The main cause of pigmentation is through sun damage, resulting in age spots and freckles. They can also be caused through pregnancy and taking certain medications. The treatment can help to diminish the appearance of these marks.

		Subject: Female Age: 52 Site: Side of face Courtesy of Dr Paul Myers Supplied by Lynton Lasers
Before	After 1 session

		Subject: Male Age: 52 Site: Right hand Courtesy of Lynton Lasers
Before	After 1 session

How can they be treated?
At SkinWise we offer treatment with the Lumina Intense Pulsed Light System in conjunction with facial treatments and home care for optimum results.

How does it work?
Lumina Intense Pulsed Light System The system consists of intense light that is emitted in a series of short pulses. The wavelength of the light is specially selected so that when it is directed into the skin, it is predominantly absorbed by melanin contained within freckles or lentigines (sometimes called sun spots or liver spots). These pigmented lesions will absorb the light, which causes them to heat up. The heat created damages the lesion while causing minimal damage to the surrounding skin.

What should I expect after treatment?
Redness and a slight burning sensation are normal. A cooling pack will be applied to the skin to ease these symptoms. The lesions will darken after treatment and may appear more obvious at first, but gradually the marks will ‘flake’ away.

Will they come back?
It should be noted that continued sun exposure may result in recurrence of the original mark and sunscreen should be used to prevent this happening.

How many treatments will I need?
This depends on the type and size of the pigmented mark present, but typically 1-5. Treatments should take place approximately every 4 to 6 weeks.

Are there any side effects?
The visible light is completely safe so no special precautions are needed apart from glasses from the brightness. The skin of some clients becomes quite red immediately after treatment and in rare cases some bruising may be seen. However, most clients experience no side effects and the described skin reactions usually disappear within hours to a few days. Mild hyper or hypo pigmentation may occur from time to time but this usually fades within a short period of time. It is essential that during a course of treatment, the skin is not exposed to sun light without the protection of a high factor sun screen. Small blisters rarely occur, but provided these are not interfered with, they will cause no adverse after effects.

Is everyone suitable for treatment?
Almost everyone is suitable for treatment, apart from very dark skinned or tanned individuals. However, not all pigmentation can be treated. Large, dark moles cannot be treated. The pigmented marks that respond the best are superficial lesions, such as those caused by sun damage (sun spots) and freckles.