The glycopeel should be dry prior to the brightening cream. Also, you may wish to only use the glycopeel 4 to 5 times per week rather than everyday, as sometimes it can cause a bit too much exfoliation. The system is great though because it does make your skin healthier by decreasing skin reproduction time and decreasing that top layer of dead cells that gets uglier over time. Therefore, the sunscreen is extremely important (even in winter) because your skin is more susceptible to sun damage.

Enjoy!

Why does one need to re-apply sunscreen? One reason is that if you are getting continued sun, you are counting down the numbers of the SPF (whatever it is) as well as the UVA blcoking potential. In other words, if a sunscreen boasts an SPF of say 30, then potentially you can be out 30 times longer with the same amount of exposure as if you were wearing nothing. However, you also have incidental removers, such as scratching an itch, giving a hug, wiping your hair out of your face, etc. These remove the protective ability. Finally, reapplying can add “layers” that may be helpful to increase the physical barrier. It’s worth it.

Post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation (dark areas in response to trauma or injury) is common and can be tough. It occurs anywhere there has been inflammation, and it is often on the face of darker (types III through VI) skinned folks where blemishes were the culprit. It is tougher on the hands and the legs because the skin is slower to turn over on these areas than on the face. Therefore it is necessary to use something that will breakdown the stratum corneum (the top layer of dead keratin cells) and allow the penetration of the lightening product. In addition, a product that will increase cell turnover will enhance the efficacy of the treatment. That said, I often prescribe Tri-Luma for spot treatments because the tretinoin (generic Retin-A) turns the cells over faster and this causes the breakdown of the stratum corneum (because it literally is younger), while the hydroquinone (prescription bleaching agent) penetrates to decrease the production of melanin, thereby lightening the area. It also contains a mild steroid since both products can be somewhat irritating.

If you wanted something non-prescription, Lumixyl now has an additional product, GlycoPeel 20, that is applied prior to the application of Lumixyl. Since glycolic acid will also speed the cell turnover and decrease the stratum corneum resistence (though less efficiently than tretinoin) this combination greatly increases the efficacy of Lumixyl compared to using Lumixyl alone.

Kojic acid is an over-the-counter lightener that is frequently found in products, however it really is not strong enough to address what you describe.

Thanks for visiting and I hope this helps!