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hello i'm dr anita ratan and this
channel is dedicated to skincare for
skin of color as you know i'm a doctor
but i'm also a cosmetic formulator
specifically for skin of color
so today's video is all about bikini
hyperpigmentation
it's something uh that tends to affect
um
females of color it tends to occur
during puberty
and simultaneously um darkening happens
not just of the bikini area but also of
the underarm area
and also around the mouth area too
so what happens is during puberty there
your melanocytes become triggered and
that's normal
and actually having bikini pigmentation
is normal there are a few things that
can make the situation worse
and that is uh the number one cause is
ingrown hairs
so when we um
shave uh pubic hair for example the hair
shaft becomes
sharp and it curls back and can
re-pierce the skin
when this happens it is seen as a
foreign body and there's an inflammatory
response there's irritation and that can
lead to redness and then
hyperpigmentation
so imagine over years this can
this can just get worse and worse and i
think
it really does affect females especially
if you
are completely headless in that area in
addition to this
when you shave the area you can also get
a razor burn
just because of that closed contact and
that friction and that can also
lead to inflammation which triggers the
melanocytes and makes the pigmentation
darker
this is one of the reasons i do prefer
hot wax for this area
rather than shaving but if you do love
to shave then what i would say is it's
essential to soften
the hair and the skin with your shaving
cream
and water you need to use a single blade
not multiple blades single blade
sharp razor and just a single pass as
well don't keep going over the area
again and again because you're
increasing your chances of
inflammation and pigmentation other
really important thing is make sure in
this area you're not you're using
nafe safe products that means no
denation alcohol no fragrance no
essential oils
because again the last thing we want
here is contact dermatitis
which can lead to inflammation again
hyperpigmentation
the other thing that can make
pigmentation worse is any form of
friction or chafing
so this is why we say wear loose
underwear loose knickers because i don't
want that friction happening from the
cloth
all day long if you find that the
pigmentation is spreading
down to the inner thighs then what i
would say is make sure you start wearing
cycling shorts and heights because i
don't want
thighs rubbing together that is going to
lead to more friction this tends to be
worse in the summer to be honest because
of sweating because now the friction is
leading to burns
um and that's something we really need
to avoid
and the third thing you're going to
notice if you go through pregnancy is
the area can get darker during pregnancy
which is normal and is temporary
as we get older as you get older as we
get more pregnant
and you can't even see your feet you
definitely can't see anything else
you might not even notice it now
whatever is causing it
whether it's hormonal whether it's
friction whether
it's re-entry of pubic hair which is
leading to ingrowns and
hyperpigmentation the mechanism of
action is the same
tyrosine converts to melanin using the
enzyme
tyrosines tyrosinase controls the rate
of that reaction
if we can slow down tyrosinase that
enzyme you will slow down the rate
of conversion from tyrosine
to melanin and so really that is the
enzyme to target this is why we always
talk about tyrosinase inhibitors
it's a category of ingredients that
targets
the enzyme tyrosinase to slow it down
and slow down the rate of mending
production
when you slow it down in the melanocyte
what happens is
less melanin then seeps into the skin
cells around it
so when these skin cells come to the
surface you don't see as much
hyperpigmentation
now the ideal ingredients for bikini
pigmentation
need to be tyrosinase inhibitors that
don't irritate
the skin because the skin here is very
delicate
you don't want to be using low ph
actives or acids in this area
just in case it goes inside by accident
and also make sure that these
ingredients are only used for external
use only i.e where hair grows from
not inside that's the mucosa that skin
is different and you can't use these
actives on it
so when i'm talking about bikini
pigmentation i'm talking about the pubic
area where hair grows
um not internal right so the ingredients
that i love
would be azelaic acid niacinamide
alpha arbutin phytic acid licorice
extract
burberry extract tetrahexal decoloscope
that's your fat soluble vitamin c
sodium is called phosphate that's your
water soluble vitamin c
retinol retinal retinaldehyde and
retinol palmitate i also love kojic
dipalmatate i love
octadecanic acid it's one of my favorite
tyrosinase inhibitors
it's so effective we don't use it enough
and it's great for skin of color
um i love lactic acid and then i also
want you to use
ceramides humectants those are water
magnets so these are skin restoring
ingredients
um emollients and anti-inflammatories
because don't forget when you're using
this number of actives you want to be
calming the melanocytes at the same time
and actually often the cause of the
pigmentation is
inflammation so that's the other reason
why anti-inflammatories are so important
treating bikini pigmentation
so can you guess yes i looked and there
are no
products out there with all these
actives in it that are ideal
for bikini pigmentation you know you
might find one
product that has alpha arbutin you might
have one product that
has you know retinol you might find one
product that has
kojic diplomate for example but you're
not gonna find a product that has
all of these actives in one kit
so guess what i did i decided to make it
for you
i created the world's first bikini
pigmentation kit
for skin of color i am so
excited about this one it's actually a
really big kit it's three
pieces in this kit so this
is the mask and let me show you what it
looks like inside it's like a jelly
that's your tub rosin is inhibiting
jelly mask
and it is soothing for the area next we
have
your bikini active so this is what it
looks
like just taking a bit just to rub it in
to show you
and again this is loaded with tyrosinase
inhibitors
and lastly we have your bikini hydra and
that's what it looks like
it is your skin soothing moisturizer
it's got
aloe it's got your niacinamide and it's
a fatty
moisturizer which creates a healing
environment for the skin and you apply
this either on top of the mask or on top
of your hydra
on top of your actor sorry so the way it
works is two to three nights a week you
apply your mask on clean skin
and you leave it on for about five to
ten minutes if there's no irritation
you apply your moisturizer hydra on top
the remaining four to five nights you
apply
your active that's your tyrosinase
inhibiting cream
followed by your hydra that's your
moisturizer if you've shaved or waxed
then please wait for one week before you
use the kit
if you are doing laser hair removal i
tend to say wait four weeks because
just in case there's any irritation from
laser i don't want that
irrita um that irritated skin than
having actives being put on it is
only going to lead to issues for you
make sure you use this
on unbroken healthy skin please
avoid on a damaged skin barrier if the
skin is red
burgundy sore irritated inflamed
then you do not want to be applying high
strength actives to it
also please please remember this is for
external use only
i.e where the hair grows from not
internal mucosa this kit is expensive
this kit costs 120 pounds per kit please
do not purchase it if the
if it's not affecting your quality of
life the only reason i made this
is because of the number of messages
i've received from women
with skin of color and there was
absolutely nothing that i could
offer to them i couldn't even say can
you go and purchase this
thing or this thing because the area in
this
this skin is delicate and you have to be
very careful
um so this is the only reason i made it
and
so this kit does only if it's affecting
your quality of life it's absolutely
normal to have bikini pigmentation it
happens during puberty
um but i think it affects some more than
others and i just wanted you
to have something safe to use the other
question i get asked is dr v how
may how long does it last when do i
start seeing results
um i tend to say if you've had
pigmentation for
years then it may take six full cell
cycles
so that's approximately six months one
kit can last you anything from three
months to six months depending
on how much you're using i tend to say
about four months it's going to last you
so just do
i would say purchase one kit first see
how you get on see if you're happy at
that four or five month
mark if you are great don't need
anything else if you think actually
i'm starting to see results but i'd like
to do you know buy one more kit then
that's absolutely fine too
once you've seen results then you as
long as you don't
re-trigger your melanocytes i.e no more
ingrown hairs
i.e um less friction happening from
knickers etc then you shouldn't have to
do this again so the aim of this is to
calm down the melanocyte
and bring it back to a lower level that
you can just maintain
the other thing to note is the results
do vary from person to person and it's
not a guarantee it really does depend on
your compliance but also how resistant
your cells are
you can purchase the kit from skincare
by dr v it is now
available um and i'll put the link down
below for you don't forget i'm in the
comment section for one hour at the
launch of every single video so please
do come and ask me your questions
um don't forget to download your free
guide for skincare for skin of color the
link is down below
and please do follow me on instagram at
the high pigmentation clinic skincare by
dr v
and also on tick tock with dr mita rasa
thank you very much
