HOW TO LIGHTEN SKIN DISCOLORATIONS

How to Lighten Skin Discolorations

Skin discolorations come with many names: e.g. freckles, age spots, melasma, and PIH. These are all classified as hyperpigmentation, defined as skin darkening caused by abundance of melanin.

The location of excess melanin pigmentation is important. It is either in the outer (epidermal) layer or the inner (dermal) layer of your skin. If the skin discoloration is very pronounced, the excess pigment is probably in the outer layer. Subtle marks indicate deeper layer of pigmentation.

If the excess melanin is in the deeper dermal layer, like dermal melasma, the discoloration can be most difficult to treat. Topical remedy won’t work. Fractional lasers will not help either. The practical remedy is just a cosmetic cover up. The good news is that positive results have been achieved with multi-session Nd:Yag laser treatment.

Fortunately, most cases of skin discolorations are the epidermal type, like freckles and age spots, and non-dermal melasma.

Freckles are usually hereditary, with melanocytes producing more than the normal melanin pigments. The more you are exposed to the sun, the darker the freckles get. Daily sun protection is a must!

Age spots are small brown patches of the skin, the cumulative effect of unprotected sun exposure since birth. The number of pigment producing melanocytes is increased, leading to dark brown spots. Once age spots are formed, they remain pretty stable in their color even if you get more sun exposure.

Melasma is triggered by hormonal fluctuation, during pregnancy, and aggravated by sun exposure.

Exfoliate and lighten skin discolorations
with DERMAX Retinol C serum

Treatment options for epidermal discolorations are:

• Topical treatments with sunscreens and lightening creams & lotions
• Peels, combined with topical treatments
• Dermal roller
• Fractional lasers and Nd:Yag laser

Save on unnecessary expense by consulting first with your dermatologist. They are trained to diagnose if you have dermal or epidermal type of pigmentation. They will then prescribe the best treatment option for your specific skin condition.

 

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This column was published in the Manila Bulletin Lifestyle Section on August 5, 2014 . The author is the CEO of SkinStation. He received the 2011 Outstanding Chemist Award from Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) for his achievements in the field of cosmetic chemistry. Skin Smart aims to clarify facts and myths on skin care. Send your questions and comments to info@skinstation.ph. 

TEN HOLIDAY SKIN CARE TIPS

Ten Holiday Skin Care Tips

 

Just when you need to show your best during reunions with friends, ex-officemates and relatives, suddenly you get a zit or two, thanks to the holiday stress. Here are some of the best tips to give your complexion a much-needed boost this holiday season.

1.  Sleep well. Getting at least 8 hours a day of sleep lowers stress levels. The skin naturally repairs itself at night so you wake up to fresher, glowing skin in the morning. If you must join that pajama party, roll on DERMAX Hyalift eye repair duo when you wake up with puffy eyes.

2.  Apply sunscreen everyday. Before heading outdoors for a day of gift-hunting, apply sunscreen on your face, neck and other exposed areas. Choose a broad spectrum sunscreen that provides protection against skin-damaging UVA/UVB rays such as DERMAX UV Milk Anti-Aging Sunscreen with SPF 50 PA+++.

3.  Drink plenty of water. The holiday rush can leave your skin dry and tired-looking. Make sure you drink plenty of water to replenish lost moisture in your skin. Take extra sips of water within the day for clearer skin and prevention of fine lines and wrinkles.

4.   Exercise. Beat holiday stress by getting enough exercise to maintain a sound mind and body. Regular exercise also increases blood flow that nourishes skin cells to give your skin that healthy and vibrant boost.

DERMAX Professional skin care products are
available exclusively in all SkinStation branches.

5.   Have a facial. Pamper yourself during the stressful holidays by having a facial. It helps you relax and lets you get your much-needed “me-time”. Check SkinStation’s range of relaxing signature facials that moisturize, smoothen and brighten skin all throughout the holiday season.

6.   Exfoliate. Regular cleansing might not be enough to rid your skin of dead skin cells that cause blackheads and blemishes. Prep up your skin for the holidays by having a Diamond Peel to gently slough off dry skin. No time for one? Use an exfoliant soap like DERMAX AcneX Soap with time-released salicylic acid through advanced double encapsulation technology.

7.  Try a lip plumper. Be kissable under the mistletoe. DERMAX Pink n’ Pout lip plumper helps you achieve smoother, fuller and more youthful lips. It promises long-term benefits through a combination of two multi-awarded and patent-pending innovations that “fatten” lips in just one month. Pucker up this Christmas and on New Year’s Eve too!

8. Have instant wrinkle therapy. Botox. Dermal fillers. These breakthrough clinic procedures can soften fine lines and wrinkles in no time at all. Allow a few days before the reunion events. You can also appear much younger in just two minutes with DERMAX Retinol C instant effect.

9.  Smile. Your best accessory is your smile. So while going through the holiday rush, don’t forget to smile as often as you can. It instantly brightens your appearance and makes everyone you smile at feel good inside.

10. Warts away. Once the hustle and bustle subsides, plan on having warts removal on your face and body. The last few days of the holiday season is the best time to have those contagious warts cauterized.

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This column was published in the Manila Bulletin Lifestyle Section on December 24, 2013. The author is the CEO of SkinStation. He received the 2011 Outstanding Chemist Award from Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) for his achievements in the field of cosmetic chemistry. 
Skin Smart aims to clarify facts and myths on skin care. Send your questions and comments to info@skinstation.ph. 

IS DERMAL FILLER FOR YOU?

Is Dermal Filler For You?

Twenty-five years ago, going under the knife for a face-lift was the way to get rid of wrinkly, sagging skin. But today, a range of dermal fillers can be injected to soften those facial creases, enhance shallow contours, and plump up thinning lips. With these nonsurgical “liquid facelifts,” you can get back the youthful fullness of your face in about an hour, with immediate results, and no downtime.

These treatments are temporary, lasting anywhere from six months to two years, and therefore, must be repeated for maintenance. It may appear more cost effective to have permanent fillers but these may bring permanent complications. Permanent dermal filler injected in your 40s may not look the same on your face as when you are in your 60s.

The optimal age for a patient to begin getting fillers is in the 40s to early 50s. However, a lifestyle of soaking in the sun, smoking and liquor, and lack of sleep has made it easy for young people in their 20s and 30s to have early frown lines. Also, much younger patients have come for nonsurgical rhinoplasty and chin augmentation. With the increasing popularity of dermal filler procedures, the question has changed from “Should I?” to “Which one?”

Restylane and Hyaluronica are offered as dermal filler options at SkinStation.

Restylane and Hyaluronica are made of hyaluronic acid. If the hyaluronic acid sounds familiar, it's because the same substance is used as anti-aging and moisturizing ingredient in DERMAX HYAL C, among other DERMAX Professional skin care products. Hyaluronic acid is also injected into the aching joints of people with arthritis to provide extra cushioning. Because the body produces hyaluronic acid naturally, it hardly ever causes an allergic reaction, and it gives a smoother, more natural appearance. Other brand names using hyaluronic acid include: Juvaderm, Hylaform, Perlane, and Prevelle.

Radiesse and Radiance are dermal fillers made of very tiny, smooth microspheres of calcium hydroxylapatite (CaHA). 

A common misconception is that dermal fillers do the same job as Botox injections. Although both Botox and dermal fillers reduce the appearance of wrinkles, these products don’t treat the same type of wrinkles. Botox is used on areas where the skin gets wrinkled due to frequent muscle movement. On the other hand, dermal fillers literally fill in sunken areas resulting from the aging process.

The dermatologist will determine which fillers to use on specific parts of the face to be treated. Some fillers are more viscous; others are more fluid and can plump larger areas. A combination of Botox and fillers may achieve best results in many cases. 

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This article was published in the Lifestyle Section of Manila Bulletin on July 30, 2013. The author is the CEO of SkinStation. He received the 2011 Outstanding Chemist Award from the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) for his achievements in the field of cosmetic chemistry. Skin Smart aims to clarify facts and myths on skin care. Send your questions and comments to info@skinstation.ph. 

Is there hope for acne scars?

Is there hope for acne scars?

Most people recover completely from acne without any permanent scarring. Those with severe acne are not as lucky. They are left with disfiguring acne scars of various types that can leave them feeling self-conscious about their appearance. Picking, pressing or rubbing of pimples or whiteheads increases the possibility of scar formation.

When acne clears up, pink, red, or dark spots often appear on the skin. The good news is that these are not scars and will eventually fade. To be classified as scar, the skin defect has to persist for at least a year. Topical products with lightening and exfoliating ingredients like Retinol-C serum, NanoWhite cream, and AcneX soap can lighten these dark spots. Multiple sessions of mild glycolic peel combined with diamond peel may provide faster relief than topical medication.

Acne scars take several shapes. The back and chest get the hypertrophic scar, which is thick and lumpy. The face usually gets the depressed types of acne scars, named after their shapes.  The first is an ice pick scar, which is deep pitted with steep edges. The second is a boxcar scar, which has sharp, square sides to it.  The third is a rolling scar, which has wide, shallow and curved indentation.

Most successful acne scar treatments may take multiple sessions over a period of several months before significant improvement can be seen. The basic steps of acne scar removal may include a combination of the following procedures:

Dermal fillers: These are substance that can be injected into depressed scars to plump them up to the level of the surrounding skin. Hyaluronic acid injectable like Restylane and Juvederm are good fillers for shallow to deep acne scars. They can last from 3 to 18 months, depending on the material used. Your own fat, taken from another part of the body, can also be used as dermal filler and can last from 1 to 3 years. Ice pick scars may require dermal fillers.

Chemical peels: A chemical solution like trichloroacetic acid (TCA) or glycolic acid is used to peel away the outer layers of skin. The solutions are available in several strengths, and used according to the degree of peeling desired. A series of 4 to 6 superficial peels are effective for improving discoloration from acne, while medium depth peels or a deep peel can improve the appearance of atrophic acne scars. Healing can take from 3 days to 3 weeks depending on the depth of peeling. Avoiding unnecessary sun exposure, wearing sunscreen daily during the healing period and following post-care instructions are important to prevent unwanted side effects.

Fractional laser is available
 at SkinStation. 

Fractional lasers: Excellent results can be achieved for the boxcar and rolling acne scars with ablative fractional lasers using CO2 or Er:YAG. These lasers are called “fractional” because they work by resurfacing only a “fraction” of the skin at a time, leaving the surrounding area intact for faster healing. These lasers poke tiny microscopic holes in the skin down past the epidermis and into the dermis, causing new collagen to form, which fills in the acne scars and smoothens skin. The same basic principle is the basis for micro-needling procedure (dermaroller or auto stamping) which we call the COLLAGENESIS in SkinStation, but more sessions are needed to approximate the same benefits one can get from fractional laser resurfacing.

Scar surgery: The goal of scar surgery is to raise the scar to the level of the surrounding skin, thereby creating a smooth appearance.  Sometimes the scar is actually cut out and the edges of the remaining skin are brought together.  Fillers may be used to raise the affected area. 

Before committing to any medical treatment for acne scar, be sure you have all the knowledge you need to make an educated decision.  Have your free consultation with the doctors at SkinStation so that you fully understand the risks and benefits of each treatment option.

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This was published in the July 17, 2012 issue of Manila Bulletin Lifestyle Section. The author is the CEO of SkinStation. He received the 2011 Outstanding Chemist Award from Professional Regulations Commission for his achievements in the field of cosmetic chemistry. He can be reached at fred.reyes@skinstation.ph.

Hyaluronic Acid: Fountain of Youth?

What gives skin the volume to make it look healthy and young? What acts as a lubricating fluid in our joints and eyes? Hyaluronic acid (HA) does both. It’s a kind of amino polymer naturally present in our body, a building block for collagen. However, our body’s ability to produce HA diminishes as we age.

When HA was successfully extracted from rooster comb, a lot of interest in its anti-aging use began. In fact, HA has been promoted as a “fountain of youth.” Now, it is commercially produced by synthetic process or by natural fermentation.

Certain injectable brands were approved by US FDA  as dermal filler, to fill up lines and wrinkles, and to plump up lips. For osteoarthritis, it is injected in joints to replace lost lubricating fluids. It is also used during removal of eye cataract to help replace natural fluids. The effect of injectable HA typically lasts for 6 months or so.

With its ability to attract water, HA is the favored moisturizing ingredient in high-end skin care products. Well, only in high-end products simply because it is so expensive. It has been noted that it also helps in healing skin with burns, wounds, or ulcers.

For anti-aging skin care, the challenge is how to improve skin penetration of HA, thus improving its efficacy. HA is a polymer that repeats itself, creating a very long chain molecule. Big molecules will just stay on top of the skin, with limited anti-aging benefits when used in creams and serum.

The breakthrough solution: control the polymer size. That paved the way for the development of the new HA with low molecular weight (LMW) that can work from within to smoothen out fine lines. The LMW grades come in different sizes, with increasing effectiveness as molecular size decreases. 

HYAL-C contains LMW hyaluronic acid and stabilized Vitamin C.

HYAL-C serum from SkinStation is an excellent example of a product with the new LMW hyaluronic acid. It contains nano-sized hyaluronic acid, the LMW grade with the smallest molecules. The nano-grade can go deep into the dermal layer of the skin where hyaluronic acid is needed most. The name HYAL stands for hyaluronic acid, while C refers to vitamin C,a popular anti-aging and lightening ingredient, also present at high levels in the serum. HYAL-C serum is a consistent best seller, loved for its instant lifting effect.It might just be the“fountain of youth” you have been looking for.

How about HA as a food supplement? Say, for joint pains? So far, results from clinical studies on oral HA supplements have not been encouraging. Orally taken HA do not simply migrate into the affected joints. However, there are suggestions that the new LMW grades may yet provide positive results.

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This column was published in the Manila Bulletin Lifestyle Section on March 27, 2012. The author is the CEO of SkinStation and Chemworld Fragrance Factory. He received the 2011 Outstanding Chemist Award from Professional Regulations Commission for his achievements in the field of cosmetic chemistry. Skin Smart will clarify facts and myths on skin care. Questions sent to info@skinstation.ph maybe featured in future issues.