How to Remove Hyperpigmentation Quickly and Easily

Introduction: Aging spots, dark spots, and liver spots

Have you seen a large freckle on the back of your hand or cheek? You could be looking at an age spot, which is what it’s called.

Age spots are black, gray, or brown and flat. They usually occur in areas exposed to the sun, like your face or the back of your hands. Age spots are also known as senile lentigo, liver spots, sun spots, or solar lentigines.

It’s not rare for one age spot to appear or a few to group together. Though they may start to develop early on, and even during childhood, age plays the most significant factor in whether or not you’ll get them. They’re most common in middle age or older people who spend much of their time outside.

Photo by Coline Haslé on Unsplash

What causes hyperpigmentation?

Hyperpigmentation is mainly caused by too much melanin. Melanin is a pigment on your skin. It is what gives your skin a particular color. It is also important to note that melanin protects against UV radiation. The sun gives off a lot of different waves like UV waves, the visible light spectrum, which involves all the different colors, and infrared.

So, if you’re out in the sun, you’re constantly getting hit by specific amounts of radiation. Melanin is always there to protect you against UV radiation specifically.

Photo by Nic Y-C on Unsplash

Melanin is similar to plant pigments like chlorophyll, which protects the plant from UV radiation. An interesting thing to note is that these pigments are antioxidants. So, melanin is an antioxidant.

But what causes too much melanin?

Consider what happens during the summer months. You might notice that you have plenty of spots than in the winter. This happens because of UV radiation.

As you get older, you might also have more of these spots. The same thing applies to diabetic people. Pregnant women may also have more pigmentation.

People on birth control pills or hormone replacement therapy because of estrogen might also notice more of this pigmentation. Stress can also contribute to hyperpigmentation.

It is important to note that excessive estrogen increases melanin; excessive cortisol increases melanin; excessive insulin also increases melanin, so many triggers are increasing melanin. The purpose is to protect you against ultraviolet rays and act as an antioxidant.

Many people might consider melanin to be a bad thing, but that’s not necessarily the case. Melanin is trying to help you. So, the real reason melanin is increasing is that it is trying to counter all the free radical damage and oxidation in your skin.

Photo by Amanda Dalbjörn on Unsplash

The human body has a tremendous network of antioxidants in its skin. The antioxidants in your skin are way more than the ones in your blood. Even like vitamin C, you have certain amounts of vitamin C in your blood, but you have way more in your skin. And so, when your antioxidant skin level goes down, guess what’s going to take the slack and perform the function of these antioxidants? Melanin!

So, when you see these little spots on your skin, you should realize that they’re trying to help you, indicating that you are low in antioxidants in your skin.

If you study the mechanism behind melanin, there’s an enzyme called tyrosinase. It stimulates melanin production. But there are some interesting natural remedies that can act as tyrosinase inhibitors.

Natural remedies for aging spots, dark spots or liver spots

· Cinnamon
· Cocoa bean
· Grape seed extract
· Green tea
· Aloe
· Vitamin C
· Licorice
· Quercetin
· Melatonin
One unique thing about these natural remedies is that they’re all antioxidants.
Melatonin (the last on the list) is not the same as melatonin. It is like the sleep hormone but does many other things. It is the most potent antioxidant in your entire body. The best trigger for increasing melatonin is the sun, but not the full spectrum — only the infrared part of the sun.

Photo by Jonathan Borba on Unsplash

The infrared spectrum is around 50 percent of the sun. Now, here’s the thing — it is not the sun that is really causing these dark spots.

Now, if you are going out in the sun and cooking your skin, then yes, the sun may cause these spots. But typically, it is because you are going out in the sun and you don’t have enough antioxidants because your diet probably isn’t right, and so melanin has to overcompensate and make up the damage.

But the cool thing about getting infrared from the sun and generating melatonin is that you don’t necessarily have to expose your skin to the sun directly because the infrared wave goes right through your clothing, through your hat and skull, and it can start to build up melatonin in your body.

To see some quick changes, you can do any of the items listed above into some type of cream and put it directly on your skin. The hiccup here is that you have to keep using it until you build up the antioxidants in your skin.

Most people don’t realize that this is an internal problem. They only focus on the topical problem and wonder why it keeps returning. The truth is that the real problem is internal. You can use these inhibitors as a coping mechanism.

The best thing to do to increase your antioxidant levels

Consume raw salads and vegetables

· Consume foods high in zinc

· Do fasting

· Avoid sugar and stress

· Avoid burning your skin

· Exercise

Photo by Taylor Kiser on Unsplash

Takeaway

Age spots are harmless changes to the skin that don’t cause pain. In some cases, though, their appearance could cause some emotional distress or even concerns about skin cancer.

The best way to resolve age spots is by increasing your antioxidant intake. You can do this by:

· Consume raw salads and vegetables

· Consume foods high in zinc

· Do fasting

· Avoid sugar and stress

· Avoid burning your skin

· Exercise

Disclaimer: Dr. Berner does not diagnose, treat, or prevent any medical diseases or conditions; instead, he analyzes and corrects the structure of his patients with Foundational Correction to improve their overall quality of life. He works with their physicians, who regulate their medications. This blog post is not designed to provide medical advice, professional diagnosis, opinion, treatment, or services to you or any other individual. The information provided in this post or through linkages to other sites is not a substitute for medical or professional care. You should not use the information in place of a visit, consultation, or the advice of your physician or another healthcare provider. Foundation Chiropractic and Dr. Brett Berner are not liable or responsible for any advice, the course of treatment, diagnosis, or any other information, services, or product you obtain through this article or others.