Kojic Acid Skin Treatments

When it comes to skin care, kojic acid is a renowned name which inhibits the skin’s production of melanin. With less melanin production, the skin tone will be lighter. Koji is a japanese mushroom that produces kojic acid. Regarding the reliability of this kojic acid, many wonders if it is really safe. Some researches claim that kojic acid may cause cancer in large amounts. Kojic acid is considered to be carcinogenic when used in large doses. It is also used to preserve the zest and color of foods. Melasma is known to be remedied by some kojic acid treatments.

It could lose its effectiveness once exposed to external elements. Some companies use a more stable version of it-kojic dipalmate. However it is not as effective as pure kojic acid. Its pigmentation inhibiting property certified it to be used as a skin whitening treatment. Its efficiency is out of the question but its safety is. Kojic acids indications include acne, dark spots caused by aging and freckles. It is also used for uneven skin tone, stretch marks and other skin discoloration. Another benefit of it is cell strengthening and riddance of free radicals. Kojic acid products varies from creams, serums, gels and soaps.

Because of its use in foodstuff, many believe that it is really safe on skin. However it also has side effects. Skin might become sensitive from kojic acid treatment overuse. One may even contract allergic contact dermatitis. Walking under the sun would be a drag for a kojic acid user because skin becomes susceptible to damage brought by sunlight. There are also some complaints about it that it can cause dark circles under the eyes. Kojic acid maybe safer than hydroquinone, but still it poses some risks. If any problems are faced with using kojic acid products, abstaining from it is recommended.

There are many beauty creams available to buy over the counter which contain a small amount of Kojic Acid.

Dermabrasion

To have glowing flawless skin is almost everybody’s dream. This is just not about being vain, it also has something to do with one’s self confidence. The skin radiates the health within a person so a healthy complexion could mean a healthy person. A persons overall appearance can be judged with his skin. The skin offers protection and cover for the whole body. Since human skin is not as tough and thick like other animals, we ought to take care of it. If our skin is damaged we somehow lose our confidence and self esteem. With the dawn of new technology, many procedures have been designed to help repair skin. Skin care treatments could come in many forms and surgical procedures. Things like creams and surgery are obtainable for someone who needs to have a skin treatment.

Dermabrasion is a cosmetic surgical procedure that removes the thin outermost layer of the skin, stratum corneum. It peels away the skin in an unnatural way. Dermabrasion is used to remove damaged skin, age spots, liver spots, dark spots, keratosis, wrinkles and scars.

The outermost layer of the skin is removed by a dermabrader in a process known as sanding. Dermabraders vary from its type and utility; there are electric sanders and laser sanders. Traditional dermabrasion process using an electric sander is more painful than laser treatments. This incorporates use of a general anaesthetic so the patient can endure the pain. Using laser technology, this can be avoided.

After the dermabrasion procedure, the skin may look very red and raw, and it takes a great deal of care to prevent infection. Regeneration and healing may be long afterwards. Superficial scars are easy to remove with dermabrasion, but deep scars are not recommended for dermabrasion. The laser dermabrasion procedure may reduce all of hassle of classic dermabrasion, and it is much easier to control.

Before you decide to go through this procedure, please consult a dermatologist first. Your immune system and body recovery is important to be at the best of its health to help you go by the procedure. Ample rest and good hygiene is also important.

What Problems To Expect During Chemical Face Peels

A chemical peel is an anti-aging technique that is characterized by the use of mixture of chemicals that creates a gel-like consistency which is applied to the face to treat sun damaged skin. This functions to get rid of dead skin cells off the surface layer of the skin which then reduce the appearance of blemishes and fine lines, diminish circles around the eyes and puffiness, tightens and smoothens the skin, and lightens brown spots, age spots, liver spots & sun spots. Chemicals peels are also used to treat melasma.

Utilization of different chemicals is possible when it comes to chemical peel treatment. Certain fruits, vinegar, and sugar cane are just some of the derivatives of these chemicals. Three chemical peel treatments in intervals of one month is recommended by skin experts for maximum effect.

Three main types of chemical peels are distinguished according to one’s skin color, skin type and the condition that needs treatment. The three main types of chemical peels are superficial peels, medium peels, and deep peels.

Superficial chemical face peels pertain to the chemical peels that are the mildest. Chemicals that are used are glycolic acid, dilute acid, and ice solid carbon dioxide.

The second classification of chemical face peel is called medium chemical face peels which sink in deeper than how superficial chemical face peels do. This treatment triggers the skin second degree burn. Its main agent is called trichloroacetic acid, but other solutions may be used before using trichloroacetic acid.

Just like the medium chemical face peels, deep chemical face peels cause second degree burn on the skin while going through several of its layers. This classification can also be utilized on the face and this is effective on whitening darker skin.

This kind of treatment is also associated to different issues although there are given good effects. One thing that you should remind yourself is that the deep chemical face peels must only be for the treatment of the worst skin conditions.

There are certainly disadvantages when it comes to using chemical face peels. First of all, there is a usual excessive peeling of the skin especially with medium chemical face peels and deep chemical face peels. The skin may be reddish caused by the peeling sensation that can be typically experience when one undergoes chemical peels. There is also a stinging sensation during the first application. Although temporary, numbness can be felt apart from having crusting of the skin.

Another problem about chemical face peels is that the patient must stay out of the sun for the skin is more sensitive to the sun. Of course, the price can be a big hindrance for someone who wants to undergo chemical face peel treatment considering that it is significantly costly.

What To Know About Glycolic Acid Face Peel

Glycolic acid is known to be part of the alpha hydroxy acid (AHA) family belonging to carboxylic acids. Glycolic acid is distinguished from sugarcane as it has its distinct properties that are very beneficial for a variety of industrial and consumer application. There are personal skin care products that are made out of glycolic acid. Glycolic acid is mainly used as glycolic acid face peel and used for the improvement of the appearance of the skin against damages caused by the sun, wrinkles, pigmentation that is uneven such as age spots, liver spots, brown spots & sun spots, as well as pimples.

A chemical process is undergone by products used for personal skin care pegged as glycolic acid face peel. There is a combination of alcohols in the production of glycolic acid face peel to come up with esters. Not only does ester bring fragrant odor to the skin care product, it is also characterized by its ability to reduce irritation on the skin.

It can be said that glycolic acid is the most active and the most beneficial alpha hydroxy acid (AHA) among any other skin care products. Glycolic acid penetrates the epidermal cells on the outermost layer of the skin. It weakens the binding properties of the glue-like property known as lipids that maintain the dead cells altogether.

There seems to be peeling off of the damaged outer skin layer before the coming out of new underlying skin cells. This kind of mechanism brings out the even texture of the skin. Additionally, there is a penetration of glycolic acid on the new skin cell membrane in order to be come upon for the production of elastic fibers and collagen needed for the improvement and strengthening of the condition of the skin.

Notable about glycolic acid among alpha hydroxy acids is that it is the mildest chemical peel formula. The skin then becomes more revived and smoother for those who are candidates of using glycolic acid including those who have noticeable wrinkles in different body parts, uneven pigmentation problems, dry skin, age spots, and large facial pores.

The treatment of glycolic acid may trigger pink discoloration but the skin’s normal color returns after a few days. Another effect of the treatment of glycolic acid is the appearance of minor flaking in different parts of the body. There is no vital peeling of the skin when glycolic acid face peel is used. In order to know what would be the ideal concentration of glycolic acid in a face peel skin product, it would be best to seek for recommendation from a dermatologist.

What You Should Know About Porokeratosis

Porokeratosis has several names that are associated with it. These include senile keratosis, senile warts, seborrheic verruca, barnacles, brown warts, and basal cell papilloma. It is a clonal keratinization disorder, which manifests as a cornoid lamella. A cornoid lamella is composed of closely stacked parakeratotic cells that extend throughout the stratum corneum.

Five variants of this keratinization disorder exist. To enumerate these variants, they are: punctate porokeratosis, disseminated superficial actinic porokeratosis, classic porokeratosis of Mibelli, porokeratosis palmaris et plantaris disseminate, as well as linear porokeratosis. Among the five variants, disseminated superficial actinic porokeratosis is fairly widespread in the United States. The remaining four variations are rarer in occurrence.

Fair-skinned individuals are the most at risk to porokeratosis. In fact, the disorder is not often seen among darker-skinned individuals.

Porokeratosis palmaris et plantaris disseminate as well as classic porokeratosis of Mibelli occur twice as much in men than in women. As for disseminated superficial actinic porokeratosis, it occurs three times as much in females in comparison to males. In the case of linear porokeratosis, on the other hand, it appears in proportional numbers between men and women.

In terms of age, porokeratosis palmaris et plantaris disseminate and linear porokeratosis can both become visible at any given age. For classic porokeratosis of Mibelli, it often first appears during the patient’s childhood. People afflicted with disseminated superficial actinic porokeratosis usually fall within the 30-40 age bracket.

Why does porokeratosis happen? It can be caused by any of the following: immunosuppression, therapeutic phototherapy or photochemotherapy for psoriasis, sun exposure, genetic inheritance, radiation therapy, and ultraviolet light exposure. There has also been a study that revealed that of all renal transplant patients, 10 percent afterwards had porokeratosis.

Patients of porokeratosis have to make sure that they avoid any unnecessary exposure to the sun. They should apply sunblock and wear protective clothing.

Porokeratosis treatment can be done through many ways. Treatment for this disorder must be individualized. Doctors base the kind of treatment on the patient’s preference, the functional and aesthetic considerations, the size of the lesion, the lesion’s anatomical location, and the risk of malignancy.

For many people affected by porokeratosis, appropriate protection from the sun and the regular use of emollients may be all that is necessary, or a topical cream containing 5-fluorouracil. For their own sake, patients must also observe if malignant degeneration develops.

Surgical care is yet one more example of a porokeratosis treatment method. Surgery is necessary for lesions that have become malignant over time. In the case of malignant degeneration, the best way to deal with them is excision. Last but not the least, porokeratosis may also be treated using curettage, diamond fraise dermabrasion, laser therapy, electrodesiccation, and cryotherapy.

What You Need To Know About Melasma

Women are more known to suffer from Melasma than men. Overexposure to the sun will result in obtaining dark skin pigmentation on the face. Various levels of discoloration on the face are commonly diagnosed as Melasma or Chloasma. Most experts believe that this kind of skin condition is related to female hormones such as Estrogen and Progesterone. Pregnancy is a common stage in women where they will experience various hormonal instabilities which may result in Chloasma. Most women will experience having “the mask of pregnancy” with noticeable darker skin patches on the face. Oral contraceptives are also known to cause the Pregnancy mask. Those that have darker skin types are most likely to have Melasma.

Men are less subjected to have Melasma than women as verified in most clinical studies. Most will experience Chloasma during the reproductive period. Facial hyper pigmentation is a usual term for Melasma. Excessive exposure to the sun is proven to be one of the main reasons behind Melasma. Chloasma may also be genetically passed on in the family.

Melasma has several known types. Epidermal Melasma is the mildest condition which affects the outer layer of the skin. Skin hyper pigmentation that runs deeper into the skin or Dermal Melasma is known to be more difficult to treat. Certain situations may even have both Epidermal and Dermal Melasma present on various areas of the face.

A dermatologist would be able to recommend the proper care and medication needed to clear your skin of Chloasma. Applying topical or taking oral medications without any further tests on your skin’s condition can result to further skin damage. There will be a set of medications a dermatologist may recommend to help clear out Chloasma. Some medications for this condition may be topical while some may be more advanced like laser treatments. The most common remedy would be the chemical peel process. Chemical peels for some may not be as comfortable due to the strong medication that may cause the skin to feel irritated especially during peeling. For those opting for a non-chemical based medication, Microdermabrasion or what is commonly known as a diamond peel would be another way to strip off the skin inflicted by this pigmentation.

Parts where Melasma is most noticeable would be the cheeks, upper lip and forehead. To prevent Chloasma from worsening, it would be advisable to use sun protection like sunscreen lotions. Apply sunscreen protection regularly throughout the face and even the neck and nape. Applying sun block lotions or creams regularly throughout the day will ensure that your skin is fully covered from the harmful rays of the sun thus avoiding the presence of pigmentation patches.

Treating the Skin Condition of Melasma

The Best Treatments For Melasma

Surgical Removal Of Keratosis

When keratin develops on skin, the person lis likely to have developed a skin condition called keratosis. Actually, keratin is the main component of hair, toe nails and fingernails. Skin on the affected area may develop thickness, lumps and skin growth like warts. Keratoses may come in many forms according to their origin, actinic or solar keratosis, pilaris keratosis which resembles acne, hydrocarbon keratosis caused by certain chemical compounds and seborrheic keratosis. The surgical removal of a kind of this ailment -namely actinic keratosis will be our topic. It is one of the most common kinds of keratosis, and is also known as solar keratosis. Parts of the body which gets the most sun contact such as the face and arms are more likely to be affected. People who have less melanin are at high danger of getting actinic keratosis. It can be cancerous so prompt surgery must be considered.

Actinic or solar keratosis is mainly triggered by being exposed to the sun for long periods of time. It looks like a mole in color and in size. But moles don’t just grow bigger and thicker like keratosis does. The main difference is its thickening and growth. If having keratosis is confirmed, many treatments are available. Depending on how mild or worse is the case, the options are many. Creams and gels are available for those with mild case. The gel or cream would diminish and soften the affected area and it will be removed easily. Cryosurgery is a type of surgical cure for keratosis.

Very cold temperature is employed in cryosurgery to kill off abnormal growths in the skin tissue. Liquid nitrogen or carbon dioxide snow is applied to the affected area. When it hardens, it is removed be surgery. Through this, the cost, pain and scar can be minimized. Cryosurgery could also harm nearby healthy tissues and some nerve tissues.

Another type of surgery is laser surgery. Scalpel is not utilized in this type of surgery. However, since keratosis is a hard, and some laser surgery treats softer tissues, it may cost more because of the power and skill it requires. The good thing about laser surgery is that it heals quickly and the pain is less.

In case of tight budget, traditional surgery could also be chosen. Keratosis is not found deep within the skin and can be remedied by some applied cream and traditional surgery. The pain you would feel would amount to the safety of your health.

Fraxel Laser Age Spot Removal

The most dreaded prospect on earth by most people is getting old & aging. However, since this cannot be avoided many people put efforts on delaying old age. Aging not only brings wrinkles and fine lines, but  aging also comes with developing dark spots.

Dark spots on the skin could be caused by several factors, one of which is exposure to the sun. Being exposed to the sun for long periods of time is a factor for having dark spots on the skin. Melanin is produced by the body which gives out its skin tone. The skin is protected from the heat of the sun because of melanin. The skin likely to get darker when more time is spent under the sun. Melanin does such action. However, melanin, when produced at irregular levels can cause the skin tone uneven and leave dark spots.

As people get older, the appearance of dark spots on the body begins. Especially if it is on the face, it could really be a cosmetic nuisance. There are many ways of getting rid of dark spots on the skin. However there is no one-size-fits-all medication.

An effective way to remove dark spots is through Fraxel treatment. Fraxel represents Fractional Erbium Laser. Other laser procedures could take many sessions and cost, but Fraxel reduces all of that to as little as one session for some. Some laser treatments also require 2-3 weeks of rest because it can cause redness, inflammation and exfoliation of the dermis. As the saying goes, when there is no pain, there is no gain.

The thing with Fraxel laser treatment is that its procedure could only take one session and it is very effective in removing dark spots from any parts of the body. Fraxel is a very effective solution to blemishes. Despite the fact of its safety and effectiveness, this treatment procedure could cost a lot of dollars. So, if your dark spots are not so many and severe, try another way for getting rid of them. If you may, then undergo this if it is really needed. If Fraxel’s effectiveness is really chosen, it is alright to try.

Previous dark spots are removed by Fraxel treatment, but not future dark spots. Undergoing Fraxel treatment is not an assurance of not having them again. Take care of your skin through avoiding prolonged exposure to the sun and using SPF lotion.

Why Herbal Remedies For Age Spots Removal Do Not Work

Us human beings just love to spend time under the heat of the sun, but as a result it is very likely we may develop age spots on our skin as we age. There are so-called natural herbal remedies to remove age spots that are used to fade age spots but these can just bring more hassle to you other than coming up with the best possible results. These items can be generally handpicked from your garden and even from your household store cupboard, but making use of these items can often be disappointing.

One of the effective natural herbal remedies to remove age spots known to many is the use of onion and vinegar. There are those who stress out that this is effective but its negative effect to the body is very hard to take. Smelling like onion and vinegar is something that is not good to the olfactory glands of the people around you. Likewise, you yourself may not like having the irritating smell of onion and vinegar. The smell of vinegar or onion is something that many people do not like about this home remedy. One more thing about these two kitchen items is that you need to utilize it again and again before you can actually have the results you want to have. The worst part is waiting for several months before you can witness the result is that there is no actual visible result on your skin.

Another common herbal remedy for age spots is lemon juice. There are those individuals that swear by the use of lemon but this can also just let you wait for successive months before any satisfactory result is visible. Even though it has a smell that is less displeasing than onion or vinegar, having the smell of lemon is something awkward. For those who have skin that is sensitive to citrus, this home remedy is not advised. It is actually best to keep away from applying citric acid on the skin if you want to get rid of age spots.

By and large, the use of natural herbal remedies in order to remove dark age spots is ineffective and this will just keep you pushing time and effort. The better way to diminish age spots off your skin is to utilize medically tested and proven remedies such as age spot removal creams. Not only are the substances that you can apply on your skin safe, these are also way effective that natural herbal remedies that can just keep you hanging. In order to have visible results in just a short period of time, natural herbal remedies to remove age spots are not recommended by skin experts.

Sun Damaged Skin – Age Spots and Discolorations

Getting Rid of Those Unattractive Age Spots