Hyperpigmentation can be one of the trickiest skin problems to treat. Triggered by the overproduction of melanin (the brown pigment in your skin), its causes range from sun damage and hormones to any form of trauma to your skin – like picking at pimples, acne scars, cuts and scrapes, bug bites and more. While it can affect everyone, it’s more common in people with darker skin tones.
The BioNike products for hyperpigmentation include a comprehensive three-pronged approach to treating dark marks and spots:
Step 1: Sunscreen
Pigmentation problems are most often caused by the sun, and the ones you already have, regardless of what triggered them, are guaranteed go darker when exposed to harmful UV rays. So, by far the most important part of your skin care treatment routine is to wear a good sunscreen every day – even when its cloudy, raining or you’re going to be inside. Don’t be complacent thinking you’re in the clear when there’s no obvious sun. Those damaging UV rays get through pretty much everything…
Sunscreen helps in two ways. It helps fade the dark spots you already have by minimising exposure to those damaging UV rays which darken your skin, and in turn also helps prevent the formation of any new marks.
Step 2: Exfoliation
Speeding up cell renewal then helps even out your skin tone even further. This is where exfoliating helps gently remove old skin cells and gradually reduce the appearance of dark marks to reveal a healthier and more even skin underneath.
The BioNike Defence B-Lucent treatment creams and concentrates include gentle chemical exfoliating acids, and in some cases, melanin production inhibitors to also stop more dark marks and spots appearing on your newer healthy skin.
Step 3: Brightening
Another effective treatment for dark spots and marks is Vitamin C. Well-known as a natural skin brightener, Vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant that not only fights off damaging free radicals caused by UV rays, but also inhibits melanin production to give you a brighter and more even toned complexion.
Now that you have a whole bunch of treatments to get rid of those dark marks, you’re set – right? This is where the tricky part comes in. Hyperpigmentation problems often take years to develop, and can take months - sometimes years - to clear up.
The outer layer of your skin takes about 28 days to renew itself when you’re young. But once you hit 50 this can increase to as much as 3 months. While exfoliation will help speed this up, you may have to go through a couple of skin renewal cycles before you start seeing a difference. It’s unfortunately not going to happen overnight so you need a little patience…