If you are wondering what PIH is, it's a very common skin disorder where there are darker patches of skin that stand out against the rest of the face.
It's often caused by inflammation which has been set off from sun exposure, skin damage, acne or burns.
The reason it mostly affects darker skin types is due to the higher levels of melanin within their skin.
Melanin, is in fact the cause of the pigments, or colour for everyone's skin, hair and eyes and when their cells (the melanocytes) are damaged, in such cases as mentioned above, causing inflammation, they produce excess melanin.
This makes the area, a darker colour, and often, even once the inflammation has stopped, the affected areas will carry on producing darker skin cells leading to ongoing PIH for months and years later.
How you can manage this condontion for yourself at home?
CLEANSE- Cleanse with a gentle foaming cleanser, to get the skin ready for the next stage. As long as it's a gentle cleanser it's fine. personally we recommend either, the Eve Taylor Purifying Wash or Cliniccare's Foaming Cleanser, However, if you are also suffering from Acne or a particularly oily skin, we would recommend using a cleanser with Salicylic Acid or Benzoyl Peroxide- such as Eve Taylor's Dynamic Resurfacing Cleanser.
ACTIVATE- Before beginning to apply any sort of active products to your skin, make sure that your skin is well hydrated. Basically, spend a few days minimum( or even weeks before, depending on the condition of your skin) preparing it. Using a good quality serum - with hyaluronic acid, or a rich moisturiser. Ensure that you take your makeup off before bedtime and watch your alcohol and caffeine intake. As all these things make a big difference to the outcome and results of your at home treatment and can be very dehydrating.
Now you can start to add in your Brightening Stage, using products containing ingredients such as - Vitamin C, Niacinamide, Azelaic Acid , Peptides and Ceramides- we, in particular love our Cliniccare Glow Range,
MOISTURISE- In the last few years things have changed, gone are the days when everyone said - you have to moisturise! However, if you have dry or dehydrated skin, it's a good idea to apply a moisturiser over your serum to seal it in, a bit like putting on gloves to protect your hands, especially during the Winter.
However, the choice is yours, it may come down to what benefits you are getting from your serum and also how your skin is feeling after you have applied everything including the SPF. ( you may well find your skin has enough cream or lotion on it and any more may cause more irritation).
SPF- Now this is an absolute must! There is no way around it, you have to wear a minimum of SPF 30 each and every day. It doesn't matter if it's raining outside. I promise I will be doing another blog soon to explain why. X
Salon Treatments that can also help you.
Chemical Peels, are known to help with PIH
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