7 replies to this topic

[Lee1234]

I took a few pictures of my skin in a setting where I tried to emulate natural lighting (as it's very hard to see yourself properly outside), and the results were shocking and eye-opening to put it mildly. My hyperpigmentation is spread further and runs deeper than I originally thought. It actually looks like I'm a chameleon (lol). The tone of my skin is separated by hyperpigmentation and my older, natural skin (where I amazingly, didn't break out once). It's demoralized me to the point where I've given up. I've been thinking that I should drop the whole natural method, as I don't think anything nature has produced can help me at this point. Are there any chemical peels that even have a chance of working? or better, would it be a good idea to show these photos to my GP and get him to refer me to a derm? can they do anything?.

The pictures are below.

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[bee4]

Your skin looks great to me

[Lee1234]

Your skin looks great to me

Trust me when I say this. Most who have taken a photo of their hyperpigmentation, know that it doesn't do the severity of the problem much justice. I could only emulate natural lighting, but it's even more (Twofold) apparent in broad daylight. If you saw me, you'd be able to see what I mean.

[mWilso]

I hateeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee PIH. It's such a pain. I understand that "not that bad" can be awful to the owner of the dark marks.
Chemical peels are really helpful, but you have to be very careful with them. Since you have a darker skin tone, higher percentage TCA and Glycolic are not really recommended due to possible hyper/hypo pigmentation. I believe that I have read that mandelic and lactic would be fine for your tone and effective with PIH, but it will take longer. Also lower percentage TCA peels, such as 8 or 12.5% should be safe. Again, you may have to do a series of them spaced out 3-4 weeks apart.
Two really good online stores that have the peels and loads of information (they're also really great about answering emails for personal advice) is makeupartistschoice.com and platinumskincare.com

Good luck with it!

[Lee1234]

I hateeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee PIH. It's such a pain. I understand that "not that bad" can be awful to the owner of the dark marks.
Chemical peels are really helpful, but you have to be very careful with them. Since you have a darker skin tone, higher percentage TCA and Glycolic are not really recommended due to possible hyper/hypo pigmentation. I believe that I have read that mandelic and lactic would be fine for your tone and effective with PIH, but it will take longer. Also lower percentage TCA peels, such as 8 or 12.5% should be safe. Again, you may have to do a series of them spaced out 3-4 weeks apart.
Two really good online stores that have the peels and loads of information (they're also really great about answering emails for personal advice) is makeupartistschoice.com and platinumskincare.com

Good luck with it!

Wow thank you. You've given me quite a bit to look into. It is horrible having a wake-up call like this and I also understand how frustrating PIH is. Once again, thank you.

[mWilso]

No problem!
I would just advise you to look into it and do lots of research before jumping into peels. I think they can be great, but it's easy to get over zealous when using them. And it's your face! You want to take good care of it.

[snsdgirl14]

First off, your skin looks good to me - I know you don't think so but you are your own worst critic, remember that!

Second off, yes, a chemical peel would probably work for you. I have PIH too and I got a retinoic peel about a month and a half ago. I saw very good results. My marks had faded even more. They weren't completely gone, but they had faded a lot. My overall skin tone was much better and more even. Now I'm thinking of getting one more peel since I think it will benefit me even more. So just know that while peels usually help, you probably will have to do multiple ones if you want to see significant results.

[Lee1234]

First off, your skin looks good to me - I know you don't think so but you are your own worst critic, remember that!

Second off, yes, a chemical peel would probably work for you. I have PIH too and I got a retinoic peel about a month and a half ago. I saw very good results. My marks had faded even more. They weren't completely gone, but they had faded a lot. My overall skin tone was much better and more even. Now I'm thinking of getting one more peel since I think it will benefit me even more. So just know that while peels usually help, you probably will have to do multiple ones if you want to see significant results.

Being our own worst critics is a sad truth unfortunately, but they look soo bad *_*.

I'll look into the retinoic peel though, it sounds like it could be a viable solution. Thank you