanin formation.

Pregnancy, menstrual cycle disorders, sexual disharmony, mental stress, oral contraceptives, etc. can easily cause significant changes in estrogen in the body.

Why is it easy to get spots during pregnancy?

• Increased estrogen
• Progestearone can promote the transport of melanin particles
• Increased serum iron can bind to epidermal hormones, relieving their inhibition of tyrosinase and increasing melanin formation (the body needs to supplement an appropriate amount of trace elements during pregnancy)
• Increased synthesis of vitamin D3 increases the tyrosinase content in melanocytes and accelerates melanin synthesis.

It is worth mentioning that chloasma produced during pregnancy will gradually disappear with the end of pregnancy. If chloasma does not disappear after pregnancy, it is definitely not a simple pregnancy problem caused by pregnancy spots, but also the result of a combination of other reasons.

3. Lipid peroxidation

There are many antioxidant enzymes in the human body. When lipid peroxide (LPO) increases or the level of free radicals increases, under the body’s normal self-regulatory protection mechanism, oxidation and anti-oxidation in the human body are in a dynamic balance.

However, in patients with melasma, this regulatory system may be blocked, causing LPO to accumulate. LPO acts as a trigger to accelerate the oxidation reaction of tyrosinase and increase melanin production.

4. Endothelial function

The vascular endothelium is not only a barrier, but also has many physiological functions. Endothelial cell-derived vasoconstrictor factors mainly include endothelin (ET), and vasodilator factors mainly include nitric oxide (NO). Under physiological conditions, ET and NO interact and regulate each other and are in a dynamic balance. In skin tissue, ET mainly acts as a bridge for interaction between keratinocytes and melanocytes, and participates in the development of melanocytes and melanin synthesis. NO is a powerful activator of melanin synthesis, which can increase melanin synthesis, and at the same time attack fatty acids on the cell membrane to produce peroxides to accelerate the aging of the body.

5. Blood rheology

Increased blood viscosity causes blood stasis and leads to chloasma. Simply put, the capillaries on the face are dense and thin, and the viscous blood is not easy to flow to the end of the blood vessels or the inflow is small, resulting in the inability to transfer harmful substances produced by the metabolism of the skin ends. Oxygen free radical scavengers such as SOD cannot reach the skin with blood circulation and produce pigmentation. This is also the reason why vasodilation is sometimes accompanied by pigmentation.

6. Content of trace elements in serum

There are more than 40 trace elements in the human body, which play an important role in human health.

There is a certain relationship between the level of trace elements in the body and the occurrence of chloasma. For example, an increase in serum copper levels will increase the activity of skin tyrosinase, increase pigmentation, and cause chloasma. Zinc deficiency can reduce total SOD activity, increase tyrosinase activity, and increase pigmentation.

7. Other factors

Diseases: gynecological diseases (infertility, chronic pelvic inflammatory disease, irregular menstruation, etc.), thyroid diseases, liver diseases, etc.

Emotional instability : Being too depressed or too excited will affect the HPA axis’s release of MSH, leading to pigmentation.

Drugs: Long-term use of some psychotropic drugs, such as hibernation spirit, can promote the formation of spots. Of course, some drugs that disrupt endocrine system, such as contraceptive pills, can also aggravate the formation of spots.

Diet: Long-term lack of glutathione in the diet will cause an increase in tyrosine oxidation of dopaquinone and the production of a large amount of melanin. Barbecue, desserts and other high-sugar and high-oil foods can cause glycosylation reactions in the body, accelerating skin aging and pigmentation.

Melasma treatment methods:

Internal adjustment and external nourishment need to be carried out simultaneously, with the emphasis on internal adjustment and external nourishment as auxiliary.

After reading this, now you know why it is difficult to eradicate melasma, right? It is not just the skin pigmentation that we can see, but also affected by the health status of the body. Therefore, it is difficult for any skin care products or medical beauty projects to eradicate melasma. You must adjust your body internally and keep it in good condition, which is the most critical reason for not getting melasma. Secondly, pay attention to the interference of the external environment, do a good job of sun protection, anti-blue light, etc.

To summarize the method of fading melasma:

• Health comes first
• Antioxidant
• Sun protection
• Anti-blue light
• Mood stability
• Be mindful of your diet
• Whitening products

This point needs to be explained. The underlying layer of melasma is the color, quantity and growth rate of melanosomes. The growth of melanosomes is divided into three stages: front, middle and back. In order to achieve a good whitening effect, there are corresponding whitening pathways for different stages of melanosome growth.

For example, before melanin is synthesized, the synthesis of melanin can be blocked by inhibiting the activity of tyrosinase. Representative whitening ingredients are: 377, arbutin, kojic acid, resveratrol , etc.

In melanin synthesis: in addition to the above-mentioned tyrosinase inhibitors, there are also dopaquinone reductants, such as vitamin C and vitamin C derivatives.

After melanin is synthesized: prevent it from being transported to the epidermis, or accelerate the shedding of the melanin that has already been formed. The representative ingredient of the former is niacinamide, and the representative ingredient of the latter is acid-based products.

It is worth mentioning that the underlying agents of melasma and freckles are both melanosomes, so the above whitening channel is also suitable for freckles.

The floor-style method of fading melasma:

1. Health comes first

Live a self-disciplined life, don’t stay up late, eat a healthy diet with a combination of meat and vegetables, do at least 15 minutes of sweating exercise every day (not too much, as it will accelerate aging), get angry less and smile more, and find hobbies that suit you. All of this is for internal adjustment, so that you can have a good body.

2. Sun protection

It has been written above. For your convenience, I will paste the points about sun protection and anti-blue light here again.

The principle of sun protection is no sun exposure > cover up > sunscreen. You can follow this sun protection standard on weekdays. Try to avoid going out during the period when ultraviolet rays are strong. If you really have to go out, arrange sun umbrellas, sun-proof clothes and other covering items, and finally sunscreen. Choose a sunscreen that suits you, and the comprehensive sun protection effect will be better. But don’t overdo it. After all, sunlight is very important to your health. On weekdays, you can get sun for ten to twenty minutes when ultraviolet rays are weak (morning and evening).

3. Do a good job of anti-blue light

The blue light emitted by electronic products such as mobile phones and computers will accelerate the evaporation of moisture in the skin, activate the activity of tyrosinase, produce a large number of pigmentation, and aggravate the symptoms of freckles.

To protect against blue light, you can do the following:

• Use skin care products that feature carnosine, because carnosine can block blue light damage and delay the shortening of cell telomeres, in simple terms, delaying skin aging.
• Don’t stare at electronic products for a long time at a time. You can adjust the time you spend looking at the screen, take a break for a few minutes or about ten to twenty minutes before looking at the electronic screen again.
• You can eat more antioxidant foods to slow down skin aging from the inside out and tighten your skin. Such as blueberries, pomegranates, mulberries, broccoli, grapes, mangosteens, etc.

4. Choose the right products to help your skin and reduce freckles

Hydration and moisturizing are the basis, and whitening and blemish removal can follow.

This does not mean that you should buy two sets of skin care products, one for hydrating and moisturizing and the other for whitening and lightening. Instead, you should choose a set of products that can moisturize, whiten and lighten spots.

To be honest, any skin care product has the function of moisturizing, because it is the foundation of skin care. The reason why it is particularly emphasized is because moisturizing is very important. Don’t just think about how to lighten the spots on your face and ignore moisturizing. It will only make the spots worse.

Related product package recommendations

Given that the formation of melasma is related to the skin’s microecology, you can choose water that can regulate the skin’s microecology , such as Estee Lauder Sakura Water, BM Skin Activating Water, Dr. Aier Probiotic Water, etc.

You can choose essences with whitening ingredients, such as SkinCeuticals CE Essence, OLAY Whitening Essence , Cellex VC Essence, etc. Pay attention! You must buy whitening products from old brands, which will reduce the risk of stepping on whitening products from unknown new brands.

Choose a lotion/cream with whitening effect. I rarely use whitening products, so I don’t have a say. Recommend personally prefer anti-aging lotions/creams. I have never used the OLAY whitening essence recommended above , but I have been using the other two. The reason I use those two whitening essences is that the main VC ingredient has a strong antioxidant effect, which can tighten the skin and whiten it at the same time.

The article ends with a summary:

Freckles, age spots, and chloasma on the face cannot be eradicated through medical beauty or skin care products. They can only be faded. The most understandable state is that they are faded to the point where they can no longer be seen. However, with the metabolism of the skin and the interference of the external environment, new spots will appear. Therefore, during the use of medical beauty and whitening products, it is necessary to cooperate with sun protection, blue light protection, and anti-oxidation. Otherwise, the spots will come back soon after the treatment. But if sun protection, blue light protection, anti-oxidation, etc. are done well, coupled with medical beauty/skin care, the spots will come slower or maintain the current skin condition.