hi, i’ve been doing electrolysis on my upper lip for one year now. i’m south asian with fair skin and have noticed hyperpigmentation for at least the past 6 months. i used to treat the area for 10min/every week and have been treating the area 10min/every 2 weeks since september. my elecrologist says that she is using a low temp to protect my skin, but it does get really red for about 30 min after treatment.anything i should right after treatment to help skin recover?
the hyperpigmentation is still there since i’ve spaced out my treatment times but perhaps not as bad as before. i’m using alot of aloe vera gel for the days following electrolysis and then shea butter to moisturize 4-5 days following treatment. i’ve read on the internet about some home remedies such as lemon juice. i also saw that james posted something about vitamin C powder and vitamin E oil. which do you think is the best idea? how often should i apply such remedies? i’m feeling really self-conscious and defeated about having a dark upper lip! any advice would be appreciated.
thank you!!
I have some hyperpigmentation on my jawline as a result of a treatment I had in October- I think -, and it has been slowly fading by itself. I used to apply a paste of vitamin c and milk of magnesia as advised by James, but I found my skin heals a lot better if I just leave it alone. I take a supplement of the vit c, and sometimes use Murad vitamins when budget permits.
Something that LAgirl pointed out to me, is to look at the cleanser I was using. Since switching to a calming cleanser the rate at which my skin repairs is much quicker. I think your use of aloe vera is great, I have seen a great diference since switching to a better version of aloe vera, by Aubrey. What you can use depends on the type of skin you have… Do you have dry/oily/sensitive skin? I’m sure some of the experts will be able to offer you some good advice.
Yes, the best healing works from inside out, so getting the vitamins inside of you is best. Aloe Vera and witch hazel during the day, and Tea Tree Oil at night is really all most people need.
The Milk of Magnesia and vitamin C would help in a case where one was having problems with an area that did not stay clean and dry long enough to heal up well.
hi, thanks for your responses! i do use a good quality aloe vera gel and will try to include the witch hazel and tea tree oil if that helps with hyperpigmentation. will also commit to taking vitamin E capsules daily. (helpful to slather vita E oil on skin itself?).
as for licorice root and koji berries… do you mean to eat these or apply to skin? coincidentally, i’m drinking lots of licorice root tea for my sore throat/cough these days.
Kojic acid does not come from Goji berries, but the berries do taste good, and are great as a natural anti-inflammatory.
I am a bigger fan of taking the vitamin E internally, (do take some vitamin C with it as well) but the licorice root extract and Kojic Acid products are applied directly to the skin.
hi… i’ve been taking vitamin E and C internally and am going to order kojic acid online (seems that this delivers better results for lightening vs licorice root extract, but if you know something that i don’t, please share!)… anyways, i was wondering if there is any company that you’d recommend for kojic acid? on amazon.com, this seems good:
also there is 50$ cream called “meladerm” which is receiving a lot of hype. any thoughts on it? (hmm, wouldn’t it be nice if there was a skin-lightening/hyperpigmentation forum as good quality as hairtell!).
I did not see any ingredient list on that page, nor links to such. As for Licorice root, it works well in conjunction with Kojic acid. Some of the better products have them both in them together.
I don’t like to give brand names unless there is some compelling reason, but since you asked, Peter Thomas Roth has a nice skin lightening product, as does Exuviance (skin brightening gel) Other than the petroleum products, and coloring agents, I like all the ingredients in those.
I was wondering where you can find witch hazel and tea tree oil? Are they just avalable at an ordinary store or do you have to get them by prescription?
Also will this reduce redness? I am having a lot of redness in the unibrow area. Will it work there?
When your drug store carries Tea Tree Oil, it is usually near the items like Calamine Lotion. Vitamin Stores and health food stores are usually the best sources for Tea Tree Oil, as they will have brands like NOW brand, and Thursday Plantation. Both have the metered dose dropper tops that keep you from using too much oil.
hi james,
thanks for letting me know of the other brands. i feel really overwhelmed with skin lightening products since it is becoming one of the most rapidly-promoted cosmetics. i like to avoid the parabens, etc too. i saw the ingredient list for meladerm which has, along with something called Alpha-Arbutin, these:
i’m not sure of the percentage of kojic acid, but it doesn’t have parabens or anything like that. so i am going to order it today and hope that i can get rid of this unsightly shadow on my upper lip. :S
along with continued intake of vitamin E and C!
Have you ever had your zinc levels checked? There is a simple taste test that one can have, sometimes I have seen it available at health food stores. In the past I have discovered that people who tended to pigment from galvanic treatments always had zinc deficiencies. It was odd that you had no problems with pigmentation, for the first six months of you treatment. Anyway, it is something else to consider.
MBMB, I like those ingredients and expect you to have success using the product. Please keep in mind that the product contains melanin suppressants and therefore you will become more vulnerable to UV rays – wear sunblock.
