Pigmented skin classification
1. Freckles.
This is a kind of brown dotted pigmentation spots commonly found on the face, mainly related to heredity, but sun exposure can promote and aggravate freckles. Freckles will appear when people are young, manifesting as light brown to dark brown dotted spots from the size of a pinhead to a grain of rice, which are round, ovoid or irregular, a few or hundreds of them. It will gradually become bigger and darker in spring and summer when sunlight is strong, but will become smaller and lighter in fall and winter.
? Freckles are epidermal spots. Histopathologic examination of the freckled area will reveal an increase in melanin granules and melanization in the basal layer of the epidermis, but the number of melanocytes is normal, as shown in Figure 5.4.
2. Black son (freckle-like nevus).
This kind of pigmentation and freckles are very similar, are small brown spots, the occurrence is also related to heredity, the difference is that this kind of pigmentation is deeper in color, and once formed the color will be fixed, not affected by the sunlight to become darker or lighter, so it is also known as freckle-like nevus.
It is also an epidermal spot, and histopathologic findings show an increase in epidermal melanin granules at the discoloration, with the difference that the basal layer of melanocytes has also increased, as shown in Figure 5.5.
[Illustration]
Figure 5.5 Black son (freckle-like nevus)
3. Sun spots.
Just by looking at the name, we know that it is related to sun exposure, so sun spots appear on the nose and zygomatic protrusions where sunlight is more likely to reach, showing star-shaped brownish deposits of dotted spots. Sun spots are also epidermal spots, much like freckles, and even histopathologic examination is the same as freckles, with the difference being that sun spots are caused by excessive sun exposure, and appear mainly on adult sun-exposed skin, as shown in Figure 5.6.
[Illustration]
Figure 5.6 Sun spots
4. Melasma.
Expressed as yellow-brown, dark brown pigmentation on the face
Deposits, and the depth is variable, the shape of the spot is different for each person, typically occurring on both sides of the zygomatic bone prominence and forehead, around the eyes. Chloasma is more common in women. The occurrence of chloasma is related to hormonal changes in the body, which can be caused by changes in estrogen and progesterone; it also occurs in some chronic diseases such as female genital diseases, menstrual disorders, dysmenorrhea, liver diseases, tumors of internal organs, and tuberculosis; and it can be caused by long-term use of medication. In addition, the mental state, such as depression, late night, insomnia, fatigue, etc. can also aggravate hyperpigmentation.
Clinical findings, many patients with liver disease have chloasma, so it is also known as liver spots; because of the symmetrical growth on both cheeks, it is also known as butterfly spots; it also occurs more often in pregnancy, so it is also called pregnancy spots.
Histopathologic examination showed that the melanin granules increased in the chloasma area, but there was no increase in melanocytes. In addition, melanocyte dendrites were obviously enlarged and commonly penetrated deep into the dermis, and free melanin granules were seen in the dermis, so melasma belongs to the dermis spot, as shown in Figure 5.7.
[Illustration]
Figure 5.7 Melasma
5. Zygomatic brown-bronze nevus (zygomatic mother spot).
This spot manifests itself as a symmetrically distributed dark gray spot-like color on the zygomatic bone. Regarding skin whitening, I have written "skin whitening = skin melanin metabolism > melanin generation" in Chapter 2. Here, we mainly talk about the treatment of pigmented skin. The pigmentation classification is relatively large, I will list the common facial pigmentation types, easy to compare, and choose the appropriate conditioning program.
Pigmented skin classification
1. Freckles.
This is a kind of brown dotted pigmentation spots commonly found on the face, mainly related to heredity, but sun exposure can promote and aggravate freckles. Freckles will appear when people are young, manifesting as light brown to dark brown dotted spots from the size of a pinhead to a grain of rice, which are round, ovoid or irregular, a few or hundreds of them. It will gradually become bigger and darker in spring and summer when sunlight is strong, but will become smaller and lighter in fall and winter.
? Freckles are epidermal spots. Histopathologic examination of the freckled area reveals an increase in melanin granules and melanization in the basal layer of the epidermis, but the number of melanocytes is normal, as shown in Figure 5.4.
[Illustration]
Figure 5.4 Freckles
2. Black son (freckle-like nevus).
This kind of pigmentation and freckles are very similar, are small brown spots, the occurrence is also related to heredity, the difference is that this kind of pigmentation is deeper in color, and once formed the color will be fixed, not affected by the sunlight to become darker or lighter, so it is also known as freckle-like nevus.
It is also an epidermal spot, and histopathologic examination shows an increase in epidermal melanin granules at the discoloration, with the difference that the basal layer of melanocytes has also increased, as shown in Figure 5.5.
[Illustration]
Figure 5.5 Black son (freckle-like nevus)
3. Sun spots.
Just by looking at the name, we know that it is related to sun exposure, so sun spots appear on the nose and zygomatic protrusions where sunlight is more likely to reach, showing star-shaped brownish deposits of dotted spots. Sun spots are also epidermal spots, much like freckles, and even histopathologic examination is the same as freckles, with the difference being that sun spots are caused by excessive sun exposure, and appear mainly on adult sun-exposed skin, as shown in Figure 5.6.
[Illustration]
Figure 5.6 Sun spots
4. Melasma.
Expressed as yellow-brown, dark brown pigmentation on the face
Deposits, and the depth is variable, the shape of the spot is different for each person, typically occurring on both sides of the zygomatic bone prominence and forehead, around the eyes. Chloasma is more common in women. The occurrence of chloasma is related to hormonal changes in the body, which can be caused by changes in estrogen and progesterone; it also occurs in some chronic diseases such as female genital diseases, menstrual disorders, dysmenorrhea, liver diseases, tumors of internal organs, and tuberculosis; and it can be caused by long-term use of medication. In addition, the mental state, such as depression, late night, insomnia, fatigue, etc. can also aggravate hyperpigmentation.
Clinical findings, many patients with liver disease have chloasma, so it is also known as liver spots; because of the symmetrical growth on both cheeks, it is also known as butterfly spots; it also occurs more often in pregnancy, so it is also called pregnancy spots.
Histopathologic examination showed that the melanin granules increased in the chloasma area, but there was no increase in melanocytes. In addition, melanocyte dendrites were obviously enlarged and commonly penetrated deep into the dermis, and free melanin granules were seen in the dermis, so melasma belongs to the dermis spot, as shown in Figure 5.7.
[Illustration]
Figure 5.7 Melasma
5. Zygomatic brown-bronze nevus (zygomatic mother spot).
This spot manifests as symmetrically distributed dark gray spot-like pigmentation on the zygomatic bone, which mostly occurs at the age of 25 to 45 years old and is more common in women than in men. Prevalent in the zygomatic bone, temporal, round, oval or irregular, the border is relatively clear, the number varies, as shown in Figure 5.8. It is a dermal spot. Histopathologic examination reveals that its epidermis is normal but melanocytes are visible in the upper part of the dermis. This spot is associated with chromosomal inheritance. It has been suggested that it is a lesion formed during embryonic development when melanocytes fail to pass through the epidermal-dermal junction and remain in the dermis. Nevus of Ota also falls under this genetic problem, only more severe.
[Illustration]
Figure 5.8 Zygomatic nevus of brownish-bronze (zygomatic nevus matrices)
6. Age spots.
Age spots, also known as solar lentigines, are like naevi, appearing with a fixed presence of color. Related to sun exposure, it is common in middle-aged and old people's long-term exposure parts, such as the back of the hand and forehead. It appears as gray, dark brown or black irregular patches or plaques with smooth surface, consistent color and clear boundary. It is accompanied by photodegenerative changes such as depigmentation. Histopathologic examination reveals an increase in melanocytes in the basal layer at the discoloration and an increase in melanin granules, as shown in Figure 5.9.
[Illustration]
Figure 5.9 Age spots
7. Cosmetic melanosis (pigmented cosmetic dermatitis).
This is facial hyperpigmentation in women triggered by cosmetic or skin care ingredients. It is important to know that certain fragrances, preservatives, emulsifiers or harmful ingredients in cosmetics are the main cause of skin irritation, and they trigger an inflammatory reaction in the face leading to hyperpigmentation. The damage is initially light brown, gradually develops into dark brown, blue-black, black, diffuse or flaky. It is mainly located on the cheeks, and in severe cases, the whole face. There is erythema and itching due to repeated sensitization. Histopathologic examination can be found, the basal layer of melanocytes increased, the dermis has inflammatory changes.
It has to be said that this kind of pigmented skin is becoming more and more common nowadays, as shown in Figure 5.10.
[Illustration]
Figure 5.10 Cosmetic melanosis (pigmented cosmetic dermatitis)
8. Heavy metal deposition melanosis (lead and mercury deposition).
This is facial hyperpigmentation in women triggered by heavy metal exposure. In addition to some special occupational groups that must be exposed to heavy metals are prone to occur, the most common cause of formation is the use of lead-mercury whitening products. More than a decade ago lead-mercury whitening prevalent, we pay attention will find that our mother's generation, especially in the Northeast region, there are a lot of such skin.
The main manifestation of the use of parts of the skin is light gray, light brown to purple-brown, dark brown change. Generally the initial stage is still limited to around the pores, slowly and gradually fused into patches of varying sizes, and later in addition to hyperpigmentation can develop into a slight depression of the skin atrophy, as shown in Figure 5.11. Histopathological examination can be found, the pigmented area of the basal layer of liquefied degeneration, pigment incontinence, dermal perivascular cells have inflammatory changes, that is to say, the skin epidermis as a whole is destroyed.
[Illustration]
Figure 5.11 Heavy metal deposition melanosis (lead-mercury deposition)
Above is the classification of our common skin discoloration. You can compare your spots to see which ones they all belong to. You may have only one type of discoloration on your skin, or you may have 2 to 3 at the same time.
How to take care of blemished skin
Through the introduction of the previous section, we learned that, in addition to freckles and zygomatic mother spots, such spots are related to heredity, which we can not change, chloasma is related to the body's inherent imbalance, and sun exposure not only leads to the formation of sun spots, age spots, but also is the cause of the formation of other spots, and irrational skincare leading to skin damage can also form serious pigmentation.
All these are telling us the importance of proper skincare, good sun protection, and love for the body for whitening and lightening spots. But what to do if spots have already appeared? First, we have to do the following:
Sun protection. Sun protection not only prevents spots, but is also a top priority in treating spots.
More massage, internal dredging, accelerate melanin metabolism.
Proper skincare. Avoid excessive skin care and wrong skin care that leads to skin damage so that melanin can not be metabolized and even form more melanin deposits.
Repair skin. Whitening and lightening need to be built on the basis of healthy, capable skin. If the skin is incapable, the best spot-lighting products and methods will not be effective and may even lead to damage.
Then, choose the right, healthy skin whitening products.
Antioxidant and anti-free radicals type of ingredients can help skin whitening and light spots, such as superoxide dismutase (SOD), vitamin C, glutathione and so on.
Aromatherapy is what I personally recommend, which can help whiten and lighten the skin by nourishing the liver with natural plant oils, balancing the endocrine system, and enhancing cellular metabolism. Recommended such as lemon, neroli, rose, rose geranium, rosewood and other essential oils diluted as whitening spot serum oil use.
All healthy whitening and light spot ingredients are based on normal skin melanin production, operation and metabolism to inhibit, block or enhance, so it must comply with the natural laws of the skin, that is, the effect will not be too fast, especially to remove spots.
How to choose high-tech laser spot removal
If you want to be direct and effective, then choose high-tech laser spot removal instruments. Laser is a kind of light, and light is a kind of energy. We all know that focusing daylight with a magnifying glass can make paper burn.
Laser spot removal is a specific wavelength of light that can be absorbed by melanin to gather irradiation to melanin, melanin absorbs enough to produce energy after the burst, melanin particles burst into smaller fragments, so that it is easier to be swallowed by phagocytes. Laser spot removal is directly effective for all kinds of moles and spots, and is also often used to wash tattoos and tattoo eyebrows.
The common on the market is mainly Q laser spot removal instrument, we often hear of ruby, alexandrite gemstone, C6, C8, C10, picoseconds and so on belong to the Q laser spot removal instrument. The original instruments are imported from Israel or the United States. How should we choose?
First of all, these instruments will have the effect, the difference lies in the instrument laser instantaneous energy is not fast enough, accurate, stable, the more rapid, accurate, stable, melanin blasting effect is better, the less damage to the tissue, the price is naturally more expensive. I recommend choosing imported instruments. You know, there are a lot of cottage goods on the domestic market, the same appearance, but in the focus of light energy and launch speed to do more than a number of years ago the C6 instrument.
Secondly, you have to find a reliable and experienced instrument operator, a good operator can have a more professional judgment on the spots, can adjust the size of the energy needed according to the situation, so that the spots removed at the same time as far as possible not to harm the skin.
We also have to remind you to pay attention to the fact that because of the high price of imported instruments, hundreds of thousands of millions of a, so have the strength to buy their own instruments to operate the organization is not much, a very few large medical institutions have. Now the real machine on the market are basically used in the form of cooperative leasing, that is, a specialized company to buy the instrument, and many beauty institutions, focused on inviting customers to operate on a particular day. Therefore, the single price is not low.
Almost all of the imported medical beauty instruments currently on the market are operated in this way, such as ultrasonic knife. Many beauty salons do not move a few hundred dollars to experience an ultrasonic knife, picosecond project, we recommend that you choose carefully. As a person who has worked in this kind of high-end instrument company, I solemnly remind you that this price is not even enough for the machine freight.
What exactly is the effect of laser spot removal
Epidermal spots, especially small epidermal spots such as freckles and black spots, can be removed in one session with precise energy from the instrument, and can be replenished 1 or 2 times at most without recurrence. Age spots because the range is relatively large, not recommended to blast once, usually according to the size of the sub-3 to 5 times.
Chloasma generally need 3 to 6 times, but because it is related to the inner state of the body, follow-up maintenance is very important, otherwise it will recur.
Zygomatic mother spot belongs to the dermal spot, and the spot is also relatively large, the laser can be removed, but the number of times needed is more, and it needs to be hit more y, so pay attention to the repair after the operation. It is not easy to recur after complete removal.
If it is a black degeneration, the focus is on repair before laser operation, and it needs to be done when the skin function is restored to a more normal level, otherwise it is easy for the skin to be damaged again. To do a sufficient number of times.
Precautions after laser operation
(1) sunscreen.
(2) Repair.
(3) Hydration.
In the damaged state of the skin, if you do not protect the sun, the skin will soon secrete more melanin; repair in order to make the skin recover faster; and hydration can help blast melanin faster metabolism.
The point is, please try to use chemical formulated skincare products without preservatives, flavors, etc. during the period of skin damage. Distilled water, botanical purifiers, jojoba oil, lavender oil, EGF are all more appropriate.
In addition, although laser spot removal is fast, it should not be rushed. Please wait one month between two operations. Sensitive and fragile skin please according to the actual repair situation longer interval.