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FOUNDATION TIPS | NEW PRODUCTS | GLAM EYES

DISAPPEARING ACTS

YOU DON’T HAVE TO LIVE WITH AN UNEVEN SKIN TONE. TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE LATEST TREATMENTS TO KISS DISCOLORATION GOOD-BYE

BeautyBY MARCIA CASTER

PHOTOGRAPHY BY BRUCE SOYEZ BERNARD

L uckily for us, companies have stepped up their efforts on the hyperpig-

mentation front, giving us more options than ever to erase dark spots. But do they work? We talked to the experts to find out what treatment breakthroughs have been made, and put a few products through our own road test. Read on to discover which method will work best for you.

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BEAUTY | HYPERPIGMENTATION

“The difference between faders and brighteners is primarily the strength of the ingredients used,” ex-plains chemist Ni’Kita Wilson. “Faders, which are used to spot-treat, are more concen-trated with higher levels of skin-clearing ingredients. Brighteners have lower concentrations of active ingredients and are typically used on the entire face to exfoliate.” The verdict: Ad-just your expectations. Opt for the fade treatment if you have serious pigment issues, and turn to brighteners, like NARSskin Illuminated, to ex-foliate, to refine skin cells and to reveal a radiant glow. .

WHAT WE KNOW THE CAUSE: We mainly suffer from postinflammatory hyper-pigmentation (PIH), which is discoloration caused by injury or irritation. “No matter what color you are, we all have the same amount of pigment cells, called melanocytes,” explains board certified dermatologist Cheryl M. Burgess, M.D., founder of the Center for Dermatology and Dermatologic Surgery in Wash-ington, D.C. “What makes our color different is the little globs of pigment inside the melano-cytes, which are called mela-nosomes. The larger and more numerous they are, the darker your skin is.” And the more prone you are to discoloration issues.

THE GO-TO: However con-troversial hydroquinone may be—a side effect can be a light halo ring that forms

during spot treatments or a negative reaction causing more darkened skin—our experts continue to call it the gold standard treatment for PIH. “No long-term side effects have been proven,” says Jeanine Downie, M.D., a dermatologist in Montclair, New Jersey. “And things like the halo occur with im-proper application.” Frequent follow-ups and a limit on the amount of time a patient is on a hydroquinone regimen help to ensure safety. Miami-based dermatologist Andrea Trowers, M.D., uses formula-tions of 8 to 10 percent to achieve significant results in a shorter time span: “I typically use compounded formula-tions [custom-made strengths ordered by a doctor], which allow me to use stronger strengths of hydroquinone than are available at a regular pharmacy.”

Fade Treatments vs. Brighteners

THE DERMACEUTIC SPOT PEELDoctors are achieving good results with this cosmetic procedure

BEFOREPatient had scat-

tered discoloration on cheeks.

AFTERSpots were notice-

ably lighter and skin tone evened out.

BEAUTY | HYPERPIGMENTATION

THE SUNSCREEN: “It should contain a physical blocker such as micronized zinc oxide and/or titanium dioxide,” explains Trowers. But what about the ashy appearance it leaves? “Now there are micronized options in which the physical blockers are ground into fine particles, reduc-ing that white cast and providing better coverage,” notes Trowers. One of her faves for brown skin is SkinCeuticals Physical Fusion UV Defense SPF 50 ($32, skin-ceuticals.com).

WHAT’S NEW IN PRODUCTS: Most treat-ments that lighten skin work by interfering with the production of melanin. This means blocking tyrosinase, the melanin-pro-ducing enzyme. But it turns out that all melanin is not the same. “Eumelanin is found in darker skins and pheomelanin is found in fair skin,” explains Ni’Kita Wilson, a cosmetic chemistry expert at beautysage.com. A breakthrough is the enzyme lignin peroxidase. Initially used to lighten wood for paper produc-tion, it is derived naturally from a type of fungus or mushroom. The difference with this ingredi-ent is how it works on hyperpig-mentation: It targets and breaks down existing eumelanin instead of just stopping future produc-tion. The enzyme could do wonders for existing marks. Cur-rently it’s in Luminaze and trade-

marked as Melano-zyme in the Elure lines of lighteners. Other companies have also turned to mushrooms for success. The songyi mushroom has been used in Asia for centuries as a skin lightener, and now its extract is in the new Palmer’s Even-tone skin care line. Shinto All Evens Out products use beta glucans, found in mushrooms, to revitalize skin cells.

IN THE DERMATOLOGIST’S OFFICE: Derms are excited about the DermaCeutic Spot Peel (see photos above). Popular in the Middle East, it’s gaining ground stateside. “For the first time we have a spot peel that has a unique combination of ingre-dients from which we get high efficacy, no downtime and no side effects,” explains New York City dermatologist Bruce Katz, M.D. The peel, which is left on the face for 2 minutes, contains alpha and beta hydroxy acids, mandelic acid and idebenone, one of the most powerful antiox-idants for neutralizing the dam-aging effects of free radicals. Following the initial application, patients keep a solution on for eight hours. “It’s this kind of

multimodal approach that really gives a lot more benefits than a single-ingredient peel,” says Katz. Another benefit: You could save money in the long run. Other peels usually take four to six sessions before a patient sees a significant difference. At $300 or more per visit, expenses can add up quickly. On the other hand, you’ll pay only $300 to $400 for the DermaCeutic treat-ment, which may require just one peel session at the doctor’s office, followed by a 30-day at-home regimen that includes a spot treatment (at one third the strength of the in-office ver-sion), cleansers and moisturizers. “Because the ingredients aren’t harsh and are in low concentra-tions, the peel is ideal for skin of color,” adds Katz. .

To maintain your clear skin results wear

sunscreen every day.

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5 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT LASERS 1. When it comes to treating discoloration on brown skin, lasers are used as a last resort. 2. It’s not always a slam dunk. For instance, “Melasma is provoked by heat and light, so if you are using a light source like a laser, which is also hot, it could stimulate your condition,” warns Bur-gess, a cofounder of Black Opal and Biocosmetic Research Labs. 3. We should avoid impulse light lasers. They are considered the least forgiving and can lead to burns. 4. Ask about fractional lasers such as the Fraxel RE:Store and the Erbium. They’re safer for us because they target smaller areas of pigment, leaving areas in between untouched. 5. Laser treatments can be costly—some are $800 to $1,000 per session. [

BEAUTY | HYPERPIGMENTATION

PRODUCT CLAIM KEY INGREDIENTS TESTER REVIEW

THE RESULTS ARE IN

Luminaze Brilliant Serum Concentrate ($135,

Nordstrom)

Avène D-Pigment Dark Spot Corrector

($49, drugstores)

Niacinamide, alpha arbutin and new bio-peptides that break up discoloration.

Tester used it on her abdomen and noticed a slight difference in just two weeks. She describes the area as looking much paler.

Works to lighten brown spots fast, with triple-strength formula.Osmotics Cosmeceuticals

Lighten FX 3x Dark Spot Remover ($58,

dermstore.com)

Neutrogena Rapid Tone Repair ($20, drugstores)

Peter Thomas Roth De-Spot ($75, Sephora)

Bremenn Dark Spot Eraser ($59, Ulta)

We tried out a few dark spot faders to see how well they work. Although many need up to 12 weeks for ideal results, we checked in after two to four weeks, which chemist Ni’Kita Wilson says is often an in-house benchmark for companies when creating formulas. What we found:

Enzyme extracted from a wild mushroom that grows on tree bark in the Swiss Alps.

Melanyde, which claims to have 10 times the lightening effectiveness of skin-lightening kojic acid.

In less than four weeks, dark spots slightly faded and a new blemish seemed to heal faster.

After religiously applying the cream nightly to the neck for three weeks, tester says it significantly faded her melasma.

Lightens darks spots and brightens skin.

Clears skin and reduces hyperpigmenation by 81% in three months.

Accelerated Retinol SA (retinol SA, glucose complex and hyaluronic acid) and vitamin C.

Illumiscin, niacinamide and ActiWhite, which is comparable to 2% hydroquinone.

Surprisingly, in a week, it started to fade dark spots left on legs from bug bites. Our tester some-times used the nighttime treatment during the day.

After only two weeks, our tester saw fading on cheeks, and overall, her skin was smoother.

Reduces the appear-ance of dark spots and improves skin clarity and tone in seven days.

Reduces darkened area 14.2% within two weeks.

Candida, titanium dioxide and diacetyl boldine, which are all skin lighteners.

Our tester was also taking skin-healing zinc supple-ments at the time, but she considers this the fastest dark spot corrector she’s used in 10 years.

Minimizes the appear-ance of existing and future dark spots.