5 Ways to Prevent Hyperpigmentation

Hyperpigmentation (defined as “unusual darkening of the skin”) occurs very often in people of colour. For a sensitive-skinned individual like myself, anything from a scratch to a small blemish on my skin will often leave a scar.

The right concealer or foundation can work wonders when it comes to hiding pesky blemishes but you shouldn’t have to rely on make-up. There are small things you can do to minimize blemishes/prevent them from occurring.

1. First and foremost, keep your hands away from your face! Your hands — and other people’s hands — are constantly in contact with various things – chemicals, oils, bacteria… This can easily cause a break-out.

2. Second, treat your skin gently. Use the mildest daily cleanser you can find (a sulfate/sodium laurate-free one such as Spectro Gel, Cetaphil, black soap, or castile soap will do the trick). If you suffer from acne, feel free to use your topical treatment of choice (even if it contains benzyl peroxide or salicylic acid), but use it to supplement your skin care routine since most commercial acne cleansers are too drying for everyday use. In many cases, they’ve been found to make acne worse by irritating the skin.

3. Exfoliating is a great way to make your skin appear smoother and brighter. Choose an exfoliating scrub with very fine particles that won’t get stuck in your pores. Some good ones include St. Yves Apricot Scrub and Queen Helene Cocoa Butter Facial Scrub, but fine sea salt, baking soda, oatmeal, and even sugar mixed with carrier oil (eg. olive oil) have been found to make great natural alte
atives. Try to exfoliate your face no more tha
2 to 3 times a week, as your skin needs time to regenerate in between. If you don’t like scrubs, you can use a face brush such as the one pictured below, just make sure to clean and sterilize it often. Try soaking it for a while in a 1/3 hydrogen peroxide, 2/3 water mixture.

4. Moisturize daily. Even oily skin needs a daily moisturizer. A daily moisturizer will keep your skin supple and hydrated. Dry patches often lead to irritation and — you guessed it — dark marks.

5. Aloe up. Aloe vera gel is great for soothing skin irritation and can even be used in place of a daily moisturizer. Applying aloe vera to a blemish as soon as you notice it will not only soothe the physical discomfort, but will decrease inflammation, speeding up healing time and minimizing scarring.

Prevention is usually easier than cure. If you follow these tips you should see a significant improvement in the clarity of your skin within time. Stay tuned for tips on how to actually treat hyperpigmentation naturally.