Those of Asian, or Caucasian or Mixed Ethnic Skin or,…oh forget it, anyone who has blotches of uneven ‘pigmenting’ has at one time or another tried everything from scraping or shaving it off, to going at it with a tricked out laser only to find the spots re-appearing after a bit of temporary clearing.
As ‘splained before, this Houdini re-appearance trick reveals a network of landfills the skin has created to deposit excess cell waste and topical products. Now most of the waste is removed by a system of canals that use a clear lymph fluid to mop up the mess. A lot goes out the surface and blows around your house and black leather jacket. But over time, a lot ends up in a skin landfill ho-humming away and driving the owner bananas and into a makeup frenzy to hide the damn spots. Alas.
Back up a moment. That network of lymph mops depends on an equally extensive network of blood vessels (micro-capillaries) which often atrophies, retreats, shrinks, goes away, etc., etc., as we turn into fossils. This blood/lymph system is further battered into small useless, clogged or non-functional pipes by aggressive skin care regimens and mother’s own hormones over producing pigment and fragmented proteins.
So, can anything be done?
Yes. Let’s better understand the enemy first. A lot of these spots are elastin cells and pigment cells that arise at the epidermal/dermal junction and go down into the dermis to become springy collagen fibers or, in the case of pigment, are removed by natural movement up and outward.
But a good deal of that pigment can be trapped in the dermis by bad skincare practices, especially chemical exfoliation. Over frequent application of moisturizers, natural substances, and in general saturation topical product bombing of the skin that defeats the natural exudation of pigment cells that have reached their due date.
The skin in a panic reservoirs all the excess and spends what little energy it has left over to break down all those wonderful sounding ingredients that cannot possibly be metabolized. The residues are for the lymph mops to come and clean up. Or not.
Lasers have a capacity to remove significant amounts of this waste product and islands of pigment cells in younger skin. That is, in biologically younger skin. Note that is different than chronologically aged skin. In other words you can be a calendar fossil and a newborn chick all at the same time. Skin that maintains its youthful architecture and other metabolic functions will respond far better to laser treatments than fossil skin.
Good response includes permanent clearance. But laser results on biologically older skin often requires a yearly do over. The problem with that is that lasers are simply discrete torches. They result in micro-scarring and skin that takes on a leathery texture. Even Cutera® that is the most advanced laser system has this side effect build up.
That can be addressed by using the 302 molecule as found in a variety of 302 Skincare products (like 302 DROPS or 302 SERUM). This will soften the skin noticeably and unwind that micro-scarring effect from lasers.
The 302 molecule will also do wonders in improving the quality of the cells and that goes a long way in defining the essence of biologically youthful skin.
Now laser treatments are not inexpensive, often running to five figures a year.
Another method is micro-current that often will help stimulate dermal activity to promote the removal of cell waste and the pigment blobs embedded in it. This would be the first choice for home treatments. Professional micro-current treatments generally will be more effective but there is the convenience issue of weekly sessions for months. There is a lot of information out there on which devices are better or worse. It is a good place to start.
Often overlooked but perhaps most effective of all is ultrasound. The instrument looks challenging to operate but is quite simple in home use. A link to a device is available below. Set the w/cm to 16-18 and use 302 Skincare’s ULTRA ION GEL to cover the skin area while you apply the sonicator wand. Continuous or Pulsed? Either will get the job done, but I prefer pulsed mode. Use 1 MnH (see link below) versus the 3 MnH version.
The skin will become warmer which is desirable until it isn’t. The sonicator will vibrate and hum and generally be having a great time as it gets warmer and then after ten minutes probably quite hot. Not good. Two treatments a week for about five minutes should be enough. It will take several months to loosen up a lot of embedded cell and pigment residues. Ten minutes is probably fine, just avoid cooking yourself – this is generally intuitive except for those relatives no one wants to discuss.
This ultrasound device runs about $150. Battery operated ones simply do not have the watts/cm to provide enough oomph. Ultrasound sonicators (the wand that touches your skin) weaken over time. A year is about it and then another sonicator is needed.
Over use can create a leathery skin. Used by the sane twice a week for five or ten minutes and the skin will be delighted.
With that device in play it makes sense to have skin as soft as possible. Use of the 302 molecule is highly desirable for that. Be sure the skin is not prone to flare ups and not being exfoliated or scrubbed. You can use the device to propel products deeper into the skin. Not advisable for niacinamide (vitamin B3). Like ever.
The use of 302 Skincare’s B BOOST (vitamin B3) is an excellent 1x per week choice to help move the chairs around in the dermis. This is especially worthwhile for papery thin “grandma” skin. B BOOST promotes circulation and that is essential to remove embedded pigment and elastin waste. However, over frequent application is a good plan for dermatitis. Follow 302 Skincare’s directions.
Vitamin C can also be used to promote dermal metabolism. It must not be used more than 2x per week or there simply will be no benefit. Specific receptors key on C and they can be quickly overwhelmed. 302 Skincare has C 25 DROPS and C 12.5 DROPS strengths in C.
That indicates three different topicals could be very useful. They should not be used in the same week.
Here’s to healthy clear skin, common sense and quick tax refunds.
