Dark Skin Around Lips

by Chelsea
(Canada)

For those of you that have dark skin around lips there are treatments (happily) that work!

At first, I was so discouraged after trying every product I could find that might work to lighten what was quickly looking like a mustache of darkening skin, particularly around my upper lip. I did manage to significantly irritate the area around my lips but I couldn’t find a good product that actually worked to lighten the skin.

I finally went to the Dermatologist because it was driving me crazy. I hated it! The Doctor confirmed what I already thought was happening . . . sun damage!

It’s called hyperpigmentation and is very treatable. He did say that any sort of hyperpigmentation is much easier to get rid of as soon as it starts rather than waiting because the darkening skin will continue to just get more and more pronounced.

The Doctor explained that treatment options range from regularly using a simple exfoliating scrub to remove the outer most layer of skin, over-the-counter retinol (vitamin A), vitamin C, hydroquinone (bleaching agent) to more medical solutions like a monthly professional chemical peel and, finally, laser treatments.

I started using a microdermabrasion scrub once a week with nightly treatments of a heavy duty 1% retinol cream. I am also doing my own glycolic acid chemical peel once a month. This combination of treatments has worked awesome for me.

It did take a few months for the skin to get noticeably lighter but now it is back to looking normal. The Doctor did say that it was critical to use strong sunscreen when using any retinol product to protect the area due to increased sensitivity.