Pigmentation is an uneven skin tone caused by the excess production of melanin. Melanin is a pigment in the body derived from the amino acid tyrosine, which determines how light or dark one’s skin can be. We discuss different pigmentation problems in Singapore on this page: https://onefaceclinic.com/troubled-by-pigmentation-issues/.
The main causes of pigmentation are hormonal factors, skin damage or irritation, inflammation, aging, and UV exposure. Other less common reasons include post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation, which is the darkening of the skin that follows an injury on the skin. The wound site becomes darker than surrounding normal skin due to the deposition of melanin around blood vessels in the area.
UV exposure usually leads to skin tanning, while inflammation can result in redness of the body’s surface tissues. Post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation mainly affects people who have had acne on their face at some point in life, while melasma is a more complicated type of pigmentation by hormones during pregnancy or oral contraceptives, which results in changes in melanin distribution over the entire face.
The Different Types of Pigmentation Removal Treatments
There are three main options for pigmentation removal treatment in Singapore. These can either remove or lighten pigmentation on the skin.
These are chemical peels, lasers, and skincare products. While chemical peeling uses a solution to exfoliate dead cells from the top layer of your skin, lasers penetrate deep into your skin to remove melanin at the cellular level. Skincare products are usually applied topically so that they can target melanocytes at a deeper level.
Common types of laser treatments include Q-switched ruby, Q-switched nd: Yag, and fractional lasers, which are usually done by dermatologists. The choice of treatment depends on your skin tone, area being treated, the depth of pigmentation being targeted, the amount of melanin that should be removed, and whether you have any medical conditions or are receiving other treatments at the same time. Laser treatment is often combined with other forms of therapy to remove pigmentation on the back of hands, knees, or even scars.
How can Laser Treatment help to Remove Hyperpigmentation?
If you have patches of darkened skin caused by excess melanin production due to conditions like sunburns or age spots, there is no need to fret as long as you avoid extended sun exposure and most importantly, take good care of your skin. For minor cases, topical creams might be enough to clear away discoloration without the need for surgery.
However, if you have more severe cases of hyperpigmentation, lasers can be used to heat up and destroy the melanocytes beneath your skin using a machine called a laser.
Lasers work by targeting specific structures under the skin, which stimulates cell death. Melanocyte cells are then absorbed by macrophages that help in removing them from the body through a process known as phagocytosis.
Permanently killing these melanin-producing cells means that new ones will no longer form blotches of pigmentation on your skin surface. The amount of time needed for this depends on the size and depth of the affected area, along with any medical conditions you might be suffering from or other treatments you are receiving simultaneously.
Generally, laser removal treatment in Singapore is only recommended for cases of skin hyperpigmentation that have been caused by skin trauma, medical conditions, or natural aging. In some countries, laser treatments are reserved only for cases that cannot be treated through topical creams and light therapy.
By destroying the melanocytes beneath your skin’s surface, laser treatment can produce excellent results with a minimal recovery time, provided you take good care of yourself after the procedure. However, it may not work as well if dark patches on your skin have been caused by post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation due to acne, which leaves remaining scars behind.
What you can expect during and After the Treatment
When going in for a laser removal treatment in Singapore, you will need to visit a dermatologist who will first assess your skin with a medical history and tests to ensure that you are not suffering from any underlying conditions which might interfere with the procedure or make it riskier for you. You will also be asked to settle on an appropriate laser treatment plan (i.e., how many sessions, amount of time between each session, etc.) along with other factors like your budget and the area of skin pigmentation being targeted.
You may be given either an anesthetic cream or preoperative sedatives during treatment, depending on how sensitive you are to pain. First, lasers enter through your skin’s epidermal layer, where they heat up melanocytes at the dermis level, which then fall off after about 7-10 days without leaving behind scars or tissue damage. Since these lasers can pass through multiple skin layers, they produce minimal discomfort with your doctor applying a cooling gel to the affected area before and after the treatment, which helps soothe any pain or inflammation.
Many people experience redness and scabbing around their pigmentation a few days following the procedure, but most of them recover within a month without any major issues. To help speed up recovery, your dermatologist may give you tips on how to take care of yourself at home, such as avoiding sun exposure and using ointments or creams that contain aloe vera or hyaluronic acid to reduce swelling and cool down scarred tissues from infections.
If you have been prescribed topical treatments for post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation, keep in mind that they need to be applied evenly on the entire affected area for around 4-6 weeks before assessing their effectiveness. Overall, laser treatment is usually safe and effective in removing skin discoloration along with other procedures like dermabrasion which removes superficial skin blemishes by scraping away its outermost layers using a rotating brush.
Other risks include changes in skin pigmentation after the procedure, scarring or keloid formation (i.e., thickened tissue near the injury site), temporary or permanent numbness at the treated areas, bleeding, and infection. Laser treatment may not work well if you have dark patches caused by post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation due to acne lesions that leave behind scars or require multiple sessions for optimal results.
Let’s Help you Get Rid of Unwanted Pigmentation on your Skin
At Oneface, we offer a wide range of skin pigmentation removal treatments in Singapore to help restore your natural complexion. Our team of professional dermatologists and skin care therapists can help give you a clear and even complexion that will improve your self-confidence, allowing you to go about living a normal life. Contact us today to learn more about our treatments or schedule a consultation. Call or Email: +656222 2262
One Face Skin & Aesthetics Clinic
1 Tras Link, #02-01 Orchid Hotel, Singapore 078867
+65 6222 2262
https://onefaceclinic.com/
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