Challenges, truths and misconceptions
of darker skin

Do you have “darker” skin? Asian, Hispanic, Pacific Islander, Arabian, Middle Eastern, South Asian or brown / black African skin… if so this section was written for you.

For years scary stories about what lasers can do to darker skin have been circulating in the media, creating a cloud of misinformation, doubt and unnecessary fear. Therefore, in the next few paragraphs, we’ll address what the truth really is, what the real challenges are with darker skin, and what we do at AMA to solve these issues in order to provide exceptional results for our patients with darker skin.

Fact: Some of the scary stories you may have heard are true.

Darker skin is more sensitive to certain treatments and does present challenges that lighter skin does not. Simply put, treatments not properly customized for darker skin may not only be ineffective, they might damage the skin.

However, for true experts in Laser Medicine who understand the scientific subtleties of skin, and who have mastered the intricate interactions between different laser energies and the physiology of different skin types, treating darker skin is as successful as treating lighter skin.

Fact: Some types of laser energy are attracted to melanin, which is the natural pigment created in our skin that produces our skin’s natural color. (See figure A)

Depending on the skin’s melanin activity, it will be classified from Type-0 which is Albino skin that cannot produce melanin at all, to Type-6 skin which is beautiful alabaster-black. As the amount of melanin in the skin increases, it will absorb progressively more energy and is therefore more sensitive than lighter skin to the lasers that target melanin. When this sensitivity is not properly assessed, a laser treatment that would have been successful on lighter skin can damage darker skin.

Fact: There are many types of lasers that are not attracted to melanin, and therefore can be used as safely on dark skin as lighter skin.

Fact: What is critical about the use of lasers on skin, is that all skin is comprised of many distinct components that lasers must target, consisting of different cell types, tissue types, structures, layers, lesions and of course melanin.

Fact: Various targets in the skin attract (absorb) the energy of different lasers in distinctly different ways. Thus in order to treat skin and all it’s components with scientific precision, a clinic must specialize in many different types of lasers in order to produce the very best possible results.

AMA has a full spectrum of 27 state-of-the-art lasers and other treatment modalities, with which we customize treatment protocols uniquely for your skin.

AMA has pioneered the field of Multiple Modality Treatments, in which we synergistically combine many different modalities to achieve far superior results than can be achieved by using just one or two technologies.

AMA has pioneered the development of using lasers “physiologically”, wherein we work with the natural physiological mechanisms in your skin to cause a physiological transformation of your skin to a younger, stronger, healthier and more beautiful state. Your skin will look many years younger on the outside because it will actually BE years younger, functionally and physiologically, on the inside.

Thus, AMA’s holistic, customized protocols that integrate state-of-the-art technologies with our physiological approach to medicine are the most comprehensive and advanced forms of Energy Medicine developed specifically for your skin, no matter what color it is.


Example: Sun Spots, Age Spots or Melasma on Asian or Hispanic skin (Type 4)

Lets first review the physiology:

• Type 1 & 2 skin, has so little melanin activity it doesn’t even tan. Thus, it rarely gets any pigmented discoloration at all.
• Type-3 skin has sufficient melanin activity to tan and therefore it can develop pigmented spots though much less often than darker skin types.
• Type 5 & 6 has the most melanin activity of all skin types, and is thus very prone to developing pigmented discolorations. However, as it has a lot of underlying melanin its beautiful brown or black background color hides most of its pigmented spots, and they simply are not noticed.
• Type 4 skin is the unlucky skin type right in the middle. It has plenty of melanin activity that can easily produce pigmented spots, but overall Type-4 skin is not dark enough to hide them, so every little discoloration is easy to see.

Why is Type-4 skin so difficult to treat?

The melanin producing cells (melanocytes) in Type-4 skin can be very sensitive to any kind of irritation. People with Type-4 skin know that after even a small scratch, their Type-4 skin can develop pigmentation called “post traumatic hyper-pigmentation.” Therefore, treatments to remove pigmented spots that would work on lighter skin types are often too strong for Type-4 skin, irritating the melanocytes and causing the pigmentation to come right back, and in some cases get even worse.

How AMA solves this problem:

So… how does AMA get the melanin out without causing it to come right back? We use our Holistic / Physiological protocols to get your own body to get rid of the melanin! By using just the right frequency of energy, modulated with just the right settings, depth, intensity, etc. we gently change the molecular structure of your problem melanin… which stimulates your own physiology to reject and dissolve the melanin on its own, which brings the skin back to its original color, perfectly blended into the surrounding skin.

Hundreds of our women patients with Type-4 skin, with all sorts of pigmentation problems such as sun damage, age spots and melasma, report that they have thrown away all their makeup foundations because they simply don’t need them anymore. Now when they use makeup, it’s no longer to conceal embarrassing discoloration, but only to highlight their naturally beautiful skin.

This is a perfect example of the amazing effectiveness of our holistic/physiological approach to laser medicine and your skin. Simply stated, the natural physiological mechanisms already present in your body, have the inherent wisdom and power to bring you back to optimal health. All that is needed are AMA’s loving touch and the “physiological keys”™ to make it happen!

Founder & CEO Asher Milgrom INTRODUCES AMA