Dull weather, dull skin… it’s time to brighten up, babe.
Spring really can’t come fast enough.
With brighter (and warmer!!!) days ahead, it’s time to start thinking about keeping your skin bright and even before the sun starts getting your skin pigment cells all 🙌 🙌 with spots.
We get it, it’s been winter. You’re pale right now. Those pesky lil spots have been tucked away and out of sight.
But we both know what’s up ahead: The sun is going to come out, we’ll all cheer and throw a party, you’ll forget your sunscreen JUST ONCE, and then bam – sun spots and freckles are back in full force.
Then you call us, in a panic, but now it’s too late… we have to wait until the cooler months. Again.
It’s a cycle you and I know all too well.
It’s time to break the cycle…
We’re calling it, though: 2020 is THE YEAR we take self care to the next level and stay ON POINT. Real talk: self care ≠ having to dedicate an entire day to your skin or whatever else. Just like you, we’re busy. We need something quick, effective, and that won’t keep us at home looking like a creature of the night.
Because we love you, we’re spilling the tea on our TOP 3 favourite ways to brighten up your skin. Read on to find out our secrets!
LASER TREATMENTS
Sometimes we need to kickstart the skin into gear, and that is what our laser treatments do. By utilizing high-tech treatments such as IPL and Clear & Brilliant, we are able to ignite your skins natural healing and clean up response. That means out with the old, in with the new.
IPL Photofacial
Naturally this OG laser facial has to be our number one pick for getting rid of dark spots. IPL is tried and true and has never done us dirty. This treatment is ideal for brown or dark spots on any part of your face, neck and décolleté. Even light (low contrast) dark spots, which were previously difficult to resolve, respond well to this laser treatment.
IPL laser delivers a pulse of light that travels through the skin and causes the cluster of pigmentation to break apart. Some of the superficial pigmentation will surface and slough off, while the deeper pigmentation will dissolve through the circulatory system. It’s actually the heating of the dark spots that causes the therapeutic effect.
Clear & Brilliant Permea
Newer to the game, Clear & Brilliant has been our go-to choice laser for dark spots on darker skin types and for trickier cases of hyperpigmentation like melasma. C&B doesn’t play favourites though, this technology can be used on anyone with any kind of pigment.
Clear + Brilliant works by creating millions of microscopic treatment zones by evaporating the water molecules in the upper layers of the skin, which replaces damaged skin with healthy tissue and yields younger looking skin. Your body’s natural healing response is stimulated as these treatment zones produce a cascade of collagen and elastin production, which rejuvenates and resurfaces the skin.
SUPPLEMENTS
We do things a little different in our Vancouver laser clinic when it comes to treating your skin conditions: We treat your body as a whole, and take a combination holistic and clinical approach to skin health. This means supplements!
We love Advanced Nutrition Programme’s Skin Complete duo of Vitamin A + Antioxidants to supercharge the skin for success from the inside out. In order to understand why this is so important, let get technical for a minute…
We know now that Vitamin A builds healthy skin cells, activates cellular renewal and stimulates collagen and elastin production, and antioxidants induce DNA repair, fight oxidative free radical damage and block UV penetration, but how exactly does it all work on pigment?
Pigmentation starts well below the skin’s surface where melanocyte cells pass melanin to keratinocyte cells.
Think of this as a perfect relay between that pigment-producing-cell and the basic skin cell, which results in a perfectly even skin tone. Uneven pigmentation is a result of that melanin production being altered at the DNA level by free radical damage from UV rays, hormonal changes and injury and/or inflammation.
Most importantly, pigmentation begins with Vitamin A deficiency. Skin cells divide less frequently and damage is no longer effectively repaired and irregular pigment distribution is a result. Hyperpigmentation happens when the production of melanin goes into overdrive leaving spots of excess melanin on the skin. The creation of melanin is an oxidative process. Vitamins A, C and D and powerful antioxidants counteract this oxidation, limiting the excessive pigmentation production.
Skin Complete is the skin supplement for pigmentation. Just one capsule of Skin Vitamin A+ helps to protect and improve skin’s resilience to lifestyle and external factors and helps repair DNA damage! One capsule of Skin Antioxidant daily is the ultimate skin supplement for pigmentation. The key is to help speed up the skin’s natural exfoliation rate while slowing or reducing the excessive speed the melanocyte is working at.
SKINCARE
If you know us, you know what our top product pick for dark spots is: SUNSCREEN. Read about that here. There is no point or sense in investing in removing the damage and hyperpigmentation, only to go right back out into the sun, unprotected. Protect your investment and wear a good, high quality sunscreen daily!
In addition to that, two serums everyone should invest in would be the holy grail Vitamins: A & C. These powerful antioxidants work similarly to how your Skin Complete will work from the inside out. More on why these vitamins are so important soon!
Then comes the big guns: Tyrosinase Inhibitors
Oh, tyrosine inhibitors, how we love thee. You’re probably asking yourself “WTF is tyrosinase” right now… let us explain: Hyperpigmentation is a process and a half including many, many steps. Within these steps there is an enzyme known as tyrosinase, which is needed by the melanocyte cell in order to be able to produce melanin. Tyrosinase inhibitors work by interfering with the enzyme, which prevents the melanocyte from making that pesky little dark spot!
(We love skin science)
Tyrosinase inhibitors can include: Hydroquinone, tranexamic acid, kojic acid, mulberry extract… the list could go on and on. Some of our favourites for pigment include ZO Skin Brightening + Texture Program, SkinCeuticals Discoloration, and SkinCeutical Advanced Pigment Corrector.
So now you know the what, it’s time to get clear on the HOW. Ready for the healthiest, most even skin of your life?
Let’s work together.
Book your complimentary consultation now!
