Dr C’s check-up:
“Beware the horrors of DIY skin treatments”
e focus on insecurities more when we’re anxious, and the huge surge in video calls during lockdown has led to many people fixating on small imperfections. But rather than seek professional advice, some are resorting to DIY solutions online – resulting in an increase in sales of freckle removal devices, which can lead to burns, scarring or worse.
WKNOW THE RISKS
These pen-like devices, which can be bought online for as little as £15, claim to be able to safely eliminate freckles, moles, age spots and dark pigmentation – but how safe a skin treatment is absolutely depends on who is doing it. With a professional laser device, a dermatologist will give a diagnosis, use the correct wavelength and calculate the extent of treatment needed. They will do a skin patch test to see how sensitive a patient is, take a full medical history, and check whether that person is taking medications that may cause an overreaction.
You won’t get any of that at home.
A SCAB OR CANCER?
The pens use thermal energy or electric current to burn the pigment, creating a wound that supposedly heals frecklefree. I’m gobsmacked they’re allowed to sell them. The idea that you can buy a device that burns away the thin and delicate skin on your face using a handy pen is horrific. Also, worryingly, you’re in danger of making skin cancer harder to detect, because what you think is a scab where the skin is healing, could in fact be a cancerous mole that needs treating.
IT COULD GET WORSE
The same is true of at-home chemical peels that contain more than 10 per cent trichloroacetic acid (TCA), because that is a medical grade peel that can only be performed by someone medically qualified. You can’t buy them in shops, but people source them online and they can result in horrific facial burns. Some home hair-removal lasers can have a similarly devastating effect if not used appropriately, while solutions sold to freeze skin tags may cause bleeding, infection and scarring. People may not realise that the healing and scarring process can cause tightening too, which may slightly alter facial features, leaving you with an asymmetry that would be hard to correct. You’re burning yourself, so you could get an ulcer, and you could also end up with worse pigmentation, or a permanent scar. Even with professional, in-salon laser treatments, that’s a potential risk – and the end result may be more noticeable than the harmless freckle you tried to remove.
SPOT DODGY CREAMS
I’ve also heard of people going online to source skin-bleaching products. It’s the same concern: by not getting medical advice, you could easily miss a diagnosis and end up disguising an underlying problem. Hydroxychloroquine is the bleaching agent that is often used to treat pigmentation, but when it’s prescribed you’ll be told exactly how to use it and how long for; your family history is taken into account – and we’ll know exactly what’s in the tube. If you buy it off the internet, you don’t know what you’re putting on your skin. In the same way it’s a bad idea to use at-home lasers, you should leave this kind of skin care to the professionals. The other chemical that’s sometimes used in skin-lightening products is mercury, which can damage your kidneys, cause scarring and – in extreme cases – can even lead to psychosis because it’s extremely toxic. The truth is you’d really struggle to find it in the UK, but people often buy it abroad, bring it here, and then sell it on. If it sounds extreme or looks odd, don’t go near it – and remember, if it isn’t for sale in your local pharmacy, it’s probably for a good reason.
The pandemic has upended life as we know it, so be aware that you may be obsessing about small imperfections because you’re anxious. We’ve also gone from a quick glance in
the mirror a few times a day, to hours spent looking at ourselves on screens, and that’s bound to make us feel self-conscious and possibly stressed.
GET ADVICE FIRST
People will have genuine skin concerns, but please don’t be tempted to buy “miracle cures” online – ask your GP what help is available. Even when I don’t prescribe a treatment, I will often suggest something to help. It’s not that you can’t do things at home, it’s that you need to do it with good advice. If you have a skin problem that is really upsetting, search Saveface.co.uk to find qualified, safe practitioners.