How to get rid of face blotches

Types of blotches on our face

• Melasma: dark patches of skin without any well-defined edges and that are vague and appear on our faces, particularly on our forehead or cheeks, but also on our upper lip. They turn darker during the sunnier periods of the year. They can appear at any time, although they are more likely to appear during pregnancy, if we take contraceptives or if we undergo hormonal disorders. They can also appear as the result of some medical treatments.
• Sunspots or freckles: are small blotches with well-defined edges that start off as small freckles, but grow bigger. They are coffee coloured and are usually found on our hands and cleavage. They are the result of over-exposure to the sun without protection for many years. They do not change colour throughout the year.
• Post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation (PIH): this usually appears as the result of a skin disease. The most common cause is acne vulgaris.

How to get rid of face blotches?

There are several treatment options today in aesthetic medicine to get rid of this unsightly types of blotches on our skin. Most of them use laser, such as IPL or pulsed light or chemical peeling. In the case of laser or IPL, the aim is to burn the zone or treat it by applying heat to the blotch until the skin burns, thereby stimulating regeneration of that area of skin. In the case of peeling processes, the aim is more or less the same, i.e. burning the top layer of skin to encourage regeneration. As is true with all treatments of this kind, there is a downside. Apart from peeling skin, it can be a considerable discomfort when carrying out our daily routines. We should not expose ourselves to the sun in the one month before and after treatment. This technique works well on lentigines.

There is no specific treatment to get rid of melasma type blotches. Using serum and moisturising creams is ideal to achieve a more uniform skin colour and help get rid of the brown blotches.