“Dr. Seckel my skin looks dull and I have developed brown spots on my forehead and cheeks. I use sun screen, but the brown spots won’t go away. What are my options?” –Louise, Boca Raton, Florida
Dear Louise,
Happily there are many very safe effective skin rejuvenation options for removing brown spots and making the facial skin more fresh and radiant.
I first want to congratulate you for taking the most important step on your own-sun block! Daily use of sun block, especially for people in sunny climates like the south and southwest United States is essential to not only prevent brown spots and facial aging but also to protect against skin cancer.
Although sun block is essential for prevention, sun block will not remove brown spots that are already present on your face.
Many excellent face skin creams are available to lighten the brown spots, Glyquin®, Epiquin®, Trilumena®, Kojic Acid and Hydroquinone, to name a few.
However creams alone will not completely remove the spots. The next step is to routinely exfoliate the facial skin. Skin exfoliation is mechanically removing the older dead outer facial skin cells and pigment cells. Skin exfoliation can be done with facial washes containing fine pumice or a fine facial buff pad.
A more effective skin exfoliation can be done with microdermabrasion or MicroPeel® a n“No Down Time Procedure” or non-surgical facial rejuvenation procedure done usually by an aesthetician who works with a plastic surgeon. See chapter 7 in “Save Your Face” for a detailed discussion).
The combination of a good bleaching skin cream daily and professional skin exfoliation once every two weeks for six treatments and then monthly after that will strikingly improve the facial skin. Most superficial pigment will be gone and the skin will glow. The Obagi Skin Care System is one of the best.
Darker brown spots which do not respond to the above treatment can be safely removed by a IPL or Photo facial or laser treatments. (See chapter 8-High- tech Facial Rejuvenation in Save Your Face.). These newer light therapy treatments can safely remove pigment in a few minutes with very little discomfort and leave only a temporary red mark for a day or two where the brown spot was. Makeup easily camouflages the treatment site.
Finally, for patients who have severe facial pigment with brown spots and brown patches over large areas of the face I use a technique called the Microlaserpeel using the Sciton® Erbium laser or the new ActiveFX laser Peel(See chapter 8-High-tech Facial Rejuvenation in “Save Your Face“). This procedure is done in the office, with a topical anesthetic (numbing cream) applied to the face. The procedure takes five to ten minutes and then you go home. The next day the skin peels and the face is pink however in five to six days, depending on the depth of the peel the skin color changes from light pink to normal and the patient is ready for makeup and can go back to normal activity.
The Microlaserpeel and ActiveFX Laser Peel produce wonderful results. Do not confuse thesed procedures with laser resurfacing or chemical peels which are much deeper, more complex procedures which require a much longer recovery.
I hope this discussion answers your excellent question. For further information on laser skin treatments visit my Boston Plastic Surgery Practice, contact me or read Save Your Face.
Boston, Massachusetts
Peabody, Massachusetts