Unwanted pigmentation is an extremely common problem for most Australian women. A harsh climate and a culture of sun worship and outdoor pursuits take an eventual toll on frequently exposed areas, especially the face, hands and decolletage. However, the incidence of melanoma in Australia is amongst the highest in the world, so before undergoing ANY pigmentation treatment please have a registered medical practitioner (yes, Dr Teska is one!) check your lesions to ensure that they are benign and are suitable for non-surgical removal.
Fortunately most of these blemishes can be easily and safely removed following assessment, with a variety of medical treatments, including laser therapy. The treatment of pigmentation in those with underlying olive or brown skin should only be done under medical supervision. Dr Teska is experienced at treating these skin types, having a special interest in the treatment of skin of colour, and is able to prepare the skin for peeling or laser treatment using our unique and prescription-only skin lightening cream, called Restore HQ.
Assessment of pre treatment skin is assisted with the use of the Visia skin complexion analysis machine. This is a digital camera and computer software program that can accurately record a baseline of your skin’s condition and then allows for easy follow up of treatment results following laser therapy. We can also assess the level of your skin’s pigmentation (epidermal or dermal) with the Visia camera and even test how effective your current sunscreen product is, using the UV filter!
Treatment Options
Treating pigmentation takes patience, commitment and diligence.
Crucial to your success is your longterm homecare routine, and in particular your choice of sunscreen.
Dr Teska will not only discuss the best pigmentation treatment options for your individual problems, but also will discuss appropriate sunscreen use during your consultation so that your treatment outcome is longterm. After all, there’s no point in having careful treatment if it all comes apart from a lack of good sun protection!
Treatments available at Skin Temple include the following:
- Hydroquinone (Restore HQ) and non-hydroquinone (Cosmelan 2) based homecare creams
- Chemical peeling with Jessner solution, modified Jessner, TCA or Cosmelan-prepare to be away from prying eyes for up to one week with some chemical peels. Lighter peels (eg Glycolic acid) are available for less pronounced pigmentation problems, but require a series and must be combined with homecare creams.
- Intense Pulsed Light (IPL) must only be done for superficial pigmentation, BEWARE excessive use will aggravate melasma or dermal pigmentation. Not suitable for darker skin types.
- Gentlelase/alexandrite laser is best used for isolated solar lentigines (also known as age spots or liver spots) Please ensure that a registered medical practitioner checks all pigmented lesions for signs of melanoma first though! Not suitable for darker skintypes.
- Medlite C6/q-switched yag laser toning (series)-we’ve been using this for treating deep dermal pigmentation for a number of years now and it really is quite exciting..if a little slow..but at least there’s no downtime whatsoever!
- Pearl laser–this has a little more downtime and is best used in conjunction with IPL rejuvenation. Great for those after a little skin tightening at the same time who don’t mind being out of social action for a few days.
Almost all of these options can be used in combination with one or more other treatment options, to achieve an even higher rate of success. For example, Cosmelan used to be made with hydroquinone (HQ) but in most countries hydroquinone is now only available on prescription, so Mesoestetica (makers of Cosmelan) no longer use hydroquinone in their over the counter products. However, Dr Teska is able to prescribe a hydroquinone containing skin cream which when used in conjunction with either the Cosmelan or Dermamelan treatment routine will very significantly enhance the effect of the treatment.
Please be aware that for those with melasma, the internet is full of websites selling counterfeit Mesoestetic Cosmelan products and using Dermamelan or Cosmelan before and after images that are old internet examples of the results obtained with the original formula containing HQ. If you’re going to have a Cosmelan treatment, please ensure that it’s done at a medical centre where HQ is also available, otherwise you may be disappointed with the outcome from Cosmelan alone!
Furthermore, by following up the Cosmelan peel with not only our Restore HQ cream but also a series of Laser Toning, even deep dermal melasma can be dramatically improved.
We have several lasers to fade and remove pigmentation include the Mini Gentlelase (Alexandrite) Medlite C6 (Q-switched YAG), Cutera XEO (IPL), and the Pearl laser system.
By discussing your downtime preference and desired outcomes with Dr Teska, we can tailor make an individual treatment routine to have your pigmentation looking better than ever as soon as possible.
Here’s one of our happy clients:
Please note that the above example is a genuine Skin Temple customer, and has undergone one IPL rejuvenation procedure, in combination with 2 weeks of Restore HQ prior.
The Visia Gen6 is able to accurately measure redness, superficial and deep pigmentation in your skin, as well as a range of other parameters.
Visia Gen6 imagery