So you’re having a baby! That’s amazing! Congrats!
You know that your body’s going to go through lots of changes, but are you ready for possible changes to your skin as well?
Up to 75% of women notice that their skin becomes darker in places when they are pregnant. Freckles and moles can become darker too. What’s all that about?
What is dark pigmentation of the skin?
Melanin is the stuff in your hair that controls its colour. It’s also in the skin and we call it the tanning pigment because it makes your skin go brown in the sun. Too much melanin in some areas can cause brown patches on the skin. We call this pigmentation.
Some pregnant women produce extra melanin, which can cause dark patches of pigmentation on the forehead, cheeks and neck. This is called melasma, or sometimes the ‘mask of pregnancy’. It can also be called hyperpigmentation and probably affects about half of all mums-to-be.
What can I do about it?
Make sure you always wear a sun protection cream, at least SPF30, and cover up with hats and loose clothing. If the sun’s UV rays hit you they can make the dark pigmentation even darker.
Tinted moisturisers, concealers and foundations can also even out your skin tone while you wait for baby to arrive.
Pigmentation after pregnancy
Once baby is here, and if the dark pigmentation is still bothering you, we can treat it with the advanced Q-Switched technology of our award-winning Lumenis M22 laser machine.
Our trained technicians can precisely target the laser on the dark pigment patch and over time this will break down the pigment and lighten that patch of skin.
We can also get great results on lighter pigmentation patches, including freckles, age spots and sun spots, by using two other technologies in the M22 laser machine; the Universal IPL and ResurFX technologies.
Contact us to book a no-obligation consultation where we can explain the procedure in more detail and answer any questions. Ring us on 01332 460045 or email info@avanceclinic.co.uk.