Hyperpigmentation or the darkening of the skin in the genital, perianal and upper thigh areas are increasingly one of the reasons patients visit our clinic. Although there are no functional implications and for many women it is a matter that is unimportant, for other women it can cause low levels of self-esteem and can affect their sex life, as they try to avoid having these areas seen by their partner.
Further to previous posts in our blog, nowadays the total depilation of intimate areas is quite common, however it does leave the skin that was previously covered naturally by hair entirely exposed.
Some of the causes that can play a part in the changes to skin tone are related to age, fluctuations in the levels of certain hormones such as insulin, pregnancy related issues, regular use of bicycles, horse riding, often wearing tight-fitting clothes, or a general individual predisposition to skin pigmentation disorders where other risk factors have not been identified.
Genital whitening treatments attempt to correct the excess pigmentation and restore the colour of the skin to the rest of the body in accordance with the race of the patient.
In general, around three sessions are necessary, although this number can change on a case-by-case basis, with each treatment taking approximately 30 minutes, and subsequently repeated every month until the treatment cycle is complete.
Patients will have to be initially evaluated to see if there are possible underlying hormonal causes as these, if left untreated, will impact how effective and durable the treatment will be.
