Laser pigmentation removal has been an absolute blessing after many decades of fake miracle creams and unreliable home remedies for birthmark and freckle sufferers. However, it is critical that you maintain those laser pigmentation removal results by staying out of the sun afterwards … and in Australia, that can sometimes be difficult! Around 1 in every 2 Queenslanders is diagnosed with skin cancer in their lifetime, and Australia-wide around 2/3 of people will get skin cancer by age 70. Today we help you get the best out of your freckle removal, sunspot removal or age spot removal, by making sun-free living super-easy!

Slip, slop, slap, seek and slide

This is the basis of sun protection strategies … as childish as it sounds! Naturally we don’t recommend that every pigmentation removal client spend the rest of their life covered from head to toe in black fabric, so if you’re wondering whether you have done enough to protect yourself from the sun, use the old checklist.

If you’ll be outdoors, even on a cloudy day, for more than 15 minutes:
• Slip on a long sleeved shirt
• Slop on sunscreen
• Slap on a hat
• Seek shade when possible
• Slide on your sunglasses to prevent sun damage to your eyes

Look good while being safe!

Long sleeves, hats and sunglasses don’t have to look daggy … you can be as stylish, mysterious or fun-loving as you like if you put a bit of effort into shopping for these! If you’re happy with how you look while protecting yourself from the sun, you’re much more likely to maintain the regimen.

Applying sunscreen

Most people get only 50-80% of the protection stated on the product, because they don’t apply enough sunscreen or they apply it too infrequently. You need a teaspoon for each limb, a teaspoon for the front of your body and a teaspoon for the back, with half a teaspoon for your face to help preserve the effects of your laser pigmentation removal treatment. We recommend Skinstitut Perfect Protection.

Moisturisers with sunscreen?

Many moisturisers are advertised as containing SPF30+ sunscreens. However, due to the small amounts and infrequent reapplication, you can’t rely on them to give you actual SPF30+ protection!

Mineral makeup

Mineral makeup can also help give your face some mild protection from the sun, as the crystals reflect the rays. However, if you’ll be in the sun for longer than 15 minutes you need to take additional steps.

Be out early or late

You won’t have to be as rigid and vigilant with sun protection if you plan your outdoor activities outside the danger hours of 11am – 3pm.

Watch fabric SPF ratings

Some fabrics are rated at SPF50+, others provide no more protection than old-style SPF15+ sunscreens. Not all shirts are created equal!

Fake tan

Self-conscious about your fluorescent legs and belly? Fake tan is the answer – go for the subtlest shade, and opt for a spray tanning booth for even results.

Buy a brolly

Buy a nice summery, large brolly that you can carry around with you when you need shade on hot days. Yes, you’ll look different to everybody else … but you’ll also look much different to them at age 50, 60, 70 and 80 … when your skin is still pristine after your laser pigmentation removal treatments!

1. Are there different types of freckles, and will laser removal work on them all?
Laser freckle removal works for many types of brown pigmented lesions, sun spots, age spots, freckles and even some birthmarks. The only type of freckles that can’t be removed with laser therapy is lesions that are suspected of being cancerous. If your dermatologist or laser freckle removal therapist finds any of these, they’ll refer you for further medical treatment immediately.

2. Is laser freckle removal safe?
Yes, it has been extensively tested by Australian authorities and approved for use.

3. Will I have white spots, or will the old freckle area be normal skin colour?
Sometimes a little extra melanin is removed from your skin, and the freckle area ends up lighter than the rest of your skin. However this is self-correcting – definitely not permanent!

4. What happens when the freckles are removed?
After laser freckle removal the dark spots will scab up and fall off … almost as if the freckles were foreign entities living in your skin!

5. Can the freckles come back?
If you go out in the sun again, they can. Laser freckle removal doesn’t stop the process that creates freckles, it only removes the end product.

6. Does it hurt?
Laser freckle treatment hurts far less if you choose a clinic that uses lasers with a cooling feature, like the Candela Gentlelase. You can also get topical anesthetic applied for the treatment, but most people liken it to mild sunburn.

7. Does it look good afterwards?
Yes! Most people achieve a very natural, freckle-free skin tone in quite a short time after the course of laser freckle removal treatments is finished.

8. How many treatments are needed?
Often only 1 treatment for facial freckles. If you want a very large area treated, like your back, you may need up to four sessions.

9. How long does it take to heal and for the freckles to come off?
It usually takes about 3 weeks for good results to become apparent.

10. Are there any side effects?
Laser freckle treatment is quite safe, with far milder side effects even than many prescription drugs. You might get some light bruising, swelling or redness in the areas treated, but serious side effects are extremely rare.

What are freckles?

Freckles are simply uneven clusters of melanin (your skin’s natural pigmentation), produced in response to sun exposure to protect your skin from UV light.

How does laser freckle removal work?

Lasers used for the removal of freckles emit specific wavelengths of light that is attracted to melanin. There are several specific wavelengths that are attracted to melanin – some work best on smaller freckles which have formed deeper in the skin, others work best on larger freckles composed of shallower melanin pigment. When the laser light contacts the melanin cluster, the light energy is transformed to heat energy, and also produces photo-acoustic energy. The heat and sound energy denatures the melanin molecule, causing it to break down and disperse throughout the surrounding cells. Your lymphatic system will remove the pigment naturally over the next few days.

How many treatments will I need?

It depends on how deep within the skin your freckles are located, and how widespread they are. Around half of common pigmented lesions are removed with a single treatment – others could require a few more.

Does laser freckle removal hurt?

Since the effects are localized to the freckle itself, the result is very even and you’ll feel very little. The Candela laser also has an inbuilt cooling feature which helps greatly reduce discomfort. At clinics that don’t use the Candela laser , other laser freckle treatment providers can give you topical anaesthetic (numbing cream), and some can administer laughing gas to help with the pain. However, a large proportion of people treated with the Candela laser don’t use either of these methods – the cooling feature is enough.

What happens afterwards?

In some people, freckles will darken, scab and peel off in the first and second weeks after treatment. Other people notice only a gradual fading of the freckles as the treatment course progresses.

Is laser freckle treatment permanent?

Freckles will only reappear if you repeatedly stay in the sun without sunscreen or shade – without new sun exposure, your laser freckle removal is permanent!

Are there any side effects?

Laser freckle removal is one of the only treatments that has very noticeable positive side effects! Laser therapy also stimulates new collagen production in the skin, so you’ll notice that the area treated becomes fuller, softer and less wrinkled. Unfortunately, while the freckle removal is permanent, the anti-wrinkle effect is temporary!

1. Freckles

Just about every Caucasian person in the world has a freckle or two. Freckles are nothing more than concentrated clusters of melanin, and if you have the gene variant dominant melanocortin-1 receptor, any exposure to sunlight will trigger freckle formation.
Treatment: Freckles can be faded with creams, but often reappear as soon as you forget sunblock for ten minutes. Laser pigmentation removal is often longer lasting and more effective.

2. Age spots

Age spots are also known as liver spots, and they appear as we age because our body’s ability to protect against UV rays deteriorates, and produces melanin in patches as a result.
Treatment: Again, skin bleaching creams are cheap and common, but not as effective or long-lasting as laser pigmentation removal.

3. Vitiligo

Vitiligo looks like age spots, only in reverse – it cause pactehs of lighter skin. However the causes are very different – it is believed to be linked to autoimmune disorders and hyperthyroidism, and is a medical, not a cosmetic issue.
Treatment: See your doctor – treatment will depend on the exact cause.

4. Hyperpigmentation

If your body produces too much melanin overall, it is considered hyperpigmentation.
Treatment: Laser pigmentation removal isn’t ideal in this case – it works best in smaller patches. A skin bleaching cream or medications might be appropriate.

5. Melasma

Melasma is also known as chloasma, and often appears for the first time in pregnancy. In some women it fades after birth, in rare cases it persists in a lighter form.
Treatment: Prescription creams and OTC preparations can help with melasma. When women find it returning, though, laser pigmentation removal with a long wavelength machine is often recommended.

6. Birthmarks

Birthmarks are flat brown, black or even bluish spots that appear before, or soon after birth. Light brown spots are called café-au-lait. If they are prominent, they might be embarrassing – however they are a cosmetic rather than medical issue.
Treatment: Birthmarks can often be treated with laser pigmentation removal, with the laser making them less prominent, even if it isn’t able to remove darker discolorations completely.

7. Lichen Simplex Chronicus

This fungal infection causes dark patches of skin where you are infested. They are often really itchy, and if the condition isn’t treated scarring and infection usually result.
Treatment: Anti-fungal creams – see your doctor for a firm diagnosis and prescription though.

8. Port Wine Stains

These dark red or purple marks often occur on the face, and can be very embarrassing. They are harmless, and are caused by abnormal capillary development.
Treatment: Some specific models of laser machine can treat port wine stains – ask your cosmetic clinic.

9. Hemangiomas

These look a lot like port wine stains and are caused by a bunching together of cappillaries, but treatment is very different.
Treatment: In children, they are usually left to resolve on their own.  They may be treated with corticosteroids, or in a similar process to laser pigmentation removal.

10. Albinism

People with albinism are called albinos, and have very pale skin, white or yellow hair and gray eyes. There is no cure or treatment for this genetic condition; however apart from the need to vigilantly protect the body from the sun, it has few effects.
Treatment: Nil.

Variations in the color of human skin are because of a pigment called melanin which is produced by special types of cells known as melanocytes. The intensity of pigmentation may vary in human skin as a result of numerous reasons such as race, environmental condition and disease. Any change in the pigmentation level of skin always generates concern, often simply due to cosmetic implications.

An increase in the pigmentation level known as hyperpigmentation can result from excessive tanning, pregnancy, Addison’s disease and hyperpigmentation of scars. A lack or loss of pigment known as hypopigmentation can result from albinism, Vitiligo, leprosy, hypo-pigmented scars and many others.

Vitiligo, Melasma, Age spots and Albinism are common skin conditions which are related to many pigmentation problems in skin. Although some forms of pigmentation are avoidable virtually all are treatable.