With every skin treatment, some after-effects are attached, which are sometimes inevitable to escape from. The laser hair removal technique can cause mild and severe side effects, including burning sensations in the skin, redness of the treated area, hyperpigmentation, and irritation or itchy skin.
These side effects are not meant to be ever-lasting; rather, they are ephemeral and, with some remedies and treatments, can be resolved to get the perfect skin that you wish. The foremost thing you shouldn’t compromise on is the selection of dermatologists and the treatment center. Always go for the best as your skin needs the finest treatment rather than intending on saving some bucks.
After the laser hair removal technique, people usually undergo the problem of having redness that later turns into pigmentation of varied color tones on their skin. To probe deep into the issue, let’s first understand the term pigmentation.
What Is Hyperpigmentation
Pigmentation is something that measures the skin tone or skin color of a person, and it is usually different for every person. Pigmentation is controlled by the presence of melanin in the skin. Melanin controls the skin tone of a person.
Hyperpigmentation is a term that refers to an abnormal increase in the quantity of melanin that leads to an excess of pigment in your skin, making the skin darker than your normal skin tone.
Hypopigmentation
There’s another condition wherein the quantity of melanin decreases after a skin treatment and causes lighter spots to appear on the skin, and this is known as hypopigmentation of the skin, where the melanin reduces and makes the required amount of pigmentation for the skin tone to decimate producing lighter spots.
Depigmentation
This is a form of pigmentation where the pigment in the skin is almost equal to none, or no pigment is present in the skin.
Types Of Hyperpigmentation
Hyperpigmentation is caused by many reasons and is broadly divided into three main terms depending upon the bases of their appearance. The most common are melasma, sun spots or age spots, and post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation.
Melasma
One of the most common types of hyperpigmentation laser is called melasma, which causes light to dark patches on the skin like freckles. This condition is also called the mask of pregnancy, as they usually appear during pregnancy due to deficiencies and an increase in the quantity of melanin.
Sun-Spots And Age-Spots
The second commonly experienced form of hyperpigmentation is sun-spot or age spots, as the name suggests that with an increase in age and extended exposure to the sunlight, the melanin in the skin activates, producing more pigment and resulting in small patches mainly on the face and hands known as the sun-spot or age-spot.
Post-Inflammatory Hyperpigmentation
The essential type of hyperpigmentation is post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation caused after exposure to the laser, some injury, acne, or any treatment that triggers the production of melanin and increases the dark patches on your skin. It is also called PIH and is not a permanent one.
This pigmentation is usually caused by the different laser treatments people undergo for hair removal or other skin treatment. As a result of inflammation caused by the laser, this post inflammatory hyperpigmentation after laser is activated, increasing the melanin in the skin to such a level that it produces light brown to dark brown patches.
Causes Of Hyperpigmentation
Hyperpigmentation is caused by several reasons in a person over a lifetime. The long hours of sun exposure, aging, food deficiencies during pregnancies, and sudden exposure to trauma can also accentuate hyperpigmentation.
Post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation PIH is one of the side effects caused by hair removal laser treatments. However, this hyperpigmentation is fleeting and can be treated in several ways but with some patience on the patient’s part.
How Does Laser Hair Removal Work
Laser hair removal is one of the futuristic treatments in the field of dermatology that utilizes intricate laser light to treat the affected area. The laser light is focused and pointed on the root of the hair, wherein it attacks the follicle holding the hair and responsible for its growth.
The laser light-intensive beam concentrates on the follicle, burns the hair, and also affects the follicle in such a way as to stop any further growth of the hair, thus making it inactive. In doing so, the laser beam penetrates the hair follicle through the hair pigment and destroys the follicle.
The hair pigment plays a vital role in the laser treatment, so the ideal hair to be removed easily through the laser treatments are the darker ones with more pigment. However, the lighter color hair is more difficult to attack and remove permanently as their low pigment does not give a good path to reach the follicle at the base.
How To Treat Hyperpigmentation Resulting From Laser Hair Removal
Laser hyperpigmentation removal techniques can affect different individuals in a variety of ways. Laser treatment for hyperpigmentation is very effective. For some individuals, laser exposure can be fine with excellent results; on the contrary, others might end up with pigmentation and other adverse effects on their skin.
After encountering PIH, the thing of utmost importance is a proper diagnosis from a well-reputed dermatologist, someone qualified enough to underline the actual cause and suggest a treatment; otherwise, you might bark up wrong trees spending your valuable dollars and still meet dead ends.
Photo-Protection
After the hair pigment removal laser treatment and hyperpigmentation, the exposure to the sun should be kept under a strict check, and special sunscreen creams with SPF 50 and UVA and UVB protection should be used.
These sunscreens will treat the primary issue of the raised melanin, and getting these creams on board will surely help lower the pigmentation.
Vitamin B3 And Vitamin C
While working hours in the morning, treat yourself with vitamin B3 and vitamin C as the first layer before applying your sunscreen. Niacinamide is vitamin B3, an essential ingredient that helps reduce the redness and hyperpigmentation of the skin and also increases the skin’s elasticity, removes blotchiness, and makes it look younger. These vitamins act as a perfect anti-oxidant as well.
Retinol
The continuous use of retinol can significantly help reduce the darkening of the skin. Start using it a few times a week; it is best recommended to be used at night, mix the suggested amount of retinol in the moisturizer and apply it on your skin and gradually increase the frequency of usage.
Azelaic Acid
Azelaic acid is also a prescribed solution to treat post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation in patients. It helps maintain the melanin in the skin by impeding the tyrosinase so that the skin tone will return to its original color. Azelaic acid works within six to eight weeks, showing a remarkable difference in pigmentation.
Tropical Tranexamic Acid
Topical Tranexamic Acid can treat the surficial redness of the skin and can further reduce the increase in the melanin of the skin to avoid skin pigmentation. It is also commonly used in its oral form for melasma.
Microdermabrasion Scrubs
Many scrubs offer microdermabrasion as an essential ingredient that is highly effective as an exfoliating agent, which removes impurities from the skin, maintains melanin, and regenerate skin tone.
In-Clinic Treatments
Some in-clinic treatments are offered in case the sunscreens and Vitamins do not treat hyperpigmentation. These treatments include specially designed chemical peels to extenuate melanin’s working and control the pigmentation.
Further, we move towards lasers and picosecond lasers, the safest and quickest way to remove post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation. However, these techniques are only incorporated initially, and immediate remedies won’t work.
How To Prevent Laser Hair Removal Side Effects
As we all have heard, prevention is better than cure, and the same goes for the laser hair removal technique. While going for hair removal treatment, you should avoid extra exposure to sunlight so that the melanin in the skin should be controlled. The sun exposure should be reduced even after the treatment to prevent accentuated pigmentation.
The person going for a laser hair removal treatment should select mild soap and cleaning products and treat skin rash or allergy. The only way of removing hair before the laser treatment should be shaving them off, not waxing or plucking.
Another critical factor to consider before going for laser treatment is medication usage. Suppose you are using any anti-inflammatory medicine that will highly surge the possibility of bleeding during the treatment. In that case, it’s better to give up any such medication months before going for the treatment.
It is normal to experience some side effects after the laser hair removal treatment, which are usually the redness or burning sensation in the skin, and typically last for one to two days, depending on the sensitivity of your skin. However, after long sessions of laser exposure, other problems may appear, such as post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation. These side effects need more time and some treatment to resolve.
Does Hyperpigmentation From Laser Hair Removal Go Away
The problem is not as intimidating as it sounds because research and experience have proved that this hyperpigmentation is temporary and does not last long. The hyperpigmentation caused after laser hair removal is easily treated by various creams and specific chemical peels that work effectively and efficiently in making the skin better and normal.
Frequently Asked Questions
Final Thoughts
The laser hair removal technique is the testimony of modern medicine and technological advancement that makes the impossible possible. The method lets you eliminate the perennial problem of unwanted hair being removed forever, but the question remains: does hyperpigmentation from laser hair removal go away? It goes away in some months if treated and looked after properly. The post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation caused by the laser is eliminated with some precautions, using vitamins, Azelaic acid, and in-clinic treatments to cure it properly.
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