Banish Pigment with Retinol

Thank you for attending this year’s ASCP Spring Education Summit: Hyperpigmentation! Dr. Ben Johnson, founder and CEO of Osomosis Beauty, kicked off the summit with the session “Banish Pigment with Retinol.” He has found that the skin and body are capable of healing themselves with the proper tools and the removal of toxic influences. 

If you missed Dr. Ben Johnson’s session, he answered some of your thought-provoking questions below. ASCP members can now access all the sessions and certificates from the 2023 Spring Skin Care Summit on demand.  

Not yet an ASCP member? Join Associated Skin Care Professionals today and receive instant access! 

1. Can you lighten liver spots like you can lighten age spots? 

Not exactly. I find true age spots, ones caused by the sun, can be healed through healing the epidermis using Osmosis Rescue (mainly) and Osmosis Catalyst. Liver spots are from dermal inflammation, so they require liver repair for permanent changes to happen. Both can be lightened using tyrosinase inhibitors but liver spots are notoriously harder to lighten because of their different/dermal source.  

 

2. Would supplements for liver care (like milk thistle) assist in care of patients with melasma? 

I have not found this to be effective. Milk Thistle is fine . . . but oversold since it only provides mild detox effects. True liver repair requires a unique approach; repair of oxidative damage caused by certain medication including hormones, Accutane, and others, and structural repair, which I have found can only be accomplished with a unique formula Osmosis calls Regenerate. 

 

3. As the liver heals, do the skin conditions from the liver damage heal? 

Yes! It is fun to watch but often takes several months to accomplish.

 

4. Would you say one in two years is OK for chemical peel? 

Sure. Again, it depends on the aggressiveness of the peel. Avoid TCA and phenol, for example, as they can leave long-term scarring. 

 

5. I'm still in school and this may or not have relevance to hyperpigmentation or retinols, but when you spoke of repair collagen, does that also apply to microneedling treatments? I suffer from acne scars. 

Yes it does. Microneedling is only effective for dermal acne scars if it breaks up adhesions in the process. It is not working because it creates collagen. As I said, shallow microneedling triggers collagen to repair the holes created, not to make you younger. Osmosis Catalyst is the only topical serum in the world that reverses acne scarring (You can check out our before and afters). With both acid peels and laser peels, there’s limited success and they often require being too aggressive and leaving other long-term effects. Check out www.xtract.com for a scar procedure that works really well on whatever Osmosis Catalyst cannot fix over 4 months. 

 

6. What medical conditions or skin care ingredients can induce or trigger hyperpigmentation? 

Chemical or laser peels most commonly, acne scars, and PIH from chronicle inflamed wounds.  

 

7. Does sunscreen play a negative effect on the melanin cycle? 

I am not sure about this. I have never read anything about it in the literature.

 

8. Would taking a progesterone and estrogen combination birth control also cause hyperpigmentation? 

Yes, melasma specifically. This occurs in at least 33 percent of individuals who take this combination.

 

9. How do diabetic shots that are used to control insulin response and aid in weight loss affect the skin? 

Oh man, that product is very toxic. Research is now showing that the weight loss it creates is primarily from muscle atrophy (66 percent of it) and much less from fat loss. It is toxic to the liver. Stay away. 

 

10. Wasn't hydroquinone banned in the USA? Any thoughts on that? 

Hydroquinone was only banned when used over 2 percent. I think doctors can still make/prescribe higher amounts. It is poisonous to the skin and body and should be avoided, as it is not a permanent treatment in the first place.