How to Remove Dark Spots for Medium to Dark Skin

On the first episode of Discovering Black-Owned Beauty, I made an appointment for a Fabulous Facial with Cheryl Cotton, the owner of Soulé Skin Spa in Woodland Hills.

She explains that the main cause of hyperpigmentation in people of color is trauma to the skin. There are many different ways we experience trauma: the sun, a bug bite, a rash, a cut, a scrape, or using a scrub that’s too harsh for your skin.

Hyperpigmentation is the most difficult concern to treat in skin car, and it takes the longest to heal. It can take anywhere from six to twelve months for a scar or dark spot to heal – sometimes even longer depending on how you’re treating the spot if you’re using any products that are to help lift pigment from the scar.

Also, how much sun exposure you’re getting and whether or not you’re protecting your skin from the sun, which is why sunscreen is so important. By wearing sunscreen, you’re actually preventing that scar from getting darker and you’re protecting your skin from the UV rays from the sun. so you have to wear sunscreen even if you have natural melanin. There’s a misconception that people of color don’t need to wear sunscreen because we have natural melanin in our skin, but it only protects our skin from burning; it doesn’t protect our skin from the UV damage caused by the sun.

We’re talking about treating post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation, we’re not talking about bleaching or lightening the skin. Those products are extremely dangerous. Most of those products contain very high dosages of hydroquinone and hydroquinone in large doses has been known to cause cancer. Oftentimes it makes the skin worse! While you’re using those products your skin does get lighter, it does actually bleach the skin; but the moment you stop using those products, your skin actually gets much much darker.

Highlights from the Facial

• She began with a double cleanse to remove all of the oil and dirt and excess buildup using a cleanser today that has kojic acid, lactic acid, and also hyaluronic acid which gave my skin some gentle exfoliation without over drying it
• Next she selected a pumpkin enzyme peel to remove any surface dead skin cells. Pumpkin is rich in vitamin A and E and is good for inflammation and treating acne. Vitamin C is a natural antioxidant and a skin brightener
• Mandelic acid is really great for sensitive skin and for darker skin because the mandelic acid molecule is larger than other acids like glycolic for instance, so it penetrates the pore but it doesn’t penetrate as deeply and as quickly. Therefore, it’s less likely to cause irritation
• For darker skin tones, she avoids glycolic acid or uses it in lower concentrations at about a five percent or less