Don’t neglect your body- it’s time start a new routine!

Fall is the perfect season to start your “Hot Girl Summer” aftercare. 

After so much sun exposure during the warmer months, your body is more vulnerable to common skin issues, like hyperpigmentation, that you probably also experience on your face. 

Although you’ll mostly be indoors or wearing your comfiest sweater during the colder seasons, your skin, especially that on your body, still needs all the attention it can get to reverse sun-related damage like post-inflammatory body hyperpigmentation and melasma. 

“So what is body hyperpigmentation?” 

The skin on the body is similar to the skin on the face in the way it produces and incurs hyperpigmentation!

If you take a closer look at your body, you’ll probably see dark spots or discoloration on your skin. This form of body hyperpigmentation is created when the skin produces excessive amounts of melanin when exposed to external factors, like the free radicals delivered to the skin via the sun. 

As much as we love spending time in the sun (with SPF, of course), the sun’s harmful UV rays can trigger or darken existing body hyperpigmentation in areas of the skin that experienced past injuries (resulting in scars) or body breakouts. 

Although the same process happens on the face, resulting in post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation (PIH), we pay much more attention to the face, often exfoliating the skin there weekly, speeding up the skin’s brightening process and lightening PIH much more quickly.

The thick skin on our body also often endures deeper cuts and wounds that results in long lasting scars and hyperpigmentation that are a bit harder to treat.

Fortunately, a lot of the post-inflammatory marks on the body that occur after surface wounds and body breakouts gradually fade away on their own. More serious pigmentation associated with scarring can be lightened and evened out with constant care! 

With sun protection and the right pigmentation tackling products, it is possible to speed up the process of brightening and fading body pigmentation.

“So how is treating body hyperpigmentation any different? And what product do I use?” 

Well, great question! 

It’s important to remember that your skin varies from head to toe and that treating skin issues, like hyperpigmentation and post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation, on the body will require a different routine.

 Because the skin on your body is much thicker than your face, fading body hyperpigmentation will require products that are packed with efficacious ingredients to penetrate deep into your skin. 

Skincare containing vitamin C is a go-to solution for fading hyperpigmentation on the skin. Not only does this superpower ingredient help protect your skin from free radicals caused by the sun’s UV rays, it also helps boost collagen production within the skin. 

Remember, vitamin C isn’t for everyone. Due to its unstable molecular structure and strong acidity, vitamin C can cause skin irritation for people with sensitive skin.

That is why we love and recommend licorice root extract for combatting hyperpigmentation on the body. Licorice root works to inhibit the production of an enzyme needed to produce pigment in the skin, ultimately slowing down the production of melanin in the skin. It also contains an enzyme that encourages the dispersing of pigmented cells, which helps to fade pre-existing dark spots! On top of all this, the ingredient is anti-inflammatory and an antioxidant, which means it helps mitigate further free radical damage.

Korean skin care brand Acwell taps into the power of this targeted ingredient with their licorice line. Combining the power of Acwell’s Licorice pH Balancing Cleansing Toner, which also contains green tea, and their Licorice pH Balancing Advance Serum, formulated with licorice root water, licorice root extract, and niacinamide, and implementing these two products into your post-shower body care can help brighten body hyperpigmentation.

Apply the toner to impacted areas first, and then follow up with the powerful serum next and take the time to massage the formula in to make sure it’s fully absorbed into the thicker skin on the body. Make sure to be consistent with your application! Body hyperpigmentation’s a bit more stubborn because of the thickness of the skin.

So time to say “Hyperpigmentation who? We don’t know her!” after using these saviors that will leave your body feeling smooth, nourished, and brightened. 

+How do you tackle body hyperpigmentation? Let us in on your body care routine below!