Optimizing patient care with "natural" products: treatment of hyperpigmentation

Patients with skin of color suffer from different cutaneous issues when compared with skin of light complexion, and therefore management of the former must be representative of these variations. The most common pigmentary complaints in patients with skin of color are post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation, melasma and sun-induced hyperpigmentation. Often, patients with darker skin will turn to naturally occurring ingredients over synthetic analogues both to satisfy cultural preferences and to limit potential adverse effects that have been tied to synthetics. Science-based natural products can offer an attractive adjunct to conventional therapies that treat melasma, post-inflammatory hyperpigmentaion, and other dyschromias. Increasing data on the biological effects and the efficacy of natural therapies support the use of these complementary therapies in treating hyperpigmentation.