The appearance of the sun makes you want to sit on the terrace or by the pool, but it also promotes the appearance of brown spots on the face or body. A very common reason for consultation with dermatologists. The right gestures and the right products are therefore essential. guest in Well done for youour beauty columnist Benjamin Lévêque gives some tips to better prevent these spots and better understand their origins.
How do these spots appear?
Brown spots are both age-related but there are also enemies favoring the appearance of these spots. The melanin of the skin is particularly affected by these spots. It is a pigment that we all naturally have in our skin. The body will secrete it to try to protect itself from the UV rays of the sun. “The problem is that when you expose yourself too often, or when you don’t protect yourself, the cells that make this pigment will go into overdrive because of the down. The skin will secrete even more melanin, but not in a way homogeneous in certain places and this is what will give spots”, explains Benjamin Lévêque, beauty columnist for Well done for you.
These spots are therefore linked to exposure to the sun. They will necessarily be found on areas that easily take UV rays such as the face, hands or even the neckline. But be careful, you can also create spots on your face when you pop a pimple. “In some people, when you pop a pimple, you create inflammation that will be more important. You can release a little more melanin and therefore create pigment spots. It’s really very important not to touch your face too much” , explains Dima Haidar, dermatologist. Brown spots can also appear because of hormones, especially during pregnancy.
Two ingredients to avoid them
It is therefore necessary to avoid exposure to the sun as much as possible in order to reduce these brown spots. When you have no choice, an application of sunscreen every two hours and in large quantities is recommended. “I remember for example that on the face, it is the equivalent of a teaspoon of cream entirely on the face”, recalls Benjamin Lévêque. On the cosmetic side, there are two key ingredients to avoid these stains.
The first is vitamin C which helps to lighten the skin. “When you apply vitamin C via a cosmetic, it will actually go inside the skin, to the bottom of the epidermis. We will have both an antioxidant effect, that is to say a little anti-rust, which will lighten the melanin. You can put it on morning and evening without any problem”, says Sophie Strebelle, scientific manager of the Paula Choice brand.
The second ingredient is niacinamide, commonly known as vitamin B3. This formula will block the secretion of melanin on the surface of the skin. “This will lighten the spots and therefore they will be less visible”, testifies at the microphone of Europe 1 our beauty columnist. Note that all these cosmetic products will not magically remove stains. They apply for small, not very dark spots that have not really settled in depth.
Solutions to remove them
There are a few solutions to completely remove these spots. First, the more or less intense peeling. “These are fruit acids that are put on the skin for a few minutes and which will chemically burn the skin. This will force new skin to be made like a snake”, compares Benjamin Lévêque. The prices fluctuate between 150 and 200 euros per session. It takes about one to three sessions to have an effective effect.
There is also an older method: dry ice. It’s just liquid nitrogen. Dermatologists use it to burn warts but it can also be used on spots by cold burning the skin at -160 degrees. This low temperature will act as a stripper on the skin to remove the stain. But the technique is used less and less. “And above all, there is a risk of burns!”, Alerts our columnist.