Clinical · Self-paced · 12 lessons
Hyperpigmentation Decoded
- Scope
- 12 lessons
- Pace
- Self-paced
- Price
- £150
- Commitment
- ≈ 1 hr/wk · 4 wks
The promise. Stop the rebound. Stop the disappointed-at-week-four client. Run hyperpigmentation consultations that hold across the five presentations and through the UV year.
Hyperpigmentation is excess melanin in the skin, and it shows up in five distinct presentations that each need a different plan. Hyperpigmentation Decoded teaches UK practitioners to read it on sight and treat it without triggering rebound.
Lifetime access
Self-paced, no expiry.
Updates included
As guidance evolves.
Yours to keep
One-off payment, no rebill.
Counts toward NMC revalidation
CPD hours and a Completion Certificate for your portfolio. How to log this for revalidation.
A professional investment
Give it to the tax man,or your future self.
Training is a professional expense. For working practitioners these courses may count as tax-deductible CPD, so part of the cost could come off your tax bill instead of going to HMRC. Check your own position with your accountant.
One payment · lifetime access · CPD certificate
Try the teaching first
Start Hyperpigmentation Decoded, The Mini free. No card needed.
Start Hyperpigmentation Decoded, The Mini free
Most hyperpigmentation is read at the surface.
Treated at the surface, it comes back. Hyperpigmentation Decoded takes you under the skin, to the cell that makes the pigment, so you read the real cause and build a plan that holds.
The transformation
Before the course→ after the course.
- Before the course
Treating every hyperpigmentation client with a tyrosinase inhibitor and a vitamin C serum.
After the courseReading the depth, the driver and the presentation, and matching the plan to each.
- Before the course
Plans that look right in November and collapse in June.
After the courseA summer-versus-winter protocol that holds the gain through the UV year.
- Before the course
Clients who come back darker than they started after a peel or laser.
After the courseA two-week post-procedure protocol that prevents rebound on every Fitzpatrick.
- Before the course
The 'I don't know why this hasn't worked' conversation at week eight.
After the courseA twelve-week timeline the client signs up to at the consultation, with the touchpoints that keep them in.
Under the skin
What is actually happening in the skin.
A thirty-second look at the science behind the framework you learn inside the course.
Inside the lesson
Editorial lessons, built to be read.
Each lesson runs as a clean editorial article and ends with the next lesson cued up. Mobile-first between consultations and keyboard-navigable at your desk.
- Patient-specific examples and practical prompts
- Per-lesson progress tracking, with the next lesson queued up
- Keyboard navigation for desk study (arrow keys / J–K)
- Calm typography, no auto-play video, no marketing pop-ups
What you’ll learn
The outcomes,not just the topics.
- Five-presentation face-reading framework
- Chromophore depth assessment
- NICE-aligned topical sequencing
- Safe protocols for skin of colour (Fitzpatrick IV to VI)
See every outcome
- Procedure-rebound prevention
The curriculum
12 lessons.Built to ship change.
- 01
The five presentations of hyperpigmentation, on sight
The face-reading framework. Five distinct patterns, the visual clues that separate them, and the protocol implications of each.
- Post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation, including the post-acne and post-procedure subset
- Melasma and its three distribution patterns (centrofacial, malar, mandibular)
- Solar lentigines and photo-induced epidermal pigment
- Dermal and mixed pigment, including drug-induced
- Post-inflammatory erythema and the conditions that get treated as pigment and shouldn't be
- Sorting a new client into the right protocol track inside the first thirty seconds
- 02
Understanding pigments, pattern distribution and skin depth
The three readings that decide the plan: which pigment you're looking at, how it's distributed on the face, and how deep it sits. Includes a downloadable Fitzpatrick scale reference.
- Eumelanin and pheomelanin, and how each responds to different wavelengths
- Reading pattern and distribution: centrofacial, malar and mandibular melasma versus scattered PIH and lentigines
- The Fitzpatrick scale as a pigment-risk read, with a downloadable one-page clinical reference
- Epidermal versus dermal pigment, and what a Wood's lamp actually tells you
- The mixed-depth client and the two-phase plan
- Putting pigment, distribution and depth together into one plan
- 03
The hormonal axis of melasma
Melasma is rarely a skin problem. The systemic drivers and the practitioner conversations that surface them.
- Pregnancy, the combined oral contraceptive, HRT and the melasma flare timeline
- Perimenopause and the unstable-oestrogen window
- Thyroid involvement and when to refer
- Stress and sleep load: what is treatable from inside the clinic and what isn't
- The fifteen-minute history that surfaces the real driver
- 04
UV, visible light, and the photodamage timeline
Why SPF alone is rarely enough, and how to build a year-round plan that survives June.
- The cumulative photodamage clock and what you see at forty
- Visible light and melasma: tinted SPF, iron oxides, why broad spectrum often isn't
- Summer protocol versus winter protocol
- Sun-recovery rebuild after a long-haul break
- The client conversation that gets the SPF actually used
- 05
Active sequencing
The topical layer, sequenced for tolerance, not potency.
- Tyrosinase inhibitors: hydroquinone, kojic, azelaic, tranexamic acid (topical), arbutin, niacinamide
- Exfoliants: AHAs, BHAs, PHAs. Sequencing and tolerance first
- Retinoids: when they help pigment, when they trigger PIH, when to delay
- Antioxidants: vitamin C, resveratrol, polyphenols, their real role in a hyperpigmentation plan
- The eight-week rebuild for an over-exfoliated barrier
- 06
In-clinic modalities
Matching the modality to the presentation. Peels, microneedling, laser and IPL, in order of operations.
- Chemical peels: which acids for which depth, melasma cautions, the post-peel window
- Microneedling: depths and intervals, when it triggers PIH
- Laser and IPL: a clear map of which device belongs to which presentation
- Why melasma and IPL is usually the wrong combination
- Combination protocols and the order of operations
- 07
Preventing rebound
The post-procedure window where most hyperpigmentation plans collapse.
- PIH risk profile by Fitzpatrick, by ethnicity, by season
- The two-week protective protocol after any procedure
- The five rebound triggers (sun, exfoliant restart, retinoid restart, hormonal flare, mechanical trauma)
- Recovery scripts for each rebound trigger
- The 'we have made it worse' conversation, and how to lead it without losing the client
- 08
The consultation script and the twelve-week timeline
The consultation, the follow-up cadence, and the expectation conversation that holds the client through the slow middle.
- The seven-question hyperpigmentation consultation, fully scripted
- The twelve-week timeline: what to see at week 4, 8 and 12, and what to say if you don't
- Photo protocol: lighting, framing, frequency
- The 'your timeline is going to be longer' conversation for dermal and hormonal pigment
- Follow-up cadence and the touchpoint emails that keep the client compliant
- Knowledge check and Certificate of Completion
Why I teach this
I’m Bernadette Tobin, RN, MSc.
Nurse, senior lecturer and founder of award-winning Visage Aesthetics. I hold an MSc Advanced Practice (Level 7), I'm NMC registered, I lecture postgraduate clinicians, and I run an award-winning aesthetics clinic, Visage Aesthetics, which won Best Non-Surgical Aesthetics Clinic 2026 (Essex).
Recognised by the industry
- 2026Shortlisted
Independent Education Awards 2026
Business Awards UK
- 2026Nominee
Educator of the Year 2026
Beauty & Aesthetics Awards
- 2026Winner
Best Non-Surgical Aesthetics Clinic 2026 (Essex)
Health, Beauty & Wellness AwardsFounder, Visage Aesthetics
What’s included
Everything thatcomes with enrolment.
- 12 lessons covering presentation, depth, drivers and treatment
- The five-pattern face-reading framework
- The Hyperpigmentation Consultation Card (printable, one page)
- Twelve-week protocol templates for the five presentations
See everything included
- Post-procedure rebound-prevention scripts
- Lifetime access, including future updates
- Self-paced, knowledge check, Certificate of Completion
Frequently asked
Before youenrol.
Is this CPD-accredited?
Hyperpigmentation Decoded is designed to count toward CPD evidence and is appropriate as reflective practice for NMC revalidation. The Certificate of Completion at the end gives you the documentation to attach to your portfolio.
Will this teach me to use a laser?
No. This is clinical reasoning around hyperpigmentation, depth and driver assessment, modality matching and when to refer. Hands-on technical training requires a separate insured pathway.
Do I need to be a nurse to take it?
No. The course is designed for any practitioner working with skin who wants the clinical reasoning behind hyperpigmentation decisions, including aestheticians, beauty therapists, advanced facialists and prescribing clinicians.
Is it really £150 with no upsells?
Yes. £150 one-time, lifetime access, no upsells inside the course. Bernadette's stance is that clinical education should be priced honestly.
What do I get when I enrol?
Twelve lessons covering presentation, depth, drivers and treatment, the five-pattern face-reading framework, the printable one-page Hyperpigmentation Consultation Card, twelve-week protocol templates for the five presentations, post-procedure rebound-prevention scripts, a knowledge check and a Certificate of Completion.
How long do I have access?
For life. Hyperpigmentation Decoded comes with lifetime access, including future updates. It is self-paced, so you can start the day you enrol and work through it at your own speed.
Can I get a refund?
Our terms say: “Course enrolments are non-refundable. You're paying for lifetime access to the content as it exists at the point of purchase, plus every future update at no additional cost. Take a free taster first if you want to be sure the teaching style fits before you commit. If something genuinely goes wrong with your access, email hello@aunlock.co.uk and I'll make it right.” Read the full terms.
How do I tell PIH from PIE?
Use the blanch test. Press a clean glass or fingertip firmly against the mark for two to three seconds. A mark that fades or turns white under pressure is vascular (PIE), and a mark that holds its colour is melanin-based (PIH). More in the Journal: PIH vs PIE: How to Tell Them Apart with the Blanch Test.
Can chemical peels permanently clear melasma?
No. Melasma is a chronic condition with a high recurrence rate. Peels can reduce its severity over a course, but without continued photoprotection and melanogenesis inhibitor use, recurrence is the expected outcome. The peel course is one phase of an ongoing management plan, not a cure. More in the Journal: Chemical Peels for Hyperpigmentation: Timing, Depth and Evidence.