Get Glowing

A clear, translucent complexion isn’t just for celebs and those with cash to spare. With some effort, you too can have flawless skin. An expert from Clarins tells us more.

Portrait of Tammy Strobel
A clear, translucent complexion isn’t just for celebs and those with cash to spare. With some effort, you too can have flawless skin. An expert from Clarins tells us more.
Clarins
Clarins

There is no disputing that sunscreen is an important part of any beauty routine, especially in this part of the world where it’s almost always sunny. UV rays not only damage your skin, but also cause it to overproduce melanin, resulting in pigmentation marks.

In its attempt to address this skincare concern more effectively, Clarins has teamed up with French biological research centre Institut Curie to dig deeper into the root cause of sun spots. Their findings revealed that when in the presence of UV rays, melanocytes – the cell responsible for skin pigmentation – will overproduce melanin by 25 percent.

“This is due to exosomes, which serve as cell messengers that carry the message from the keratinocytes (the major cells of the epidermis) to the melanocytes to overproduce melanin,” explains Grace Tay, a trainer from Clarins.

With this new-found knowledge, the skincare brand has developed its new Clarins White Plus Pure Translucency Tri-Intensive Brightening Serum, which aims to stop the message from reaching your skin’s melanocytes.

“It contains acerola fruit extract, which has the ability to inhibit the message contained within exosomes and reduce melanin overproduction by 24.5 percent to effectively counterbalance the exosome impact on melanin synthesis,” says Grace. She also adds that you should be able to see the results in 28 days, the amount of time the skin takes to renew itself.

Still not getting that spotless and glowing complexion? Then it might be worth your while to take a closer look at the other aspects of your skincare routine.

“It could be due to not finding the right homecare regime for your skin concerns or the right application method,” says Grace. “It could even be due to your lifestyle. For example, you may have a lifestyle that involves long hours of continued UV exposure without sufficient protection for your skin,” she adds.

Clarins White
Plus Pure 
Translucency
Tri-Intensive
Brightening 
Serum
(30ml), $130
Clarins White Plus Pure Translucency Tri-Intensive Brightening Serum (30ml), $130

What causes hyperpigmentation?

Here are the three major reasons for those stubborn spots.

1 SKIN INJURY

Post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation happens after a wound is exposed to UV rays. That’s because your injured skin is trying to prevent further damage with more melanin.

2 HORMONAL CHANGES

For some women, changes in hormone levels – which can occur during pregnancy, for example – can affect the production of melanin.

3 EXPOSURE TO UV RAYS

Going outdoors without sufficient sun protection can cause patches of hyperpigmentation to appear, due to the increase in melanin production.