Hyperpigmentation treatment in London, built around your skin tone
Hyperpigmentation is excess melanin sitting where you don't want it — dark marks after acne, patches after shaving or waxing, sun damage, or a general unevenness that makeup keeps covering. On medium and deeper skin tones it is both more common and easier to make worse, which is why the assessment matters as much as the laser.
- Skin types
- Fitzpatrick I–VI
- Typical course
- 4–6 sessions
- Spacing
- Every 4–6 weeks
- Downtime
- Usually a few hours of pinkness
Why hyperpigmentation happens
Melanocytes respond to injury and to UV by producing more pigment. Anything inflammatory — a spot, an ingrown hair, a scratch, a harsh peel, an aggressive laser — can leave a mark behind. That is post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation, and it is the single most common concern we see.
Sun exposure then locks it in. Pigment that would have faded over months stays for years because it is being re-stimulated every time you go outside without SPF.
Hormonal pigmentation behaves differently and needs a different plan — see our melasma page for that.
How we treat it
Every plan starts with a face-to-face consultation: Fitzpatrick typing, a history of what has already been tried, and an honest read on whether the pigment is epidermal, dermal or mixed. Depth determines how many sessions you will realistically need.
Pico Laser does most of the work. Its picosecond pulses fracture pigment mechanically rather than by heating the skin, so the inflammation that causes rebound pigmentation is kept to a minimum. On medium and deeper tones we patch test before treating a full area.
Where texture is involved as well as colour — pitted scarring, thickened skin, old surgical scars — we sequence in Erbium YAG or Fractional CO2 resurfacing once the pigment is calm.
Results only hold with daily SPF 50 and a home routine. We prescribe one as part of the course rather than treating and hoping.
What results look like
Most people see visible lightening after two to three sessions, with the fuller change over a course of four to six. Deeper dermal pigment takes longer than surface pigment, and we will tell you which you have at consultation rather than after you have paid for a course.
Our before and after gallery shows real clients across Fitzpatrick III–VI, unretouched.
Treatments we use for hyperpigmentation
First-line for pigment: shatters melanin with minimal heat, safe across Fitzpatrick I–VI.
Read more →Added when tone and texture need resurfacing together. King's Cross only.
Read more →For deeper textural damage alongside pigmentation. Swiss Cottage only.
Read more →Hyperpigmentation — your questions
Yes, with the right laser and the right settings. Picosecond lasers break pigment mechanically instead of by heating the skin, which dramatically lowers the risk of burns and rebound pigmentation. We patch test on medium and deeper skin tones before treating a full area.
Other concerns we treat
Melasma treatment in London for all skin tones. Conservative Pico Laser protocols plus a prescribed home routine to manage hormonal pigmentation long term.
Acne scar treatment in London for pitted scarring and post-acne dark marks. Pico, Erbium YAG and Fractional CO2 protocols safe for Fitzpatrick I–VI.
Laser stretch mark treatment in London for face and body. Erbium YAG and Fractional CO2 resurfacing protocols safe across Fitzpatrick I–VI.
Blueness by Oceania is a London laser clinic specialising in skin of colour, with VTCT Level 5 qualified practitioners across our Swiss Cottage (NW6) and King's Cross (N1) clinics.