The inexplicable spots on the face are the hatred of many little fairies.
Because of this, many little fairies will often be very scared after discovering the first stain, and then they will rush to do homework on spot removal skin care products, or go to the beauty salon for various treatments, but are they really effective?
Today, we will ask the doctor to talk about the stains:
1. White skin standard - freckles
Freckles are closely related to heredity and sun exposure [1].
The average parent has it, then the child has it from an early age.
This dotted hazel patch grows mainly on the nose and cheeks, somewhat resembling the pattern of a sparrow egg.
Pattern of sparrow eggs
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Freckles are easy to deepen and become more abundant after the sun, and people with light skin tones have a poor tolerance to sunlight, so they are more likely to grow freckles.
2. The "butterfly" that comes out of the sun - melasma
The melasma is pale brown and often appears symmetrically on both sides of the cheek like butterfly wings, and can be fused into one piece when the spots are dense.
Compared to freckles, melasma can be said to be an exclusive annoyance for women.
Especially in women after childbirth, the incidence is very high, so it is currently believed that melasma and changes in sex hormone levels are very much related.
Sun exposure and genetic susceptibility may also stimulate increased melanin synthesis, inducing melasma.
Frequent exposure to thermal radiation such as cooking, sleep disturbances, cosmetics that use heavy metals such as mercury and lead, as well as thyroid disease, liver disease, and diseases of the female reproductive system may also increase their incidence [1-3].
3. Brown-cyan moles
The brown-blue nevus is actually a mole, but resembles a spot, often symmetrically scattered across the cheekbones and temporal regions on both sides, with small gray-blue spots [1,4].
It usually begins to form gradually during puberty, and is an abnormal production of melanin within the dermis.
(Source: Reference 3)
Brown-blue nevi and melasma are sometimes confusing, but brown-blue nevi generally first occur in young women around the age of 20, while melasma is more likely to occur in women 30+ after childbirth [1,4].
In addition, brownish-blue nevi tend to have a clear outline, while melasma borders are blurred and distributed in flakes.
(Source: Reference 5)
Its cause is not clear, and it may be related to endocrine and ultraviolet radiation.
4. "Age spots" - seborrheic keratosis
Seborrheic keratosis dark spots look like "sticky" on the skin and have many appearances such as flattened dark spots, uniformly thickened composite patches, warty black papules, etc.
This kind of spot is commonly known as "age spot", but it is not exclusive to the elderly, it is not related to age, it may also be related to genetics and sun exposure.
For example, working outdoors all year round, you may grow this "age spot" at the age of 30;
For example, if parents grow "age spots" when they are young, then children are likely to appear early.
In addition, solar freckled nevi ("sun spots") also falls under the category of age spots, which are clearly defined coffee-colored, dark black patches.
It often appears in areas exposed to sunlight, such as the temples on both sides, the side of the face, the extensor side of the hand, and the forearm (back).
Skincare products are not useful for most pigmentation.
Many pigmentation spots occur in the deep dermis layer, and skin care products cannot penetrate and reach.
If the skin care product contains ingredients added illegally, it will aggravate the pigmentation and induce melanosis.
(Source: Source: The Paper, City Express)
If you want to remove stains safely, you still need to go to the hospital and consult a professional doctor to provide an accurate treatment plan.
Now in the face of freckles, melasma, age spots, etc., there are also many methods, Zhimei also gave you a rough summary:
1. Pigment buster - Q switch laser
It is the mainstream treatment for freckles and brown-blue nevi.
The Q-switch laser seems to have the ability to "recognize", its energy will only be absorbed by the pigment body in the pigmented spot, so it can "directly blast" the pigment particles, and then excrete them through metabolism.
(Source: mizuaesthetic.com)
Freckles can generally be diluted after 1 to 2 treatments, and after treatment, the original freckles will scab and require a recovery period of about 7 days.
Brown-blue nevi may need to be treated 3-6 times, as long as it is cleared, it generally does not recur.
2. "Central air conditioning" - strong pulsed light (photon rejuvenation)
Intense pulsed light can emit different wavelengths of light to hit different "enemies".
Therefore, it is good at comprehensive treatment, often "part-time treatment" of vascular, pigmented skin problems, but also can tighten the skin, shrink pores, improve fine lines.
For example, freckles with unclear boundaries, or freckles with red blood and enlarged pores, can be treated with strong pulsed light.
It is also effective in improving epidermal melasma, as well as hyperplasia of the dermis layer of melasma.
However, due to its relatively "central air conditioning", it is not as "fast and accurate" as a single laser, so it has a poor effect on dermal and mixed melasma.
Strong pulsed light is more friendly to workers, no delay in the construction period, and it is not too painful, because it is relatively mild, so it is generally done 4 to 5 times to meet expectations.
3. The new king - picosecond laser
Can be used to treat brownish-blue nevi.
Compared with traditional lasers, picoseconds emit each laser beam faster, which also converts light energy into thermal energy, allowing melanin to absorb and disintegrate.
(Source: Mizu Aesthetic Clinic Singapore)
It has less damage to normal tissue, and the final efficacy is not much different from the Q-switch laser, and the only drawback is that it is expensive.
At the same time, there will be a slight scab after treatment, which will take about a week to recover.
4. Phalanx small spot - super pulse CO2 dot laser
Suitable for melasma, seborrheic keratosis.
Super pulse CO2 dot matrix laser is a matrix-like arrangement of tiny beams of light, acting on the skin, the skin absorbs energy, the formation of a number of tiny damage wounds, in the skin self-repair process to achieve the purpose of spot removal.
After treatment, there will be scabs, usually 7-10 days after the scab, 2-3 months to fully recover.
You should also find that melasma appears especially often.
Yes, because of the complex mechanism of melasma formation, it is now more recommended to combine treatment with different lasers.
At the same time, there are also drug treatments, external hydroquinone ointment, oral tranexamic acid tablets are the most common treatment methods, but there are many side effects, must be carried out under the guidance of a doctor.
Various treatment modalities for pigmentation
Zhimei also sorted it out for everyone
You can press and hold to save the picture
This small popular science of pigmentation, to the end of this, I hope that the fairies can be less anxious after reading it, rational choice, do not be fooled by whitening products.
Finally, there is a cost-effective small tip: from now on to protect the sun, not only to prevent aging, but also to prevent all kinds of stains to the greatest extent!
Reviewer
| Deputy Chief Physician of Laser Beauty Center, Plastic Surgery Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences
bibliography
ZHANG Xuejun, ZHENG Jie. Dermatological venereology[M]. 9th Edition. Beijing: People's Medical Publishing House, 2018: 179-180
[2] Lee DJ, Park KC, Ortonne JP, Kang HY. Pendulous melanocytes: a characteristic feature of melasma and how it may occur. Br J Dermatol. 2012 Mar;166(3):684-6.
[3] Pigment Disease Group of Dermatological and Venereal Diseases Professional Committee of Chinese Association of Integrative Traditional and Western Medicine, Vitiligo Research Center of Dermatological and Venereology Branch of Chinese Medical Association, Pigment Disease Working Group of Dermatologists Branch of Chinese Medical Doctor Association. Expert Consensus on Melasma Diagnosis and Treatment in China (2021 Edition)[J]. Chinese Journal of Dermatology Vol. 54, No. 2, 2021, pp. 110-115, ISTIC PKU CSCD CA BP, 2021.
[4] Legarda-Montinola F. (2017) Classification and Clinical Presentations of Melasma in Brown Skin.
[5] Huang, Lining & Zhong, Yiping & Yan, Tingting & Liu, Zhenfeng & Yang, Bin & Man, Mao-Qiang. (2021). Efficacy and safety of 755 nm Q-switched Alexandrite Laser for Hori’s nevus: a retrospective analysis of 482 Chinese women. Lasers in Medical Science. 10.1007/s10103-021-03257-6.
[6] Soon-Hyo Kwon,Young-Ji Hwang, Soo-Keun Lee. Heterogeneous Pathology of Melasma and Its Clinical Implications. Int J Mol Sci. 2016 Jun; 17(6): 824.
[7] National Clinical Research Center for Skin and Immune Diseases, Huaxia Skin Imaging Artificial Intelligence Collaboration Group of China Association for the Promotion of International Exchanges in Healthcare, Dermatology Imaging Group of Dermatology Branch of China Association for the Promotion of International Exchanges in Healthcare, Dermatological And Venereal Diseases Professional Committee of Chinese Association of Integrative Traditional and Western Medicine, Dermatological Surgery Sub-professional Committee of Dermatologist Branch of Chinese Medical Doctor Association, Dermatological Imaging Group of Dermatological and Venereal Diseases Branch of Chinese Medical Association (in preparation), Dermatology and Skin Beauty Branch of China Medical Equipment Association, Skin Imaging Equipment Group, etc. Expert consensus on dermoscopic features of solar freckled nevus, seborrheic keratosis and lichen planus keratosis. Chinese Journal of Dermatology, 2019-12, 52(12): 878-883
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