New Skin Treatment Products - Fact From Fiction

It is a well known fact that skin care and treatment products account for billions of dollars in sales world wide but what is a lesser known fact is whether or not any of the products on the market actually work. The truth of the matter, is that some do have a positive effect on age and sun damaged skin, while other products simply contain moisturizers and oils such as lanolin.

There are newer products that have appeared on the market that take a newer approach to treating age and sun damaged skin by using ingredients and substances that penetrate the skins surface to the substrate where they then function on a cellular level. Skin lightening treatments have been around for some time now and you may have seen celebrities such as Michael Jackson grow lighter over the years.

They were expensive though and usually weren't available in over the counter skin treatment products. That has changed though and now you can buy skin treatment products that lighten age spots be stimulating the skin to remove pigment.

They don't work over night though, so it takes some time to achieve a measurable level of success with these product but by using them regularly to treat existing age spots, in a few months you will see noticeable results. These skin lightening products also are highly effective for treating developing age spots in a proactive manner.

That is, that as you see them developing you can "nip them in the bud", so to speak, by applying these products. New skin wrinkle treatment products have also been developed recently that treat wrinkled below the skins surface, which is different from products of the past that stayed on the surface of the skin. All of these newer and more effective skin treatment products were developed through a greater understanding of the skins actual biological functions.

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Hyperpigmentation - Those Ugly Brown Spots On Skin!

More specifically Melasma or Lentigos

The brown spots we get on our skin happen from an irregular distribution of melanin. Either this can result in melasma, which is an uneven production of melanocytes causing light brown spots; or in lentigos (age spots) which are an uneven accumulation of melanocytes in the epidermis resulting in brown spots.

The melanocyte cells are located in the basal cell skin layer. These cells control the making of melanin, which gives each person their coloring. The rate of melanin production differs between each person being greater in dark skinned individuals.

Outside factors also affect the production of melanin, which may cause brown spots:

• sun exposure
• Certain medications & chemicals
• Hormones - pregnancy, menopause, birth control pills
• Underlying health problems - nervous disorders
• acne

Melasma produces irregular, pale brown blotches that usually appear on the nose, cheeks, forehead, and upper chest. On darker skin, the blotches show up lighter than the surrounding skin. Melasma is common during pregnancy, menopause and in woman taking oral contraceptives. sun exposure will make the brown spots worse.

Lentigos, also known as age or liver spots, are flat, light reddish-brown spots that appear on the face, throat, chest, back of hands, upper back and shoulders. Lentigos typically show up on skin, which is repeatedly exposed to sunlight. The ultraviolet sunlight causes overstimulation of the melanocyte cells in the skin. The cells clump together and show up as age spots.

Lentigos spots can vary in size from small to a couple of inches in width. They happen more often on light-skinned people and can start to be noticeable as early as the age of 30.

Even though both of these melanin-produced spots are harmless, they are unattractive to most people. So what gets rid of them?

Over the counter products that can be used to erase brown spots on skin are:

• Bleaching (depigmenting) products which include-
• Hydroquinone (use only on fair to light skin tones - possibly irritating)
• Kojic Acid (an alternative for darker skin tones)
• Azelaic Acid
• Arbutin
• Ellagic Acid
• Retinoids (Retinoic Acid)
• Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid)
• Alpha Hydroxy Acids

Bleaching products work by inhibiting the production of the enzyme tyrosinase, which in turn reduces melanin. Over time, the brown spots will fade. Bleaching products will not lighten skin beyond its' own natural color, so do not worry about going to light.

Retinoids, Vitamin C, and Alpha Hydroxy Acids can slowly fade brown spots on their own. However, they are best used in conjunction with bleaching products since they will boost the overall effectiveness of the treatment.

Always use adequate sun protection when using any of these ingredients. Your skin will be extra sensitive to the sun. In addition, hydroquinone will be rendered useless if you do not use sunscreen.

Options that are available through a skin care professional are:

• laser Treatments (less damaging to skin)
• chemical face Peels
• Freezing the area with liquid nitrogen (may cause white spots)

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