Dark spots are pretty common issues and affect both women and men. They usually appear as a skin area with a darker shade than the rest of the skin. The size of this area depends and can be fairly small or larger. Dark spots are annoying as they make your skin tone look uneven and are usually not very eye-pleasing. Dark spots can appear anywhere on your skin, face, hands, cleavage etc.
Dark spots can be the results of sun exposure, hormonal change, the taking of certain medication (antibiotic, anti-depressant, etc.), pregnancy or skin ageing. Acne scars can also create “dark spots” on your skin. All these types of spots have something in common, it’s the melanin level that will make these spots appear.
You should know that among the different possible reasons for dark spots, sun exposure is probably the most common one and you can prevent these ones by avoiding sun exposure and using an SPF daily. Exfoliating regularly can also help your skin get rid of damaged cells and thus avoid dark spots. Finally, some skin treatments can be photosensitizing (AHA for example) and should be used at night only or they could lead to skin damage because of sun exposure.
But if you already have dark spots, these ingredients can be of help to erase those annoying spots!
Tyrosinase inhibitor to remove dark spots.
Tyrosinase is an enzyme that plays a major role in melanin production. By inhibiting tyrosinase, you’ll slow down your natural melanin production and thus, fight dark spots!
Kojic Acid
Used with glycolic acid, kojic acid will prevent tyrosinase from working correctly. The exfoliating effect of glycolic acid will help you remove damaged skin cells from the upper layer of your skin.
Arbutin
By inhibiting efficiently tyrosinase activity, arbutin breaks melanin down which allows getting rid of dark spots much faster.
Dioic Acid
Prevents tyrosinase to work correctly but also slows down the process of melanin distribution and thus the creation of new dark spots.
Hydroquinone
Dangerously efficient, hydroquinone has to be professionally supervised in the UK as it can lead to permanent depigmentation if used badly. Talk to your dermatologist if you want to learn more about it.
Exfoliants to literally erase dark spots
By stimulating skin turn over, it will allow your skin to get rid of damaged skin cells (here the coloured ones). But that’s not all, by getting rid of the first layers of the skin, it will allow your dark spots correctors to penetrate more efficiently.
AHA
Glycolic acid, lactic acid, and many more. They stimulate collagen and elastin production and erase lightly the appearance of dark spots.
Azelaic Acid
Not only exfoliating, but azelaic acid will also remove keratin from the skin which can diminish the appearance of dark spots. Bonus, it has antibacterial properties, which make it interesting if you suffer from dark spots and certain forms of acne.
Antioxidants to scavenge free-radicals
With sun exposure, pollution and general external aggressions, your skin will suffer from free radicals which oxidise your skin cells making your skin weaker and favouring the creation of wrinkles, dark spots and so on. You got it: nobody likes free radicals. The best way to fight free radicals is to get plenty of antioxidants! You get them when eating fruits and veggies of course, but you can also apply them directly to your skin through skincare.
Vitamin C
One of the best antioxidants to scavenge sun free radicals while regulating melanocytes functions. Although Vitamin C can be irritating, we formulated Radiant Glow Illuminating Serum with new-gen of Vitamin C that does not irritate the skin. Buy illuminating serum now!
Vitamin E
By protecting cells integrity, it will allow you to prevent cells damage and thus hyperpigmentation amongst other possible skin issues. Works pretty well combined with vitamin C!
Polyphenols
You can find them in a lot of natural goodies. Many Fruits and veggies are rich in polyphenols and share great antioxidant powers.