Indian skin is particularly susceptible to hyperpigmentation. Most people in India have a skin tone ranging from Type III to Type VI on the Fitzpatrick scale, although Type II is also seen in the northernmost regions of the country. The general recommendations on reducing hyperpigmentation in people with darker skin are not alway set in stone when it comes to South Asian skin.
Something that will work in African American skin might not work as well in Indian skin. On a side note, South Asians tend to have substantially more body hair than other ethnicities, so laser hair removal is extremely popular in the subcontinent. Lasers that work well on the fairer skinned Indians (skin Type III or even lighter).
Treating Hyperpigmentation in Indian Skin
If you have Indian skin, you must check out the clinics and doctors that are listed in the India country section in my page on top clinics for dark skin laser treatments. Not only are these clinics experienced at treating darker skin, they almost entirely specialize in treating Indian patients.
Most of them have years of experience in using lasers to treat Indian skin. Whether for hair removal, hyperpigmentation treatment, acne scar revision, moles and skin tag removal and much more. And they all use the latest available technologies that work on South Asian dusky skin tones.
The depth of hyperpigmentation is also an important factor when it comes to treatment strategy. Epidermal hyperpigmentation is on the upper layers of the skin and hence easier to treat. In contrast, dermal pigmentation runs much deeper and requires more intensive treatments.
Vogue India has a good summary of recommendations in treating dark spots in Indian skin. According to Dr. Lara Devgan, if done too agressively, lasers, chemical peels, and microinfusion microneedling for fading darkness can make dark spots worse in peple with olive and darker skin tones.
The Ageless Clinic in India in Mumbai has a useful page that discusses pigmentation issues in Indian skin. Below is an image from the clinic’s instagram that shows a before and after result in removing hyperpigmentation from an Indian person.
The clinic’s owner is Dr. Harsha Bijlani. According to her, once the issue causing your pigmentation is under control (whether hormonal, due to injury or excessive sun exposure), peels and lasers are the most common ways to prevent and fight pigmentation. Inititial treatment will usually consist of skin lightening creams that are more suitable for darker skin.
At the Ageless Clinic, hyperpigmentation treatment consists of the following options:
- PicoSure®.
- Clear Skin Laser™.
- Cosmelan™.
- AgeLess Diamond Skin Resurfacing™.
- Dermaroller with Lightening Agents.
- Mesotherpy with Lightening Agents.
- Skin-brightening Super-Medi Facials.
- AgeLess Stem Cell Face Treatment™.
- Chemical Peels.