Things to stop doing right now that are making your hyperpigmentation worse

Beauty, Skincare

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If you happen to be one of the people blessed with colored skin but your skin is problematic and you suffer from breakouts or inflammation, another struggle that could result from that is hyperpigmentation when your face is trying to heal.

The problem with hyperpigmentation is that they don’t just easily go away when the wound on the skin has healed. Sometimes they stay for years.

Hyperpigmentation fades gradually but what you do can either help speed up the process or make things worse.

In this post, I want to share some things that you are probably doing that are making your hyperpigmentation worse that you probably haven’t thought of or that you just might be neglecting.

1. exfoliating excessively

Are you using exfoliants like scrubs too often, Maybe you are using the wrong type.

A lot of brands that produce scrubs market them so well, that added to the beautiful packaging they tend to come in makes a lot of sense as to why we are drawn to them.

Another selling point for scrubs is that they tend to give you a really good immediate result. As soon as you rinse your face after using them, your face looks super smooth and brighter but long term they could be causing more damage to your skin.

A lot of scrubs contain fragments that are too harsh on the skin and create micro-tears on the skin. The ones that say they are made of beads may cause less of such scratches or tears but the pressure you apply on those tiny beads can still cause a little damage and anything that irritates your skin would create more melanin production resulting in hyperpigmentation.

You have to be careful with the chemical exfoliants as well as some of them are too harsh for the skin and if used excessively could damage your skin’s barrier.

2. Using too many acidic products

When The Ordinary came out with their skincare brand, a lot of us were introduced to active ingredients we hadn’t even heard about nor had access to in the history of skincare and a lot of people went crazy with these products.

One such product was the ordinary’s Peeling solution and their glycolic acid toner, both fantastic products but if used incorrectly could damage your skin even further.

Some of the benefits of chemical exfoliants are that you don’t get those micro tears you get with scrubs, nor the pressure you get on the skin with most physical exfoliants.

However, these need to be used with caution because:

They can burn your face

I think this is self-explanatory. Any active ingredient that is too concentrated for the skin can lead to a burn on the skin. This can make the face look so inflamed that it is very red and very sensitive to touch and it can make breakouts worse.

They damage your moisture barrier

Using too many acidic skincare products can ruin your skin’s moisture barrier by throwing the PH off. This can leave your skin looking dull, dry and irritated.

You would also notice that your other skincare products don’t seem to work as much.

They can ruin your skin’s microbiome

Now what do I mean by this? You probably have heard the term “good bacteria” at some point. So many areas of our bodies have “good” bacteria that live there.

These bacteria live in these spaces in our bodies and cause no harm there and in turn, they keep the space away from vacancy so the bad bacteria which harm us have no space to live. A very beneficial win-win situation.

Sometimes these good bacteria help our bodies break down things that we find difficult to do on our own or even help us secrete substances that are beneficial for us.

Now when you use too many acidic products on your face, it changes the PH of the skin which in optimum condition should be around 5.5. These changes make it inconvenient for the good bacteria to survive leaving space for the bad ones to grow.

3. Neglecting using sunscreen

Tale as old as time. You have heard this time and time again but I’m going to say it again just so you remember that unopposed exposure to the sun’s UV rays would only activate more melanocytes which is what is responsible for the dark pigment in our skin.

Make an effort to find a go-to sunscreen you can always use so you avoid making excuses as to why you are going without it.

4. Using products with alcohol

Due to the chemical component of alcohol, it has a drying effect. This makes it fantastic for things like sterilizing things, cleaning wounds, etc.

However, in Skincare products alcohol can be a bit too drying and can make your skin more irritated and anything that makes the skin more irritated would lead the skin to produce more melanin making your hyperpigmentation worse.

So make sure you look at the ingredients in your skincare and be sure that it is free of alcohol especially if you are struggling with hyperpigmentation.

5. Picking at your skin

Do you find it difficult to keep your hands off your skin? I know it can be satisfying to find different things to squeeze on your skin and even though some might bring you temporal relief, most people do extract their skin the wrong way.

This pressing and squeezing traumatizes your skin even if it doesn’t seem like it further causing more irritation and activating the melanin in the skin.

6. High stress levels

When you are stressed there is an increase in the level of the stress hormone called cortisol which throws the rest of your hormones off balance and leads to an increased possibility of developing things like acne, weight gain, etc. A lot of things that you don’t want.

Although life being difficult sometimes is inevitable, our outlook on things and how we tackle them would determine how our bodies respond to these situations.

7. Poor diet

You have probably heard this phrase too many times “You are what you eat” and that couldn’t be more true. Cutting down on highly processed foods with lots of saturated fats is not just good for your heart, it is also good for your skin.

Eating foods naturally rich in collagen can also boost your skin’s elasticity and the ability to rejuvenate itself super easily.

Also pay close attention to how your body reacts to things you eat, for instance, some people get really bad breakouts when they consume dairy. Maybe that’s you too.

8. Products that throw your PH off

As I mentioned above how important it is to not excessively use products that throw your PH off like using too many acidic products or too many alkaline products such as bar soaps.

If you do have products like that that you do like and that work a lot for you and you would rather hold on to them, try using a toner that brings your PH back to baseline afterward.

9. not taking enough water

Water is important for every single function in our body and having enough of it would ensure that everything is running smoothly.

When you are dehydrated, the body has to conserve the water in your body for the other processes that keep you alive therefore giving less to things like your skin.

If you are dehydrated your skin will be dry and dull and its process of rejuvenating will be much slower.

Conclusion

There you have it! These are nine of the things you might be doing that could be making your hyperpigmentation worse.

If you are a culprit to any of them and are struggling with hyperpigmentation, remind yourself anytime you are about to repeat this habit that if you want to say goodbye to hyperpigmentation, you’d have to say goodbye to them too.

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