Skin Chemistry with Dee

Not all dark spot serums work the same way — here’s how 5 score for brown skin. 👇

The good ones work on pigment through more than one pathway. My scores:

Remedy for Dark Spots (Dr. Muneeb Shah) — 9/10
SkinCeuticals Discoloration Defense — 9/10
Topicals Faded — 8.5
Dr Sam’s Flawless Brightly Pro — 8/10
Murad Rapid Dark Spot Correcting Serum — 5 (alcohol sits second on the list)

Serums work on the look of marks — sunscreen keeps the cycle from restarting.

Save this for your next serum shop. 🧪

I made all 5 of these hyperpigmentation mistakes — ranked by how much damage each one was doing 👇

For years I couldn’t work out why my dark marks weren’t shifting. Turns out I was the problem. Worst to least:

10/10 — Skipping daily SPF. UV and visible light don’t take days off, so the pigment-making cells stay switched on. I now wear two sunscreens every single day.

9/10 — Over-exfoliating. Strong multi-acid pads every other day felt like progress, then backfired hard. Now: a gentle acid like mandelic, twice a month. That’s it.

8/10 — Stacking too many actives. My skin sat in constant low-level inflammation — and inflammation is one of the things that tells those pigment cells to make more. Now I alternate: one active AM, one PM.

7/10 — Ignoring my barrier. A lot of actives disrupt the barrier a little — that’s part of how they work. If you’re not putting the ceramides and lipids back, it stacks up night after night. I keep barrier creams and serums on rotation to support it.

6/10 — Inconsistency. You never reach the cumulative payoff if you keep starting over. I build slowly and give a routine 3 full months before I judge it.

Sharing what worked for my skin — yours may respond differently. Patch test, always.
Which one stings a little because you’re doing it right now?

Not a dermatologist — just a very research-obsessed mum and former chemistry teacher sharing what worked for my daughter alongside guidance from healthcare professionals.

Severe acne absolutely deserves proper medical support, and this won’t be right for everyone. Always patch test before introducing anything new.

My daughter’s acne cleared in 30 days — this is her exact routine. 🧴
𝗔𝗠
Haruharu Wonder Black Rice Moisture 5.5 Soft Cleansing Gel
COSRX Salicylic Acid Daily Gentle Cleanser (2x week)
Anua Birch 70 Moisture Boosting Toner
Anua Azelaic Acid 10 Hyaluron Redness Soothing Serum
SKIN1004 Madagascar Centella Tone Brightening Capsule Ampoule
Dr. Althea 345 Relief Cream
SKIN1004 Hyalu-Cica Water-Fit Sun Serum SPF50+
𝗣𝗠
Haruharu Wonder Black Rice Cleansing Oil (unscented)
Haruharu Wonder Black Rice Moisture 5.5 Soft Cleansing Gel
COSRX Salicylic Acid Daily Gentle Cleanser (2x week)
Differin Adapalene Gel 0.1% — start 3x week on non-consecutive nights and build slowly to 5 nights
Anua Birch 70 Moisture Boosting Toner
Anua Azelaic Acid 10 Hyaluron Redness Soothing Serum
SKIN1004 Madagascar Centella Tone Brightening Capsule Ampoule
La Roche-Posay Cicaplast Baume B5+

Your hyperpigmentation routine has two completely different jobs. AM and PM are not the same.

Tinted SPF with iron oxides → morning only.
Leave it out and everything else is working against the clock.
Vitamin C → morning. It’s an antioxidant — UV generates free radicals as it hits the skin, and vitamin C helps neutralise them. That’s why it pairs so well with sunscreen.
Niacinamide, azelaic acid, tranexamic acid → flexible. Morning or night, both work. None of these increase photosensitivity, so slot them wherever they fit.
AHAs (glycolic, lactic, mandelic) → night, especially on brown skin. They exfoliate the surface and can leave skin more vulnerable to UV. Daytime AHAs work against you here.
Retinoids → night. Easiest, safest slot for most people.

The way I think about it: PM supports the look of a more even complexion. AM protects against what makes dark marks look more pronounced in the first place.

This is my actual routine — patch test, and your skin may respond differently. 🧪

Save this for when you’re restructuring your routine.

Most hyperpigmentation routines plateau. Here’s why — and the four-pathway audit that changed things for my skin.

Protection → Two sunscreens, every day. A full application of regular SPF for UV, then tinted on top for visible light coverage. Both matter.

Production → Thiamidol or azelaic acid. These are known for interfering with the enzyme your skin needs to form melanin in the first place. Use one, or both if your skin tolerates it.

Signalling → Tranexamic acid. Research suggests it works by dialling down the internal triggers that tell your skin to ramp melanin production up.

Turnover → A retinoid can support your skin’s natural renewal cycle — helping dark marks look less prominent over time.

Audit your routine. How many of these are you actually covering?

In my experience, the gap is almost always protection + production. Fill those first.

Barrier or hydration — which one does your skin actually need? I tested 6 K-beauty pairs to find out.
My skin felt stripped after going hard on actives for dark marks. So I worked through 6 serum + cream combos and sorted them by what they’re actually formulated to do — based on the INCI list, not the marketing copy.
🛡️ BARRIER SUPPORT
Haruharu Wonder Black Rice Probiotics Barrier Essence + 5 Ceramide Moisturizing Cream
SKIN1004 Centella Probio-Cica Ampoule + Enrich Cream
💧 HYDRATION
IUNIK Beta-Glucan Power Moisture Serum + Daily Moisture Cream
Lagom Cellus Niacinamide Hydro Serum + Deep Moisture Cream
⚡ BOTH
TIRTIR Milk Skin Toner + Ceramic Milk Ampoule
VT PDRN 100 Essence + PDRN Hyaluronic Capsule Cream
The difference is in the formulation — ceramides vs. humectants vs. both layered together. Slides break it down in plain language.
Sharing what worked for my skin — yours may respond differently.
Save this for your next K-beauty shop. 🛒

No foundation here — just my morning pigment fading routine 🤎 Brown skin, 40+, dark spots.
44 with hyperpigmentation, dry skin, reactive barrier.

Tested this every day — it treats the pigment, handles dry/dehydrated skin, and doubles as a makeup base. Fully protected before I walk out the door.

🧴 PRODUCTS IN ORDER
Cleanser → Haruharu Wonder Black Rice Moisture 5.5 Soft Cleansing Gel
Vit C (skipped today — barrier was reactive) → SkinCeuticals C E Ferulic
Pigment treatment → Eucerin Anti-Pigment Dual Serum (Thiamidol)
Hydration → iUNIK Beta-Glucan Power Moisture Serum
Barrier care → Haruharu Wonder Black Rice Probiotics Barrier Essence
Eye cream → The INKEY List Caffeine Eye Cream
Moisturiser → iUNIK Beta-Glucan Daily Moisture Cream
Sunscreen → Haruharu Wonder Moisture Airyfit (full amount)
Tinted SPF → Colorescience Sunforgettable Total Protection Face Shield SPF 50 (iron oxides = visible light protection)

Rated popular hyperpigmentation ingredients on one thing: how well does it actually minimise the appearance of dark marks — and keep them that way?
Here’s where the popular ones land.
Kojic acid + niacinamide: 6/10. Useful, especially combined. Not enough solo.
Alpha arbutin: 5. Marketed like a gentler hydroquinone. It’s not quite that.
Vitamin C: 4.5 for pigmentation specifically. Brilliant antioxidant — rarely shifts established dark marks on its own.
Licorice extract: 4. Mild effect, usually not strong enough to drive visible results alone.
Exfoliating acids (lactic, mandelic, glycolic): all 4s. Support skin cell turnover, but push too hard and you can trigger the very marks you’re trying to address.
Most “brightening” ingredients: sitting around a 3.
If your routine is built mostly around this list, that’s often why it’s not moving.
Send this to someone whose routine isn’t working. 👀