With the advancement of medicine, there are more and more new and good medicines for the treatment of psoriasis in recent years. Many patients have been able to clear up their skin lesions and return to normal life through treatment. However, another problem follows, that is, how to remove the remaining pigmentation (spots) after the skin lesions have been removed?
After reading many Chinese and foreign health science articles, I have summarized the following text, hoping to be helpful to everyone.
Recommendations from domestic dermatologists
Psoriasis exposes the skin to long-term inflammation and infection, resulting in damaged skin with red patches of tissue on the surface, accompanied by symptoms such as desquamation and scaling. After being stimulated by inflammation, the blood circulation under the skin slows down, which may cause local symptoms of pigmentation. Therefore, after recovery, it will be found that the color of the skin lesion is darker (or lighter) than the surrounding color, and there will also be symptoms of darkening of the skin lesion.
In this case, you can use external ointment for treatment, such as hydroquinone cream, which can achieve a certain effect of inhibiting melanin production and also has the effect of diluting melanin. For people with severe melanin symptoms, it is necessary to improve it through physical methods, such as laser treatment, which can decompose subcutaneous melanin particles and restore the skin to a normal state.
—— Li Wei, Department of Dermatology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine
You can eat more foods rich in vitamin C and vitamin E, which will help reduce the synthesis of melanin in the skin and promote the elimination of melanin deposits. Some drugs that are beneficial to the elimination of melanin precipitation can be used locally, such as hydroquinone cream, kojic acid cream, etc.
Retinoic acid cream can accelerate the excretion of melanin, and nicotinamide can inhibit the transport of melanin to epidermal cells, all of which have a certain therapeutic effect on melanin precipitation. You can also use intense pulsed light or pigmented pulsed laser treatment to remove excess pigment particles in the skin, which is often more effective.
—— Zhang Wenjuan, Department of Dermatology, Peking University People's Hospital
It is recommended to use vitamin C, vitamin E, and glutathione for oral medication, which can effectively inhibit the production of melanocytes and reduce the number of pigment cells that have formed, thereby achieving the effect of whitening. For external use, it is recommended to apply hydroquinone cream, or vitamin E cream, which can directly target the pigmented parts for whitening.
——Liu Hongjun, Department of Dermatology, Shenyang Seventh People's Hospital
American socialite Kim Kardashian is also a psoriasis patient. She once asked on social media, "How to remove the pigment left after psoriasis clears?" But not long after, she posted on social media saying, "I Have learned to accept my psoriasis and use this product (a certain foundation) when I want to cover up my psoriasis,” and uploaded a comparison photo. A discerning person can tell at a glance that Kardashian is taking the opportunity to bring goods (to sell goods).
The reason why Kardashian used foundation to cover psoriasis spots was mentioned. Personally, I think we can follow this method, and there is a kind of vitiligo concealer that may also be considered.
Vitiligo is also a disease related to autoimmunity. It is characterized by white spots with clear boundaries on the skin, which greatly affects the normal life of patients. Therefore, some patients with vitiligo will use masking agents. However, this covering agent is mainly to produce a kind of biological protein melanin that imitates the human body. If your psoriasis lesions are cleared and left with light-colored (white) pigmentation, you can consider trying it. It is recommended to consult It's up to the professionals to decide.
Excerpts from foreign health science articles
Psoriasis resolves and leaves dark or light spots (hyperpigmentation) that may fade over time, but some patients find them particularly bothersome and want the spots to clear up sooner. After the psoriasis resolves, severe hyperpigmentation can be relieved with topical tretinoin (tretinoin), or topical hydroquinone, corticosteroids (hormones). However, using corticosteroids (hormones) to relieve hyperpigmentation is risky and affects darker-skinned patients more. Therefore, the duration of corticosteroid use should be limited, and clinicians should instruct patients to avoid risks due to overuse.
——Dr. Alexis
"Once the inflammation goes away, skin tone usually returns to normal slowly. However, it can take a long time to change, anywhere from months to years. During that time, it can look like a scar." If your silver Psoriatic pigmentation that does not improve over time, ask your dermatologist if laser treatment is a good candidate for you.
—Amy Kassouf, MD
Most of the time, you don't need to do anything to treat hyperpigmentation in psoriasis because it clears up on its own. It may take longer if you have dark skin. You can also try lightening products to lighten hyperpigmentation or dark spots, try looking for products that contain one of the following ingredients:
● 2% hydroquinone
● Azelaic acid (Azelaic acid)
● Glycolic acid
● Kojic Acid
● Retinol (retinol, tretinoin, adapalene gel, or tazarotene)
● Vitamin C
★ Always consult a dermatologist before using these products, as they contain ingredients that may trigger psoriasis flare-ups.
