Post Inflammatory Hyperpigmentation (PIH)

Pigmentation within scars is universal in darker skin patients, this occurs when the skin produces too much pigment as a consequence of trauma. Common causes of PIH include burns, insect bites, acne, trauma, including scratching & surgery. It also occurs after laser & chemical burns.

Dermatologists are methodical at treating post inflammatory hyperpigmentation (PIH), hence our high success rate. Treatment is as follows; 

• Reduce inflammation & skin trauma 
• Reduce pigment output from melanocytes via pigment inhibitors
• 治疗皮肤内多余的色素沉着在皮肤内；激光的效果最好
• 确保防晒

Picoway laser is the best way to treat PIH. We replaced the old Picosure laser in 2020 with the newer Picoway. 

Pico lasers help by- reducing pigment in both the upper & lower levels of the skin. This means fast clearance of dark spots. Pico also helps remodel collagen within skin scars.

No. Picoway is not painful (unlike Picosure). You do not require any local numbing creams. Recovery is within an hour or two. 

Treatments are more affordable than you think. Pico for PIH starts at $199, packages are readily available. Book a consultation with our nurses at Clinic Cutis.

2-4 weeks, depending on your skin type, & depth of PIH. Darker patients will require more treatments compared to fair patients. 

We can speed up the results with pigment correctors to be used at home. 

Pico lasers in the context of PIH have no downtime. You will recover within an hour or two. In some cases we prescribe a topical cream to help reduce more pigmentation in between visits. 

Fractional lasers have a downtime of 1-3 days, depending on the device and settings. Our nurses and dermatologists will guide you accordingly.

This form of PIH is very different from normal pigmentation due to trauma. Iron staining responds unpredictably to even pico lasers. This is because your immune system does not efficiently carry the iron pigment away.

If you have iron staining, book an appointment with a nurse. They will guide you through test spots. 

Microneedling frequently pushes the pigment into the deeper layers of skin. You are far better off using a 0.1 to 0.2 mm stamper at home, over a clinic microneedling session.

Peels can lighten skin, including post inflammatory hyperpigmentation. We prefer lasers as they are much more effective & cost effective in the long run. As a guide it takes 3-4 times longer to fade pigmentation with peels, in comparison to laser. 

Our peels include:

• Dermamelan / Cosmelan
• Salicylic acid 
• AHAs, lactic, glycolic, mandelic acids
• 维甲酸
• Jessner mix. Lactic, salicylic & resorcinol 

The most important thing is sun protection. Get this right before spending money on skincare. If you don’t sun protect, everything else is a waste of time, effort and money.

From there, you can apply products with ingredients listed below. 

Sun protection summary; 

• • 帽子是第一线，其次是防晒霜，然后是抗氧化剂

• SPF50+，品牌并不重要。数量和频率很重要。

• 一天两次，每次3毫升。
• 你应该在2.5到3.2周内喝完一瓶。

This ingredient list can help with post inflammatory pigmentation-

• 植物药（植物）；甘草根、人参、熊果、蓝莓、绿茶
• 熊果苷：alpha来自实验室，beta来自小麦和植物
• Azelaic acid, Ascorbic acid
• 烟酰胺
• 曲酸、柠檬酸、乳酸和甘醇酸
• 半胱胺