Are small dark patches and discolorations on your face ruining your look?
Lots of women suffer with bouts of hyperpigmentation or melasma. Brett Freedman shares his advice for safely lightening skin and keeping dark spots from coming back.
Click below for the inside scoop!
Tackling melasma and hyperpigmentation is a 3 step process – lighten the existing patches, prevent them from coming back, and disguise what’s still there.
1. Use a lightening cream or gel. Over the counter, you can buy 2% bleaching creams, but to truly see results, Brett recommends asking your derm for a prescription for a 4% facial bleach.
2. Stay out of the sun! Even when you aren’t basking by the pool, your skin is still exposed, and sun exposure makes melasma look more pronounced. Look for a broad-spectrum sunscreen with physical blockers and wear it daily. Brett’s fave? Clinique City Block. It’s oil-free with SPF 40 and contains both titanium oxide and zinc oxide. It looks great under makeup and in photos; Brett uses it on all his girls!
3. Use makeup where needed to disguise patches. The object is to lightly veil dark spots, not to make them disappear under layers of foundation. Apply foundation as usual and then build more coverage in problem areas with a tiny brush dipped in liquid foundation. Brett loves LORAC Breakthrough Performance or Revlon ColorStay for this – both are sheer yet long-lasting.
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