Pigment and Brown Lesions
What type of brown spots are there?
There are a number of different types of brown spots on the skin. Most of these are a feature of sun damage including freckles, solar lentigines, and flat or raised seborrhoeic keratoses. They are most common on the areas that receive the most sun exposure face, hands, chest and shoulders. Apart from being a sign of general sun damage they give the appearance of aged skin. Scientific studies have shown that brown spots are the skin change that is makes the skin appear older. Therefore reducing pigmentation is the single most dramatic rejuvenating procedure available.
Photo-Fraxional and Photo-Fraxional Peel combination treatments
The new Photo-Fraxional combination treatments combine our most effective lasers and IPL into a single procedure to give unprecendented results in the removal of pigmentation. Results that previously required 3 treatments are now possible in a single treatment session. Downtime remains minimal.
Fraxel Peel/Fraxel Dual
The new Fraxel Peel component of the Fraxel Dual is designed to give a dramatic but safe peel of the skin surface. Up to 50% of the skin surface can be peeled with only 1 week of down-time and unsurpassed safety. A single treatment gives dramatic results however tow to three treatments will effectively treat the entire face. This procedure is especially useful for pigmentation that is even slightly raised. Your specialist will determine if you have this type of pigmentation.
Fraxel Re:store
Fraxel Re:store is a superb skin rejuvenation procedure that corrects skin pigmentation as well as other features of sun damage and ageing. It does so in a gentle fashion with only 4 days of redness and swelling and almost never any obvious peeling. It is suitable for all types of pigmentation and all skin types from fair to dark.
Dual-Filter IPL Photo rejuvenation
The Ellipse Flex dual-filter IPL is the world’s leading IPL machine. It is excellent for removing mostly flat types of pigmentation. It is also very effective at removing redness and capillaries. The treatment is quick with no preparation time. The pigmentation typically darkens significantly before flaking away over the proceding four to seven day. It is less ex-pensive than the Fraxel and for certain pigmentation types it can be as effective. Your specialist will determine if dual filter IPL is well suited to your skin.
Curettage
Often raised brown lesions (seborrhoeic keratoses or ‘senile warts’) need surgical treatment as they are too thick for lasers to penetrate adequately. Curettage involves carefully scraping the anaesthetised skin to remove the ‘stuck-on’ lesion. These usually heal within days and leave no visible scar.
Fine-wire diathermy
Many raised brown lesions (seborrhoeic keratoses or ‘senile warts’) respond well to heating with a fine wire. This causes the lesions to dry up and fall off after a few days. For certain lesions, such as small raised pigmented lesions on the face and neck (dermatosis papulosa nigra), this simple technique is the treatment of choice and has excellent results.
Cryotherapy
Pigmented lesions are usually very sensitive to cold temperatures and hence usually very effectively treated by freezing with cryotherapy. This treatment is somewhat ‘old-fashioned’ and less precise than modern lasers, however when used with skill on suitable lesions, it is a very useful technique.
