How to Choose and Apply Spot Treatments

We’ve all experienced it: you look in the mirror, only to be confronted by a pimple. A single dark mark disrupting your otherwise flawless face, an annoying red mark left behind after a zit pops or a speck of discoloration after staying for a long time in the sun. When your skin is acting up or bearing the scars of what it has been through, applying an everyday moisturizer across the whole of your face isn’t enough. What your skin needs is advanced localized care. Welcome to the world of spot treatments.

A spot treatment is an extremely potent, concentrated skincare formulation that targets the most affected, localized dark spots in need of active ingredients. It’s a fast, deep penetrating way to treat cellular malfunction like overstimulated melanin production and pigmentation due to over stimulated, flaring inflammation.

Yet, because spot treatments have the ability to really pack a punch, the wrong choice or usage could backfire on you-triggering chemical burns, peeling, dryness, or even the unfortunate case of increased hyperpigmentation that may even be worse than the original breakout. Spot treatment success ultimately lies in mastering the science of ingredient and application, which is where this ultimate guide comes in.

Why Localized Spots Treatment Beats Full-Face Application?

Treating a targeted spot on your face with harsh brightening Creams simply is not the answer for things like post inflammatory hyperpigmentation (PIH) or sunspots. Your skin that surrounds that spot is beautiful and balanced. Harsh chemicals with high concentrations of active ingredients that are not meant for your delicate skin can dry out, peel and irritate.

Understanding Hyperpigmentation

Before you can choose the right spot treatment, you must understand the enemy. Not all dark spots are formed similarly. Treating a sun spot the same way you manage a fresh acne scar will yield poor results. Hyperpigmentation generally falls into three distinct categories:

Post- Inflammatory Hyperpigmentation (PIH): these are the flat pink, red, brown or black spots that can appear on skin after a flare of inflammation caused by things such as a breakout, a bite or scratch.
Melasma: symmetrical, large brownish patches or patches. Usually triggered by hormone changes and can be made worse by the sun and heat.
Sun spots (Solar Lentigines): these are discrete dark patches caused by melanin clumping together near the surface of your skin when it's over-exposed to UV rays.

By determining the type of concern, you can ensure you are choosing a product which targets your specific skin issues as much as possible, saving you wasted time and money.

Spot Treatment Guide

Key Ingredients to Look For (And Ones to Avoid)

Although lots of products have promised amazing results, the only thing that a good spot treatment hinges on is the key ingredients it incorporates. Therefore, in case your priority is brighter skin, fading acne scars or any kind of discoloration, it is best that you invest in products formulated with only mild and scientifically proven active components.

That said, please use extreme care when considering conventional skin-lighteners like hydroquinone. They are powerful, but with often incorrect usage for a longer duration, hydroquinone also causes irritation, burning and even on very rare occasions which is ochronosis (a type of blue-black tissue staining).

Instead, a modern approach to dermatology uses molecules that are as potent yet much more stable and safest options and don’t have side-effects. Always search for molecules that utilize the strength and nature of skin as opposed to tearing it down.

Fade Stubborn Pigmentation with a Multi-Pathway Approach

Melanin production isn’t a simple, standalone process, it’s actually a series of steps at the cellular level. When your skin is stimulated by an injury or inflammation, your cells will then relay these signals to your melanocytes which have been instructed to produce melanin with an enzyme known as tyrosinase. Melanin is then deposited to your epidermis forming dark spots.

Since pigment formation occurs in many steps, applying an agent that only targets one step at a time is slow, tedious, and will result in delayed progress. The most efficacious form of pigmentation therapy is the Multi-Pathway Approach. It essentially utilizes various active ingredients in one blend to target melanin production at all of the different phases in the entire life cycle of pigment deposition and dark spot formation:

The Signal Blocker: This prevents your skin from producing more pigment by signaling to your brain.
The Enzyme Inhibitor: This inactivates the enzyme tyrosinase, effectively stopping production of pigments at the source.
The Transfer Shield: This blocks pigment that has already been produced from migrating up to your skin's surface.

By attacking dark spots from three different directions at once, dark spots disappear up to 3X faster.

Tranexamic Acid, Alpha Arbutin, and Niacinamide Ingredients

If you truly want to achieve the multi-pathway technique to combat dark spots, all you need is to get your hands on a product that uses the trio of best spots reduction ingredients: Tranexamic Acid, Alpha Arbutin, and Niacinamide. When paired together in the right concentration, these three form an invincible brightening matrix. You can find this phenomenal formula in Alite Spots Reduction Cream. This high quality formulation is perfect for oily and acne prone skin.

Tranexamic Acid

This is a game-changer when implemented within a 5% concentration with the use of liposomal-carrier delivery. It goes down deeper in the skin and essentially signals reduction in the release of inflammatory mediators. If you struggle with melasma or PIH, it’s truly a hero.

Alpha Arbutin

Safe at a consistent 2%, Alpha Arbutin is an all-natural derived component of hydroquinone that deactivates the tyrosinase enzyme to essentially switch off the pigment factory within the skin without any cytotoxic impacts.

Niacinamide PC

It has pharmaceutical grade concentration of 4%, this form of Vitamin B3. It works by preventing that established pigment from making its way up into those ready to go-visible cells and creating a stronger barrier by producing ceramides.

Step-By-Step Guide To Maximum Penetration & Minimal Irritation

Even the world’s most effective spot treatments can become ineffective or cause irritation if they’re not applied correctly. So to get the most out of your product, while minimizing your chance of a breakout and or skin irritation, we recommend applying your spot treatments in the following dermatologist-recommended sequence:

How To Use Spot Treatment?

1. Cleanse--Start with a gentle but effective cleanser to wipe away the day’s grime, oil and pollution. A clean slate makes it possible for your spot treatment to work the best that it can.

2. The Precision Dab--Squeeze out just enough to form a pea sized dot of Alite Spots Reduction Cream on your clean fingertip. Press onto the dark spot and with gentle and circular motion, massage until cream absorbs into skin.

Points To Consider

It’s advised to use this cream onto your skin during your P.M. routine and gradually, incorporate it to your A.M. routine as your skin gets accustomed to its use without purging.
You must apply a broad spectrum sunblock when going out in the sun in order to prevent direct UV radiation exposure to your sensitive skin.
You must properly cleanse your face before applying the Alite Spots Reduction Cream so as to provide a clear, dirt and oil-free skin for the best results in fading dark spots.
You must consult a dermatologist for proper evaluation of the skin condition and get suitable product recommendations for pimple spot cream.
You should do a patch test on your skin before the actual use so as to prevent any allergy or hypersensitivity response.

Summary

Spot treatments are designed to treat isolated dark spots. They work by penetrating a strong concentration of actives into the affected areas. Harsh and misused ingredients can result in burns, peeling, dehydration and potentially even darker marks. Some strong brightening creams may be too potent and burn the surrounding healthy skin. You need to identify what type of hyperpigmentation you have before you start any skincare regime to manage it. PIH is characterized as marks that show up post inflammation such as from acne, bug bites, cuts or any injury. Melasma shows up as a mask-like hyperpigmentation, appearing in a symmetric pattern, and is aggravated by sun exposure and heat. Sunspots are the result of excess UV exposure causing melanin clumping near the surface of the skin. Here, the trio of tranexamic acid, niacinamide and alpha arbutin comes to the rescue and eliminates the dark spots from within the skin with its consistent use. The multi-pathway approach targets signaling, tyrosinase activity, and pigment transfer. The advanced formulation of Alite Dark Spots Reduction Cream is a game changer composed from the high quality ingredients meant to strengthen the skin barrier and fade away the dark spots. Use gentle cleansing, precise application, patch testing and dermatologist guidance for best results.