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    Home Services Skin Hyperpigmentation Treatment

    Hyperpigmentation Treatment in Andover, MA, for Spots That Sunscreen and Serums Never Fixed

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    You have tried to do everything right. Daily SPF, a good vitamin C serum, and maybe a retinol cream that promised to fade things over time all became part of your routine. The spot is still there, though, or it faded last winter and came back the next summer.

    That is common, and it usually means the pigment under your skin needs more than a bottle can provide. We are a physician-owned, physician-supervised med spa on Central Street in Andover, and hyperpigmentation is one of the conditions people come in for only after shelf products have stopped working. At your first visit, we look at what you are actually dealing with, and we tell you honestly which option fits instead of running you through whatever happens to be booked that week.

    A consultation here is a conversation, not a sales pitch. We will look at your skin, explain what is actually causing the discoloration, and tell you plainly if a treatment is not going to help your specific spots.

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    What's Actually Causing Your Dark Spots

    What's Actually Causing Your Dark Spots

    Not all dark spots are the same thing, even when they look similar in the mirror. Small, well-defined brown marks on the face, hands, or chest usually appear after years of sun exposure, and dermatologists point to a few possible root causes. Melasma looks different. It appears as symmetrical, blotchy patches across the cheeks, forehead, or upper lip, and it is driven as much by hormones as by sun.

    A third type, post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation, is the mark left behind after a breakout or an injury. It often fades on its own with time and the right products once the original irritation clears up.

    Getting the type right matters. The wrong treatment for the wrong kind of pigmentation can make things worse, not better. An aggressive laser session that clears a sun spot in one pass, for example, can trigger more pigment production if what you actually have is melasma.

    That is why we look at what is actually going on before recommending anything. It is also why hyperpigmentation treatment is one of the services at the professional skin care clinic we run out of our Andover office, alongside options for acne, texture, and overall skin health.

    IPL Photofacial Targets the Brown Spots That Bother You Most

    IPL, short for intense pulsed light, uses targeted pulses of light absorbed by the pigment sitting in a spot rather than the skin around it. We run ours on the Cutera Xeo, the same device we use for several other skin treatments here, so it is not equipment brought in just for this one service. Academic medical centers describe the sensation as a quick, warm snap, and a full-face treatment is usually done in well under an hour.

    That said, it works best on lighter and medium skin tones, since the light targets pigment and has a harder time telling a sun spot from a naturally deeper complexion. If your skin tans easily or runs on the deeper side, we usually recommend the brightening peel instead, since using IPL on the wrong skin type increases the risk of new discoloration rather than fixing the kind you already have.

    Most people see spots start to darken and flake off within a week or two. Full results develop over a short series of visits rather than a single appointment, and we will map out how many visits an IPL photofacial course should include once we see your skin in person.

    Years of Sun on Your Skin Call for a Broader Sun Damage Treatment Plan

    IPL handles a handful of distinct spots well, but for a lot of people, years of New England summers without daily sunscreen have left more than a spot or two behind. Cumulative sun exposure shows up as uneven tone, rough texture, and pigment across large areas of the face or chest, which usually calls for more than one treatment focused on a single spot. We build a plan around what we actually see on your skin, combining a series of peels, IPL, or both, depending on how deep the damage sits. That full sun damage treatment plan gets mapped out at your first visit, based on how your skin actually looks in person, not a guess from a photo.

    Years of Sun on Your Skin Call for a Broader Sun Damage Treatment Plan

    A Brightening Peel Can Even Out Tone Without a Single Laser Pulse

    A brightening peel is a gentler option if a broader plan feels like more than you need right now, and it works differently from either IPL or a multi-treatment approach. It exfoliates the top layers of skin, which encourages the pigmented cells sitting there to shed faster than they would naturally.

    Because it does not rely on light or heat targeting pigment the way IPL does, it is often the safer choice if you have a deeper or tan-prone skin tone, or if what you are dealing with looks more like melasma than a handful of distinct sun spots. A lot of people choose it simply because it lets them ease into treatment before trying anything more involved. Ask about the brightening peel at your visit, and we will tell you honestly whether it works better alone or paired with something else.

    Ask About BBL Photo Facial During Your Andover Consultation

    If IPL is not the right fit and a peel feels like too gentle a step, broadband light treatment is another option we sometimes suggest. It targets much of the same brown and red pigment using a different range of light. Which option actually makes sense for your skin depends on an exam done in person, not a general description online. BBL photo facial might come up as an option at your visit, and if it does, we will walk through exactly how it works and how it stacks up against the other treatments here.

    Frequently Asked Questions

    It depends on what caused them in the first place. Sun spots that return are almost always due to new sun exposure without daily SPF, not a failure of the treatment itself. We will tell you what upkeep looks like for your specific case at the consultation, so you know what you are committing to beyond the first visit.

    We ask about your skin tone before recommending anything, since it changes which option is safest for you. If IPL is not a good match for your tone, we will point you toward the brightening peel or something gentler instead of pushing a treatment that could cause more discoloration. This is standard for every consultation here, not something you have to bring up yourself.

    Session count comes down to which option fits your skin and how deep the pigment sits. Peels are often done in a short series spaced a few weeks apart, and IPL sessions usually run in a smaller series spaced roughly a month apart. You will get a specific number and timeline at your consultation instead of a vague range.

    Neither option keeps you out of your routine. IPL treatments take well under an hour, and you can go back to normal activities right after, aside from wearing sunscreen. A brightening peel might leave mild tightness or light flaking for a day or two, but it does not stop you from working or running errands the same day.

    No, hyperpigmentation treatment here is cash-pay, the same as our other cosmetic skin services. We accept credit cards and cash, and Cherry financing is available in-house if you would rather spread a full plan across a few payments instead of paying for everything at once.

    A skin consultation here is a conversation about what is actually happening on your face, not a script to get you to book more than you need. We will tell you plainly if a treatment is not going to help your specific spots.

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    We are open until 7 PM Monday through Thursday, plus Saturday hours. Walk-ins are welcome, and parking is available out front on Central Street or in the free lot behind the building off Brook Street.

    Individual results vary, and some images used on this site may include models.

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