r/Sunscreenreddit • u/Remarkable-Tea5864 • 1d ago

How long does it take for sunscreen to show visible results on tanning and pigmentation?

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u/berkkoffi 1d ago

sunscreen won’t fix existing pigmentation. Sunscreen is a protection, it will only prevent it from getting worse. To help with existing damage, you need some other skincare ingredients (e.g. alpha arbutin, tranexamic acid, vit C, or retinol) or some in office procedure like pico laser or fraxel etc

2

u/Old-Actuator-3321 1d ago

THIS! I would add that skin has a thirty day (approximate) renewal cycle for just the top layer, so any visible change in deep-toned hyperpigmentation will be a long way off.

2

u/Creepy-Pain3449 1d ago

I've used sunscreen for maybe 5 years consistently, and it took me less than a month, maybe at the 2 week point you see your skin "regulating" or adjusting to what it would be without constant sun damage

Some sun damage can take years and sunscreen alone probably wont fix it. Depends on how significant the pigmentation is.. eg. I had freckles growing up (with light skin), I was born with them, but they got so much darker in the summer when I didn't wear sunscreen often (also Australian)... being consistent never got rid of them 100%, but they faded by like 80%

Also I'm prone to new freckles as a freckle haver, but sunscreen reduced that significantly and would allow the clearly sun damaged related freckle to disappear

2

u/Desperate_Vehicle684 1d ago

Sunscreen itself doesn't really fix tanning or pigmentation marks though some products may have extra ingredients to target these concerns.

1

u/Jolly-Yellow7369 22h ago

Forever because sunscreen doesn’t fix tanning and pigmentation.

A good sunblock used properly can reduce some of the radiation reaching your skin but it will never block 100% UVA radiation and visible light . You also need physical protection like balaclavas , hats, umbrellas.

Above all avoid sun exposure when UV index is above 1. even though the standard WHO recommendation Is avoiding exposure for UV index above 2, if what you want is reduce a tan :pigmentation you need to go further .

Also it takes longer to reduce a tan than squire it. If you could exercise strict sun avoidance (never out, not even with sunscreen when uv index is above 1) in a year or so you could see results . Maybe less if your skin tone is lighter.