Skin Lightening At A Glance
- Best Results3-10 treatments
- Treatment Recovery0-1 days
- Procedure Time30-60 min
- Skin SpecialistDavin Lim, Clinical team
- Duration of ResultsMonths
- AnaestheticNumbing
- Back to WorkImmediately
- Cost$-$$
Skin lightening- skin brightening programs
We now have the technology and experience to lighten and brighten all skin types, including ethnic and Asian skin. We use a combination of lasers including Fraxel, LaseMD & pico lasers. I often combine lasers with compounded creams for better results.
FactsFacts on skin lightening and brightening
- Our brightening and lighten programs consists of a combination of peels, lasers and unique creams
- Some forms of pigmentation can be lightened including age, ethnic, as well as hormonal related pigmentation
- Age spots, freckles, and sun spots are the easiest to treat
- Hormonal and pregnancy related pigmentation takes a few weeks before results are seen
- Skin lightening can also treat racial pigmentation- lasers creams and sunscreen can fade darker skin types
- Genetic or constitutional lightening is the hardest to treat
How do we lighten and brighten skin?
Skin Lightening
Bespoke treatments that are individualised for YOUR skin type gives the best results. I use a combination of prescription or compounded creams, hand picked medical grade products, peels, and lasers. We match each one to your skin condition, as well as your skin type (your ethnic skin colour).
I can also lighten your ethnic skin colour (a shade lighter), with the use of SPF, creams, and lasers.
Pregnancy and hormonal related pigmentation, most often due to melasma, can also be effectively treated.
What is fractional laser and how does it work?
Fraxel & LaseMD are our favourite laser for lightening and brightening skin for all ethnic skin types, including Caucasian and Ethnic skin. This laser is flexible as it can be customised to treat sun damage, pigmentation, sun-spots, wrinkles, and even scars.
Fraxel, LaseMD & Clear & Brilliant lasers are all forms of fractional laser resurfacing, meaning only parts of your skin’s surface is treated with laser. This means faster healing times, with the added benefit of safety.
What other lasers do we use to lighten and brighten skin?
Picosure laser can be used in paint brightening mode. This laser is the oldest pico laser on the market. I did use if from 2015 to 2019, however this first generation pico laser is now replaced with third generation devices. It works by breaking up pigment and decreasing pigment production. Treatments are quick, painless, most of all this laser has no downtime, meaning you can wear make up immediately after the procedure.
This laser is ideal for the treatment of ethnic skin types include sun & age induced pigmentation as well as hormonal pigmentation or melasma.
What special creams do we use to lighten skin?
We use a mixture of both compounded creams and several specialist range products that actually do work!
Depending on your skin type, we use a combination of vitamin A, B, Cs as well as bleaching agents such as kojic acid, arbutin, botanicals, soy & alpha hydroxy acids. Each patient is different, and we formulate a unique concentration for your skin based upon careful examination.
View our Treatment Gallery
Do I perform skin lightening injections?
No. The reason behind this is the short duration of action of glutathione. IV injections are required every 1-2 weeks. Recurrence is seen in all patients. This is the reason I do not perform skin lightening injections.
How can I treat dark circles?
This is one of the most requested treatments. Treatment follows an extremely complex algorithm as treatment will depend on the cause. In short I employ the use of lasers, chemical peels, skin care & dermal fillers to help improve skin pigmentation under the eyes.
Some forms of skin pigmentation, including post inflammatory, eczema, atopic dermatitis, & contact dermatitis are best managed by my medical colleagues. Constitutional or ethnic-race related pigmentation is the hardest to treat.
Hori nevus treated with low fluence QSL
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👉Condition: Late onset dermal melanocytosis, commonly seen in Asian women 20-40 yo. Concurrent background melasma makes it challenging to treat in some
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🔫Effective treatment options: QSL nano, 1064> 532, Pico 1064> 532. Traditionally high fluence with 2-4 mm spot size (to get enough energy & end point). This patient responded to low fluence 1064 (failed pico at high fluence). This ‘low power’ technique has been reported in the literature, however most of us use the high power setting
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👌🏻This B+A from the combined talent of our nursing team at Cutis Dermatology
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👩🏽Pigment? Our nurses can manage most cases of pigment, from common causes, to rarer conditions including Hori, Ota, drug induced pigment, traumatic tattoos & constitutional cases. If you have pigment, book a consultation with them. I do get involved in complex cases
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😎Davin Lim
Dermatologist
Brisbane🇦🇺
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#drdavinlim #skincare #skincaretips #skincarescience #skingoals #melasmatreatment #dermatologistbrisbane #dermatology #horinaevus
#ethnicskincare
More on this tonight at Candela’s Frax Pro meeting @candelamedicalanz
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🔎Aim: Combine Picoway + Frax Pro, safely in Asian-Ethnic skin type
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🔫Lasers: Frax Pro 5-10 mJ, 30 % density with extra passes at session two for 60+ % in select areas. Picoway 532 + 1064
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2️⃣Sessions: two only (combined lasers in each)
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👉Comment: Still learning how far we can push the 1940 in the context of ethnic skin
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😁Concept: two superficial treatments may have different cytokine expressions that may be synergistic. We are not looking at pigment reduction (easy with the Picoway to achieve), we’re looking at collagen production & reduction of wrinkles in darker skin types with the minimal number of treatments & S/E
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👊🏻More tonight
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😎Davin Lim
Dermatologist
Brisbane🇦🇺
#frax #fraxpro #fractionallaser #candela #laserresurfacing #pico #picoway #Picolaser #ethnicskin #drdavinlim #davinlim #collagen
One session pico laser using the 532 nm wavelength by Alison @cliniccutis
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👉How we employ pico: Post inflammatory hyperpigmentation, general dyschromia in darker skin types, #Ota, enlarged pores in dark skin, early #acnescars with minimal volume loss
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🔫The device: Picoway, with 532 for #lentigos followed by 1064 for general toning
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🔬The logic: pico lasers in this skin type reduces unwanted side effects, namely post inflammatory hyperpigmentation. This is based on probability not possibility
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🧐When I still use nano/ QSL: CALM, #melasma, age spots & lentigines in skin type 1- 2 & some 3 (relative risk)
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👎🏼What pico is NOT great for: Atrophic acne scars, melasma (I prefer a higher predictability), solar keratosis, one session skin rejuvenation in lighter skin types (fractional laser does a much better job), deep wrinkles, skin laxity
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🧐Davin Lim
Dermo
Brisbane🇦🇺
@cliniccutis
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#dermatologist #drdavinlim #picosure #picoway #enlighten #agespots #picolaser #picotoning #skinlightening #skinbrightening #ethnicskin #cosmeticclinicbrisbane #dermatologyclinic
This is one of the most challenging cases in laser dermatology. Far more complex than vascular or ablative work, given the skin type. This was after ONE session using 532 +1064 wavelength by Alison at Clinic Cutis. Further improvement expected after another session💯
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🔬Skin science: This is a lentigo. It’s relatively easy to treat if you have light skin, but this is extremely complex for skin of colour, it is not about treating the lesion, it is about reducing the risks of dyspigmentation with the treatment of choice
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🔫Lasers: The safest is the pico laser. This provides fading with a low chance of post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation (about 5-8% in this skin type). Alison’s used two wavelengths on the Picoway, 532 for the lesion & 1064 for general ‘toning’
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👊 A second treatment will give better results
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👉Nano: can treat, but much higher risk of PIH
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👉Fractional lasers: Can treat, will take 4-6 sessions, far more effective & efficient ways
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🍌Peels: not a good idea
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🧴Creams: won’t do much, but tyrosinase inhibitors before and after can reduce PIH, SPF mandatory
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😎Davin Lim
Dermatologist
Brisbane🇦🇺
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#ethnicskin #pigmentation #skinbrightening #skinlightening #drdavinlim #picolaser #picosure #picoway #picotoning #skinrejuvenation
I find these lesions really hard to treat (with predictability). Lentigos in skin types 3+ & above is my pet hate, purely based upon the risk:benefit ratio of treatments coupled with the probability of resolution. On the contrary, this lesion in skin type 1-2 rarely poses any problems
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🤔Clearance vs PIH vs number of treatments: I used a 532 nano QSL for this job. If I treat 10 similar lesions of the same skin type, it’s a gold medal for 7, & crash & burn with post inflammatory pigmentation in 3. Luck was on my side for this case, so don’t think for a second I can predictably replicate this result 🎲🎲
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🔫Pico lasers: offer SAFER treatments with less PIH, but on the flipside, much less predictable cf nano lasers. For lighter skin types with lentigos, my preference is still nano over pico, but in darker skin types, a series of 2-4 sessions of pico can be effective. In some cases it is more of a ‘fade’. In thinner & smaller lesions, pico can completely ‘remove’. The answer may lie in shorter PD nano lasers with a better flat top beam profile
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😎Davin Lim
Dermatologist
Brisbane🇦🇺
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#dermatologist #brisbanedermatology #pigmentation #skinlightening #picosure #spectralaser #hollywoodspectra #skinbrightening #picolaser #picoway #agespots
I cringe at the words ‘natural’ & ‘organic’. Guilty of throwing them around to get the job done. Hydroquinone is one of the best pigment correctors, however there are 3 main (proven) problems with it.
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1️⃣Firstly it can be irritating to some, even in low concentrations. Hence why I prefer a stand alone as I can titrate
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2️⃣It is not widely available in Asia, Africa & some European countries
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3️⃣Long term use can lead to tachyphylaxis & exogenous ochronosis
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🍊Natural’ pigment inhibitors are useful during the off phase of HQ, as part of rotational therapy, or adjunct in the am. An example is L-ascorbic acid in am which functions as an antioxidant & as a tyrosinase inhibitor
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👉There are many novel ‘natural’ pigment inhibitor formulations including #Meladerm, #Melarase, #Melacream. Botanicals (technically lab made in some) such as liquorice root, citric acid, #arbutin, azelaic acid, kojic acid & bearberries are the main ingredients in these anti-pigment formulations
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👍🏻Melasma patients: Be guided by the nurse I have assigned to your case. They will guide you as to how to titrate your topicals & when to integrate non-HQ ‘organic’ topicals into your routine. Rotate & titrate as per their instructions. Your actual program will depend on what stage you are at in your treatment program
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😎Davin Lim
Dermatologist
Brisbane, Australia🇦🇺
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#dermatologist #melasma #skinlighening #skinbrightening #pigmentationtreatment #skincare #organicskincare #naturalskincare
Can chemical peels help with dark spots and dots?
Yes. My Specialist Nurses can employ a range of chemical peels including AHAs, BHAs, and Vitamin A peels. Chemical peels have minimal or no downtime and can be tailored to your skin type.
Peels can also improve skin texture, and tone, as well as decrease fine wrinkles. (Wrinkle improvement is seen with a series of peels, usually over a few months).
Here are some of the peels we perform –
- AHA Glycolic Peels, Neostrata – Clinical Range (up to 70%)
- Lactic acid peels
- Vita Peels- High strength retinoic acid
- TCA- low strength
- Jessner Peels
- TCA CROSS- high strength (By Dr Davin Lim, Dermatologist)
Can pregnancy or the pill associated skin pigmentation be treated?
Yes, this is a special form of skin pigmentation called melasma. We can treat this condition with gentle lasers, creams, & peels including the Cosmelan & Dermamelan peel. Never treat melasma with IPL or Microneedling as this condition can worsen.
Our laser protocols have been developed by Dr Davin Lim, Specialist Dermatologist. We use a combination of high factor SPF, lightening creams, and Picosure laser to achieve the highest success rate possible. Melasma or hormonal pigmentation must be treated gently, or the condition may worsen.
How long will it take to lighten and brighten my skin?
This depends on the diagnosis. Freckles and sunspots take the least amount of time to fade, whilst racial or ethic pigmentation can take a few weeks before you notice results.
Conditions such as melasma may take up to 4 weeks before you see improvement, whilst age spots can be lightened within one session.
Can we treat Ethnic and Asian skin types safely?
Yes we can. We regularly see skin of colour and can safely and effectively lighten and brighten all skin types- including darker skin patients. We have unique settings on our Fraxel laser as well as pico & nano lasers to help improve skin colour, clarity and collagen.
Age spots, dark spots, as well as background pigmentation can be lightened with a combination of lasers and creams.
How much are treatments?
- Chemical peels start from $98
- Lasers from $179 to $1290
Laser treatments for brown spots and skin lightening are not covered by Medicare.
Why are we one of Brisbane’s most experienced laser centrers and what makes us different?
Skin lightening and brightening is a science of diagnosis and management.
Experience and equipment makes us unique. Dr Davin Lim has undertaken further laser training in Malaysia and Singapore, enabling him to confidently and successfully treat Ethnic and Asian skin types. He also lectures in these countries.
Davin’s viewpoint on skin lightening and brightening
Skin tightening, and brightening can be achieved with a variety of lasers, peels and products. Firstly, identifying the type of pigmentation is very important. Why? Because ideal lightening depends on the cause. Ethnic skin can be taken one ‘skin type’ or one shade back, meaning darker races can be lightened. The extremely high UV index in Brisbane means that even though treatments are effective, the use of a high SPF sunscreen is essential for maintenance.
Brightening skin due to hormonal or pregnancy related changes (called the mask of pregnancy or melasma) can be challenging. This is a special form of pigmentation and lightening must be gentle, or darkening can occur. Specialist formulated creams form the basis of treatment, along with a high factor sunscreen. This is a unique form of pigmentation that responds better to gentle Picosure laser treatments, than Fraxel laser.
Fraxel, LaseMD, Picoway & the Clear & Brilliant laser are my favourite lasers for sun damage, sun spots and freckles. In some cases I combine fractional lasers with IPL, in other patients I use Fraxel then follow this up with pico lasers. As with all treatments performed at Cutis Clinic, a tailored program gives the best results.
