Keep Allergens & Toxins Out of your Home Hyperpigmentation: Treating & Preventing Summer Discoloration

RENEW Allergens & Toxins KEEP OUT OF YOUR HOME

We all want our homes to be a refuge from allergy-causing and health-damaging particles and chemicals of the modern world as much as possible. Since all the products we bring into our homes come from that same modern world, striking the right balance can be difficult.

There are plenty of steps you can take, however, to minimize the presence of these inside your home:

DOUBLE UP YOUR WELCOME MATS Placing one just outside your front door and another just inside can catch double the amount of dirt and debris tracked into the house, which can amount to 70% to 80% of what’s brought into a building, studies show.

USE CAULK Seal any holes and crevices found in walls to keep dust, mold and vermin out, and redo any failing caulking in your tile to prevent moisture and mold from gaining a foothold.

USE WELL-SEALED VACUUMS WITH A HEPA FILTER These can capture up to 99.97% of molecules larger than 0.3 microns. This is effective against most particles and substances found in your home but cannot catch the smallest particulates, gaseous molecules of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) or some viruses and bacteria.

RUN THE EXHAUST FANS IN YOUR KITCHEN AND BATHROOM The fan over your stove pulls up cooking-related pollutants such as carbon dioxide and nitrogen dioxide while reducing humidity. The bathroom fan is there to dissipate the moist, mold-producing air left behind after a shower or bath.

OPEN OR CLOSE WINDOWS, DEPENDING ON YOUR CIRCUMSTANCES If you’re trying to keep pollen and dust out of the house or live in a polluted area, you’ll need to close them to prevent allergies and asthma attacks. If these are not a factor, open them up to release the chemicals that can build up from the products inside and exchange them for fresh air from the outdoors.

IF YOU HAVE A FIREPLACE Consider switching from wood logs to alternatives like those made of wood fiber and wax to reduce particulate and carbon dioxide emissions, or switch to a natural gas fireplace. Maintain your chimney regularly by yourself or hire a professional.

RENEW Hyperpigmentation: Treating & Preventing Summer Discoloration

Did you know that hyperpigmentation is not only caused and activated by the sun but also by heat? This alarming truth is one of the reasons hyperpigmentation and dark spots are so stubborn and challenging to get rid of.

by Lori Durr, Owner, Sundara Sanctuary

WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENS?

Patches of skin become darker due to excessive melanin, the pigment that produces skin color. Types of hyperpigmentation include sunspots, which result from cumulative sun exposure; melasma, which arises primarily in women because of hormones; and post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation, which arises from an injury or insult to the skin.

Heat also is a culprit!

Heat, whether outside or inside, increases vasodilation, which is the dilation or widening of blood vessels. This causes more redness to appear, particularly in areas of melasma. Heat can also lead to inflammation and stimulate melanocyte pigment production.

While UV sources like the sun are definitely enemy No.1, there are many other triggers. Hyperpigmentation can occur from many types of heat sources.

HOW TO PROPERLY PROTECT AND TREAT:

Find a licensed skin care professional to assist in caring for your skin and one who understands the Arizona heat during the summer months.

Summer is the time to hydrate the skin and use light exfoliation. Save the chemical peels for the fall and winter! Doing overly abrasive skin care treatments during the summer months can add to pigmentation as it is impossible to avoid the heat. Just the few steps to the mailbox is sometimes all it takes.

BEST THING YOU CAN DO FOR YOUR SKIN

Use professional products, see your aesthetician regularly, and lightly exfoliate.

The process of exfoliation is a lot like peeling away the dry, outer skin of an onion to reveal the living layers beneath. Whether the exfoliation is done using mechanical abrasion or a controlled chemical reaction, removing dead and damaged skin cells on the surface allows the fresh new skin underneath to become visible.

Its surface reflects light better, making fine lines and other small imperfections harder to see. Age spots and other areas of unwanted pigmentation are less noticeable because the dead skin cells containing the pigment have been removed.

In addition, removing the top layer of dead and damaged cells allows other health-promoting agents such as moisturizers, antioxidants, and collagen-boosting ingredients to better penetrate the skin and work more effectively.