The Coveteur | Alicia Cesaro
There are a lot of things preventing our skin from being as dewy and flawless as we’d ideally like it to be. Just to list a few: acne, sun damage, wrinkles, dry patches. But it’s the permanent marks left behind, like post-acne scars and hyperpigmentation from those days of being not so diligent about sunscreen that make us wary of leaving the house without at least a bit of concealer. Now that the long days of lounging in the sun are over (cue boos all around the HQ) we’ve been working on a bit of hair and skin rehab to reverse some of the damage. And we turned to expert New York dermatologist Dr. Patricia Wexler for the lowdown on what causes hyperpigmentation, how to treat it (and when to call in the pros), and, most importantly, how to prevent those dark spots from ever coming back. So we can make Sunday less about makeup and more about skin.
What Is Hyperpigmentation?
“Patches of skin that become darker in color due to deposits of excess melanin. It can be seen in three variations: post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation, following injury or inflammation to the skin; lentigines, which are discrete spots caused by sun damage or age; or melasma, which is caused by hormonal fluctuations (for example pregnancy, thyroid dysfunction, birth control pills, hormone replacement, or adrenal disease).”
Credit: @sundayriley/Instagram
The Products
Look for products that include the ingredient retinol, lactic acid, or vitamin C, which all work to fight hyperpigmentation – but also wage war against fine lines, wrinkles, and age spots. Exfoliation and gentle at-home microdermabrasion sweeps away dead skin cells and encourages new ones to come to the surface. Dr. Wexler recommends “over-the-counter products with low-concentration hydroquinones, kojic acid, alpha hydroxy acid, ascorbic acid, retinol, licorice extract, and many botanicals including arbutin, mulberry, flavonoids, soy proteins, and polyphenols.”
