Prakash Hospital

Hey,

I am Dr. Mohna Chauhan. I am MD in dermatology and I'm practicing in Noida.

Today I'll be talking about an entity called facial melanosis. Melanosis basically stands for the presence of abnormal Melanin pigment deposited in this skin, when it is present mainly in the face, it is termed as facial melanosis. Now facial melanosis can be because of various causes and few of these I will discuss.

First, it can be from tanning, it can be because of melasma which is often related to pregnancy, hormone imbalance and stress, it can also be because of Vitamin B12 deficiency. Facial melanosis is also seen in some conditions like acanthosis nigricans which is often seen in diabetic and hormonally imbalanced patients. It can also be as a result of hair dye, where patients are allergic to hair dye and it leads to pigmentation on the face, it can also be because of some other sun damage like freckles and lentigines and finally some rare causes like lichen planus pigmentosus which leads to pigmentation on the face and other areas.

Now, it is important to know that pigmentation can be very superficial, deep or both superficial and deep. Now we will discuss some treatment aspects of treating facial melanosis.

The most important aspect of treating facial melanosis is the use of the right sunscreen. Now, it should be a medicated pharmaceutical sunscreen which should preferably have both chemical and physical blockers. Sunscreen should ideally be repeated every three hours because the best of sunscreens also get inactivated after 3 hours.It should be ideally applied in the morning so repeat it twice in the afternoon. Now, apart from sunscreen another very important aspect of sun protection and photo protection is physical blockage wear goggles, use of cap, use of hat, use of a scarf all these are encouraged. On a sunny day it is always advisable to take an umbrella whenever possible.

Now other aspects of treatment apart from good sun protection is cream based treatments, a lot of Vitamin C based serums and creams are really helpful in controlling the sun damage. Facial melanosis also requires some special medications in some cases like for lichen planus pigmentosus we need proper medical intervention. Other deep pigmenting agents like hydroquinone, kojic acid based creams are also very important and should preferably be used at night time for best results.

Apart from creams and serums that can be applied at home sometimes we require oral medications as well, commonly prescribed medications are oral vitamin C, oral glutathione, oral tranexamic acid as well as in some cases oral isotretinoin.

Now apart from medications both to apply and to eat there are some procedures which are done by the dermatologists that helped a lot in treating facial melanosis. The first one out of these is chemical peeling, chemical peel is basically a liquid medicine or a cream based medicine of high concentration which is applied on your skin by the dermatologist for a controlled period of time often one session is done every two to three weeks and after four to six sessions you see an adequately good result which is appreciable; of course, sun protection becomes extremely important while you're on such procedures.

Apart from chemical peeling which is an FDA approved treatment for treating facial melanosis. In some cases, lasers are also done, the gold standard laser for pigmentation is Q-switch NdYAG laser, which is a non-ablative painless laser done for your face to treat various conditions like melasma, sun spots as well as other disorders like lichen planus pigmentosus. Lasers are often done only by dermatologists and lead to good results after four to six sessions, again sun protection becomes extremely important to preserve the results that we have achieved.

After lasers other therapies with benefits are mesotherapy where tiny injections are given into the skin of vitamin C, glutathione etc and these are painless and give a very good result in terms of glow and reduction in pigmentation. These are also done every month or every three weeks. Apart from this some ablative lasers like carbon dioxide laser or erbium YAG laser and in some cases non-ablative lasers like erbium glass laser can also be done for giving improvement in facial melanosis.

A treatment plan has to be made out individualized for each patient depending upon their cause, of course if there are some vitamin deficiencies like vitamin B12 deficiency these have to be replenished. Now if facial melanosis is because of acanthosis nigricans then controlling your weight and controlling the hormonal imbalance will also help in improvement along with medical treatment. If facial melanosis is because of the pigmentation from allergy to hair dye, such hair dye usage should be discouraged which will result in better treatment outcome.

Thank you

Hi,

I am Dr. Mohna, Dermatologist and today I am going to speak about a very important topic that is acne scars. Acne scars are the most important sequel to acne. Acne can become a persistent cause of your worries especially for young children and young adults. Acne not only affects your skin but also your psychological health. It can result in depressed, flat or slightly raised scars that are permanent if left untreated. Acne can also lead behind dark brown or dusky red spots. Making one less confident and unsure about them. Acne perpetually develops of skin color and red raised bumps which may or may not be pus-filled. They can show up on your face, shoulder or back neck. The bumps may take a lot of time to heal. Reaction to access oil, bacteria, and dead cells to your skin which enlarges and swell up need to break down the follicle wall.

And thereby lead to scar formation. One can get rid of it through the natural process if the lesions are not very deep. Deep lesions may require medical assistance. Now, acne scars of 2 types: hypertrophic and atrophic. Hypertrophic is shown as raised tissue on the surface of the skin because of access to collagen production. The most common scars are atrophic or depressed scars that are caused due to less tissue production. How do we deal with acne scars? Creams have a very limited role to play in improving the permanent scars of acne. The little benefit can be drawn from vitamin-A and C creams. It is advisable to undergo treatment of acne scars improvement from a qualified dermatologist.

The various therapeutic options are currently available to treat ace scars include subcision, dermabrasion, microdermabrasion, derma roller, chemical peels, fractional lasers, dermal fillers, micro needling radiofrequency and PRP. Fractional resurfacing lasers and micro needling radiofrequency are the most effective and latest treatment for acne scars. They are minimally invasive, merely painless procedures which help in skin tightening, scar improvement, reduction in fine lines, improved textures, tone and color of the skin. A series of 4-6 sitting are usually needed for optimal results. Each session lasts for 1 hour and performed at around monthly intervals. While performing these procedures, local anesthetic creams are applied before the procedure. Results can be seen over several weeks. Timely treatment of ace is necessary to keep both unwanted pigmentation and scars at bay. So, all and all you can get rid of scars and get smooth skin.

Thanks!

Are you growing hair in unusual places where you do not want them to be such as on the neck, chest, chin and back? Hirsutism is a medical term, which refers to excess body hair and facial hair in women. It occurs because of an increased production of androgens or male hormones. The increased sensitivity of the androgen receptors in the skin follicles also causes hirsutism.