Hello Gorgeous!
Hope you haven’t grown bored with all my talk on Retin-A! I do love Retin-A so much. I promise, this is my last week discussing it and I promise to keep it short and sweet.
This week, let’s focus on Retin-A and its effect on melasma and hyperpigmentation (or brown spots). First, let me set your expectations. Hyperpigmentation and melasma typically require multiple modalities to treat. It’s sad but true. Unfortunately, pigment is difficult for any one product alone to treat. However, Retin-A can treat brown spots; but I’ll tell ya, it can take a looooong time depending upon how deep the pigment is. If your brown spots are fairly superficial, you’re in luck! Retin-A for the win. What does superficial pigment look like? Superficial pigment will fade in the winter time and become more prominent when you’re spending more time in the sun, like during the summer months. If the pigment is deep, meaning there is always a brown spot on the skin that doesn’t change or fade, you’ll need more than Retin-A. Typically, Retin-A and hydroquinone are prescribed to address deeper pigment.
Retin-A speeds up cell turnover which means it will move that pigment up and out of the epidermis during the skin cell cycle. The addition of Hydroquinone for deeper pigment means that further pigment production is inhibited. So you can see why the 2 products work well together. That being said, I’m here to tell ya…Retin-A IS effective at treating pigment but if you’re not going to commit to wearing sunscreen (Every.Single.Day!) then don’t waste your time. It may sound harsh but it is the reality. Without daily sunscreen use, your skin will continue to produce melanin (pigment) and you will lose the battle against brown spots even if you are using Retin-A.
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