Maui Skin-Hyper pigmentation
Living in Maui, and being an outside nature junkie, managing hyper-pigmentation has always been a part of my skin care regime.
Tranexamic acid is a key ingredient, and why Skinceuticals Discolaration defense is such a great product.
When treating melasma though, i just learned that oral supplements can be helpful.
You can review the literature below from SkinAlliance. I have taken out the most actionable steps. Please see the link to the article below.
Oral medications and dietary supplements evaluated include tranexamic acid, polypodium leucotomos extract and miscellaneous dietary supplements including beta-carotenoid, melatonin, and procyanidin. These agents appear to have a beneficial effect on melasma improvement.
Of the systemic agents reviewed, oral tranexamic acid has the greatest evidence for the management of melasma.
Tranexamic acid is also considered an efficient treatment option for post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation.
Tranexamic acid use in melasma patients use a maximum dosage of 750 mg per day, whereas the conventional dose of tranexamic acid as a hemostatic agent is 1500 mg per day.
Polypodium leucotomos extract oral supplements have been used for the last several decades, where it has demonstrated beneficial antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and photoprotective properties.
Carotenoids possess absorption spectra in both UVB and UVA range and are able to block the formation of melanin, causing reduction of the existing melanin in melanocytes.
It has been proposed that melatonin enhances melasma treatment because of its ability to reduce UV-induced free radicals. In addition, it is able to effectively inhibit alpha melanocyte stimulating hormone (MSH) and reverse alpha-MSH- induced darkening.Furthermore, melatonin has been said to affect other hormones involved in the pathogenesis of melasma, such as estrogen and progesterone.
Specifically, oral melatonin was found to augment topical melatonin as a hypopigmentation agent.
Though the exact mechanism by which procyanidin may inhibit the expression of genes involved in skin hyperpigmentation is yet to be elucidated, it has been proposed that its strong antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties may play a role.
Advantages of oral supplements include protection of the skin at a deeper cellular level because of their antioxidant effects, which make them useful in other pigmentary disorders such as solar lentigines, postinflammatory hyperpigmentation, and the prevention of photodamage.
As the current state of evidence suggests that some agents are effective, safe, and well tolerated, it has been proposede that melasma patients may be beneficially treated by the addition of oral agents with anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects, and we recommend that dermatologists may add these systemic agents in their armamentarium for the treatment of melasma.
This is why I use Skinceuticals Discloration Defense along with the Phloratin CF. Living on Maui these are our big time defense to keeping pretty and natural skin.