Most of us exhibit pigmentation in UV exposed areas to some degree or another, perhaps a light-yellow staining on the skin, to obvious dark patches. In addition to this, UV damages the structural collagen that supports the skin’s tiny blood vessels. This collagen damage makes blood vessels more fragile and more likely to rupture, causing dilated capillaries. Along with potential DNA damage, it also causes thinning of the skin, forming fine lines and wrinkles. It degrades the skin at various levels as well as breaking down the lipid barrier – the important excretions of the skin that protect it from bacteria, viruses and retain essential hydration.  

It’s important to recognise that this doesn’t just occur because of active sunbathing – it often happens with incidental UV exposure: driving, sitting by a window, walking around, going about your daily business.  

How do our bodies try to protect us from this damage? 

The first line of the defence mechanism against UV is melanin (an epidermal pigment), and UV absorbing pigment in the skin, which dissipates UV radiation as heat. (That’s the warmth you feel in the skin when exposed to the sun).  

A tan is an immune response to try to prevent damage to the cells and of course is a necessary function to produce pre vitamin D3, but with extreme climates and various genetic ethnicities being genetically predisposed to sun damage, it commonly results in irreversible damage. 

Cell receptors at the surface skin cells can respond to UV induced damage by apoptosis or cell death to avoid DNA mutations, but excessive and continuous exposure override our natural protection. As a byproduct of this UV induced damage, something called ‘Reactive Oxygen Species’ is produced which cell DNA is particularly susceptible to, causing the cell to repeat these mutations when new cells are formed. As well as the unwanted aesthetic outcomes of brown spots of pigmentation, and skin thickened spots called actinic keratoses, this can eventuate into skin cancers.  

What are the mechanisms of ingredients involved in sun protection? 

Sunscreen is of course, the most obvious go to, but it gets a lot more complicated if you really want to get effective about your protection. Our skin naturally uses nutrients from our food, that help to neutralise some of the antioxidant damage caused by UV as well as Vitamin A, which amongst many other things, can repair DNA. Depending on your environment and exposure time, often these natural mechanisms of protection are not sufficient, so it’s essential to replace them topically, to maintain healthy skin. 

Sunscreens 

Firstly, buy the best formulas for sunscreen: ideally it might contain additional antioxidants or peptides for repair. Liposomal technology is also incredibly effective as it releases the active ingredients slowly, giving more sustained protection. All sunscreens degrade off the skin with time and should be applied every 2 hours.  

Inhibition of Tyrosinase (an enzyme involved in melanin syntheses) 

These ingredients will help overproduction of pigment.  

Arbutin 

Konica acid 

Licorice extract 

Vitamin C 

Azelaic Acic 

Tranexamic acid 

Melanin Transfer Inhibitors – helps control how much melanin is transferred to the keratinocyte or skin cell. 

Niacinimide 

Soy extract 

Lignin peroxidase 

Resveratrol 

Antioxidants – reduces oxidative stress from UV that stimulates pigment 

Vitamin C 

Vitamin E 

Ferulic acid 

Green Tea Extract 

Glutathione 

Hormonal pathway modulation. Oestrogens and inflammatory mediators can stimulate the pigmentary pathway. The following ingredients can help reduce the negative effects  

Tranexamic acid 

Cysteamine 

Exfoliation – promotes cell turnover, aiding in faster removal of melanin laden cells 

Alpha hydroxy acids 

Beta hydroxy acids 

Retinoids – promotes cell renewal and reduces melanin synthesis by repairing DNA 

Ok, so this might sound complicated, but it can be simplified with a few products 

Firstly, an effective sunscreen, that you reapply regularly.  

A Pigment targeted product that has many of the above ingredients all in one product. 

A retinol (Vitamin A) product that is appropriately active for your skin (different levels of vitamin A are tolerated differently by different people)  to help reverse damage.  

An antioxidant serum, likely containing some or all of Vitamins A, B C and E  

The Face Place Skin Team have always taken pride in offering our clients a holistic experience to get tangible results for your skin. We would love to see you for a skin consultation and give you the very best advice for your skin.  

Example of products targeting skin pigmentation 

Dermaceutic mela cream  

Aspect Dr Pigment Plus Age Support 

Dermaceutic C 25 

Skin Better Science Alto Defence  

Heliocare suncreens  

Cosmedix Refine