My date with skin pigmentation

Well this actually started about 8 months ago. I had smeared balm on my forehead during a bad headache and then completely forgot about it. The next day, I had a small dark gray spot on the right corner of my forehead. Assuming it was dry, dead skin, I lightly massaged my regular facial scrub all over my face thinking the scrub would remove the dry skin and the mark would heal.

But this did not happen. On the contrary, a few days later, the small spot transformed into a thick dark gray spot that ran continuously from one end of my forehead to the other. I was absolutely shocked when I looked at myself in the mirror, in the morning, as was everyone else around me. Family and friends asked all kinds of questions about it and I got no answer.

I didn’t realize at the time that the mark was due to the balm I had used. Instead, I thought it was a reaction to the antibiotics he had taken at the time for wisdom tooth pain. But, a visit to a dermatologist explained that the mark extended to that part of the forehead where the balm had been applied and this skin disorder was called hyperpigmentation. I had heard about it many times from people around me, but now I was going through skin pigmentation myself. It is a condition in which the skin produces too much pigment. melanin (melanin is responsible for the color of your skin) and this makes the skin darker than usual.

I was told that if I didn’t take proper medication and take immediate action, the mark could reach the lowest layer of skin and even the bone under the skin. And once it got to the bone, no topical remedy or other treatment could ever erase it (God forbid!). The last words really caught my attention and scared me. My skin was sensitive and the balm used, as the doctor said, could have been a duplicate/fake that caused this strange reaction.

They gave me names of medicines (vitamin and calcium tablets) to consume for 1 month and a half and a kojic cream to apply daily on the pigmented skin. Applying sunscreen twice a day was a must, even when indoors, as my skin had become photosynthetic (bulb rays could also cause more damage and slow the healing process). Complete sun protection (from both UVB and UVA rays) had become crucial as “overexposure to the sun’s rays causes the skin to produce more melanin and the complexion to darken further.” A gentle face wash was recommended as part of the ongoing treatment.

As a last resort, I was given the options of yellow shell gold treatment laser therapy (which was quite an expensive affair). Yellow Peel is a facial skin depigmenting treatment that peels away the damaged top layer of my skin by applying a blend of depigmenting agents. Then the bottom layer of skin would be exposed and it would look good again. This would take a few weeks or months, depending on the case (I was told 4 weeks in my case). Both treatments, the doctor assured, would cure my skin condition 100 percent.

The doctor called me every 4 weeks because as she had explained to me, “The skin has two layers, the upper layer (the epidermis) and the lower layer (the dermis). The cells of the upper layer gradually shed and the lower ones emerge.” a top layer, replacing the epidermis. This cycle lasts about 28 days.” Therefore, the visit every 4 weeks was crucial to monitor the exact state of recovery. She kept delaying the Yellow Peel treatment every time she saw her because she was afraid she might have side effects. So instead the creams were changed and I was prescribed another cleansing cream to use alongside the kojic cream the next month. I followed her instructions to the T.

I noticed as I walked down the street that people were looking at me in strange and compassionate ways. I suppose they must be thinking, “Poor girl, she is very young and has a serious skin disease.” I wish I could explain what had really happened to me. Some friends and supporters advised me to apply things like raw milk and aloe vera gel to the pigmented area, which I did quickly with very little progress.

So, I thought I’d surf the net in my spare time and find natural remedies for pigmentation which could be followed while following the doctors treatment as well. I entered ‘Natural Remedies for Skin Pigmentation’ and the search engines piled up a list of sites mentioning information on why pigmentation occurs and also how the damage can be resolved naturally using fruits, vegetables and herbs.

Got remedies like cucumber juice, lime juice, papaya pulp, tomato juice, chickpea flour and water paste, coriander paste, mint paste, neem paste, fuller’s earth paste, sandalwood paste, curd fresh, the list was endless. All of this had to be left on the pigmented patch for about 10-15 minutes before washing it off with water. I followed them, mostly trying any remedy day after day. I even soaked orange peels in water and splashed them every day.

Since none of the home remedies would cause any side effects, I would comfortably spread fruit juices etc. all over my face and not restrict it to just the pigmented patch. Little by little it was getting fun because as I tried all of these one by one I realized that the quality of my skin had really improved. Disregarding the dark, pigmented patch, my skin had now become smooth, supple, glowing, and clearer. My cheeks had turned a rosy blush in color. It was also not heavy on my pockets as such fruits and vegetables are always present in our kitchen. For example, I would always save a small piece of papaya or a slice of tomato to mash up and apply to my skin once I’m done with chores. In fact, a friend once asked me if the reason for the glow on my face was because I was enjoying love and that felt really good.

The last cream I was prescribed was Triglow and the dermatologist said it was the most effective cream in the world for curing pigmentation. In fact, it was helpful. I noticed a drastic lightening in pigmentation after using it for a few days. But the point was that he wanted her to heal completely so she could look normal again, which would take more time. The repeated visits to the doctor were already getting on my nerves and I decided to stop visiting her and continue with her latest prescription and natural remedies until the pigmentation healed.

There is still a small blurry patch on my forehead, but it is diminishing at a fairly slow rate. One thing I realized while going through all this anguish is that there is nothing better than our old natural remedies for our problems. Of course, serious illnesses require immediate and long-term medication, under the supervision of doctors. That’s how I started too. But if we take a deeper interest in these natural and herbal cures, we can live a better, healthier and more fruitful life. The only problem is time; we are all short of time and don’t have the patience to wait for our problems to be solved in this slow paced way.