Yes the brown spots left after acne are indeed PIH.
- Pigmanorm’s active ingredients are retinoic acid and hydroquinone. The latter is a skin bleaching agent used for brown marks, including melasma and occasionally, brown PIH. I wouldn’t use hydroquinone as my first choice for PIH. Unsupervised, an overuse of hydroquinone can result in a permanent grayish discolouration of the skin called ochronosis.
- The two best creams for PIH are retinoic acid and azelaic acid. You need a prescription to buy both in Singapore. Good sunscreen is also important to prevent PIH from worsening in appearance.
- If both creams don’t work, other effective treatments are chemical peels and pulsed dye lasers etc (normally offered by dermatologists and aesthetic doctors in Singapore).
Do note that there’s a fine balance with using topical creams to improve PIH, and causing increased irritation/redness of the skin – which can lead to further pigmentation. I’d caution against using any of these topical products to the point of irritation/redness.
