My name is Jamie Turner and when I turned 22, I started to form a horrible case of acne. I used every cleanser and lotion I could find and I even asked my physician for a topical steroid cream to clear up the zits on my face. After six months of treatment, my physician completed a blood test that concluded that a hormone imbalance was causing my acne. I started on therapy to control the amount of estrogen my body produced. The therapy along with a good diet and exercise regimen helped to clear up my acne. I am sharing my story, because acne is not just a condition that affects teenagers. It can affect adults at any age, and it can cause a great deal of embarrassment. Don't let your acne go untreated. Read my blog instead and learn about both natural and medical treatments that can help you.
Whether your skin has just began to clear up since beginning a prescribed anti-acne medication or you have red spots from past acne that aren't fading as quickly as you would like them to, you can help speed their fading along. They will likely diminish completely with time, who wants to wait longer than they have to? Follow these three tips to getting rid of those post-acne red spots (technically called post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation, or PIH) fast.
1. Wear High-SPFSunscreen Every Day
If you don't yet have the habit of wearing sunscreen every day, then now is the perfect time to start. Not only is sunscreen important to protect your skin from sun damage and skin cancer, but it can help your PIH fade more quickly.
Post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation is partially composed of skin melanin, which is also triggered in production by sun exposure. Sun exposure without wearing sunscreen cannot only lead to those spots fading more slowly, but it can actually lead to them darkening.
2. Ask Your Dermatologist for a Special Cream
There are several types of prescription creams that can help PIH fade more quickly. Your dermatologist will know which is the best for you, but there are several that can help your pigmentation fade more quickly.
Retinoids, such as tretinoin, speed the cell turnover of your skin. This mean that it makes your skin produce new skin cells and shed the older ones at a faster rate. This can help your skin shed the cells that have pigmentation quicker and replace them with new, non-pigmented ones.
Skin Lighteners, such as hydroquinone, are useful for fading any skin discoloration that is caused by an increase in melanin. Beware of skin lighteners that you can purchase over-the-counter, because they legally must contain a very low percentage of the active ingredient. They often contain too little to do anything at all other than lighten your wallet.
3. Consider Facial Peels
There are several types of facial peels that can help get rid of the top layer of your skin, where hyperpigmentation is most concentrated. Good peels for this purpose include glycolic acid peels, mandelic acid peels, and the more intense TCA peels. Some are more gentle than others, but all are more potent than anything that can be used at home.
Your dermatologist at places like Advanced Dermatology Care can recommend the best in-office peel for you, but mandelic acid peels are best for sensitive skin, while glycolic acid peels are good for normal skin types. TCA peels are much deeper, and your dermatologist will have to decide if your skin is durable enough to handle it.
Share13 February 2015
