MELASMA, SUN DAMAGE AND DARK MARKS
Pigmentation that creams have not shifted.
Melasma, sun damage and the marks spots leave behind look alike. They are not treated alike. A consultation maps where the colour sits and how deep it goes before anything is planned.
Free, about 40 minutes, in London, Birmingham or Manchester. A written plan and the price before you decide.
Does this sound like you?
Most people recognise themselves in two or three of these. Tick what you notice and see which pattern it points to, and what a practitioner would check.
TICK WHAT YOU NOTICE
WHAT HAVE YOU TRIED?
WHAT THIS TELLS YOU
Tick one or more and this fills in.
Pigmentation is usually one of 3 patterns: melasma, sun pigmentation, post-inflammatory marks. The ticks show which yours most resembles.
How we treat pigmentation
Most people are offered the Miracle Skin Programme first. A medical peel lifts the colour out, treatments then calm the cells that make it, and protection keeps it away. Pigment sits at several depths, so a programme is a short series of visits, each lifting one layer.
- 1A written plan built at your consultation
- 2A short series of visits, three to six over six to ten weeks
- 3Combinations of peels, laser resurfacing, RF microneedling and skin boosters chosen for your skin
- 4Protection and home care between visits
A standard course is three to six visits over six to ten weeks. You will know your number, in writing, before you decide.
“Now two months into the programme, I’m already seeing visible results, which is incredibly encouraging.”
What happens at your consultation
- 1Where the colour sits and how deep it goes
- 2Which of the three kinds of pigmentation you have
- 3Your skin type, and the time of year
- 4A written plan with the number of visits and the price. No obligation.
Where it usually comes from
- Sun over many years
- Hormones (melasma often appears in pregnancy or with contraception)
- Marks left behind by spots or injuries
- Heat and friction on the body
IN DEPTH · FOR THOSE WHO WANT THE WHY
Pigmentation, explained properly
What is happening in the skin
Skin colour comes from melanin, made by cells called melanocytes in the lowest layer of the epidermis and handed upward into the surrounding skin cells. Pigmentation is simply melanin in the wrong amount or the wrong place. Sun, hormones, heat, friction and inflammation can all tell melanocytes to make more of it, and once a patch has formed the skin keeps replacing it from below.
Three common kinds look alike from the outside. Sun-related pigmentation tends to sit on the areas that catch most light: the forehead, cheekbones, nose, upper lip and the backs of the hands. Melasma forms symmetrical, soft-edged patches, often on the cheeks, forehead and upper lip, and is strongly linked to hormones and heat. Post-inflammatory marks are the flat, darker patches left behind after a spot, a graze or a treatment that was too aggressive for the skin.
Why it is so hard to shift at home
Creams and serums work on the surface. Much of the colour sits deeper, and the skin replaces its top layer roughly every four weeks, so a product that lightens the surface is working on pigment the skin would soon have shed anyway while the source below carries on. That is why pigmentation often looks better for a few weeks and then returns.
Depth also explains why it fades in bands rather than in one go. Each cycle of skin renewal can only lift the layer that has reached the surface. A plan that respects that rhythm, with visits spaced to match it, tends to look slower at first and steadier over a course.
How a plan is built at the consultation
The practitioner looks at where the colour sits and how deep it goes, usually under good light and often with a skin scanner, and at which kind of pigmentation you have, because the three are not treated the same way. Skin type, the time of year and what you have already tried all change the plan.
Most people with pigmentation are offered the Miracle Skin Programme, where a medical peel lifts the colour out, treatments then calm the cells that make it, and protection keeps it away. Single treatments such as peels, laser resurfacing or skin boosters are discussed where they fit. The plan and the price are written down before you decide, and daily sun protection is part of every plan because without it the colour comes back.
Educational information, not a diagnosis. Your practitioner examines your skin in person before anything is planned.
Questions people ask before booking
Why does pigmentation fade in layers rather than in one go?
Pigment sits at several depths and the skin takes about four weeks to replace each layer. Each visit lifts one band of it, which is why the clinic never sells a single session for deep pigmentation.
Is winter a better time?
Freshly treated skin is more sensitive to the sun for several weeks, so the darker months are the easiest time to treat pigmentation. Summer is still possible with care.
Is the consultation really free?
Yes. About 40 minutes, in person, in London, Birmingham or Manchester. You leave with a written plan and the price. No obligation.
How much will it cost?
It depends on what your skin needs. Your figure is written into your plan at the free consultation, before you decide, and there are flexible instalment options with no interest or admin fees.
How many visits, and how long?
A standard course is three to six visits over six to ten weeks. If there is a date you are working to, count back ten weeks and tell us.
Does it hurt?
Most treatments feel like warmth, tingling or a quick sting rather than pain, and numbing cream is used where it helps. The practitioner tells you exactly what to expect for your treatment before you decide, and you can stop at any point.
How many visits will I need?
It depends on the treatment and on your skin. Many plans are three to six visits over six to ten weeks; some single treatments are one visit. Your written plan says the number before you pay for anything.
When will I see a difference, and how long does it last?
Some treatments show a change within days; those that work by building collagen take six to twelve weeks to show fully. How long results last depends on the treatment, your skin and how well it is protected from the sun. The practitioner gives you a realistic timeline rather than a promise.
What is the downtime?
Anything from none to a few days of redness or peeling, depending on the treatment. Each treatment page says what to expect, and the plan is timed around your diary where it matters, for example before an event.
Is it safe for darker skin?
Darker skin has more active pigment cells and marks more easily, so settings and treatments are chosen for your skin type and some are avoided. Tell us your skin type at the consultation and the plan is built around it.
Who should not have it?
Pregnancy, some medications, active infections and certain medical conditions rule some treatments out. The consultation goes through this with you, and if a treatment is not suitable the practitioner says so and suggests what will work instead.
Conditions in this group
Often looked at together
Real results for pigmentation
See every result
Trexyne peel — 1 day after treatment 
Forehead pigmentation — Miracle Skin Programme with Trexyne 
Before visiting The Clinic Room 
After the Miracle Skin Programme
Each caption says what was done; some patients had a combined plan. Results vary from person to person. Every photograph is a Clinic Room patient who agreed to share it, and your consultation is where we say what is realistic for you.
Our clinics
London
1st Floor, 50 Essex Street, Strand
London WC2R 3JFBirmingham
214C Hagley Road
Birmingham B16 9PHManchester
Cheetham Hill Shopping Centre, 40 Bury Old Road
Manchester M8 5DP
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