The Best Melasma/Hyperpigmentation Treatment

Melasma is a skin condition that causes brown, blue-gray, or tan patches.

It is also known as skin discoloration. Women in the middle of their childbearing years are most likely to have this skin condition. Melasma is a type of pigmentation on the face, and it happens most often on the cheekbones, in the middle of the face, and along the jawline.

Melasma can show up on the bridge of the nose, the forehead, and the chin of some people.

It can also show up on the chest, neck, arms, or any other area of skin that gets a lot of sun.

Many health care providers say they have a lot of ways to make this skin condition less noticeable, but most patients end up being taken advantage of by money-making ads and switching to different dermatologists, which leaves them in both financial and physical ruin.

So, it’s important to know that the human ability to heal is amazing and that the right treatment can make it even stronger and give you a strong mind to help you beat any illness and live a happy life.

Let’s talk about the symptoms and causes of melasma, as well as the best ways to treat it and keep your skin from getting darker in the future.

Causes of Melasma

As a dermatologist with years of experience in the medical field who sees a wide range of cosmetic and clinical skin conditions almost every day, I can say that, no matter what color the patient’s skin is, irritated or inflamed skin poses a risk of turning darker than the patient’s baseline color.

For example, I’ve met patients who had irritation from primers, foundations, highlighters, and bronzers that can cause melasma if used in the right (or wrong) way.

Melasma is a problem that affects a lot of people, including celebrities.

Types of melasma and its Clinical features

Yes, Melasma can be of 3 types with exhibiting different characteristics. These are:

Epidermal

• Patches of Dark brown color
• Appears apparent under black light
• Symmetrical border with matching marks on both sides of the face
• Responds good to medical therapy and peeling treatments 

Dermal

• Patches of light-brown or Bluish in color
• No change in color under black light
• Responds poorly to treatment 

Mixed

• The most common type forms Combination of bluish and dark brown patches
• Mixed marking under black light
• Partial improvement with treatment and bleaching agents

Where is Melasma seen on the body?

Melasma is a skin condition that causes discoloration or too much pigmentation, mostly on the face. There are three common facial patterns in melasma: centrofacial (in the middle of the face), mandibular (at the jawbone), and malar (cheekbones).

The middle-face pattern Melasma is the most common form of this condition, and it affects the cheeks, forehead, nose, upper lip, and chin. The upper cheeks show off the malar pattern, while the jaw shows off the mandibular pattern.

Melasma is less likely to show up on the upper sides of the neck. Melasma can sometimes show up on other parts of the body, such as the forearms, thighs, or belly. But one study showed that people who have progesterone can get melasma on their forearms. A Native American study showed a clear pattern that was used to look at this.

Treatment of Melasma- YES! It can be treated

Melasma goes away on its own for some women, especially mothers who have had children. When pregnancy or birth control pills are to blame, this is a very serious problem.

Use over-the-counter products like kojic acid and arbutin to make your skin brighter at home. There are creams and steroids that can lighten the skin and the affected areas that your doctor can give you a prescription for.

If these don’t work as well as you’d like, you could try chemical peels, dermabrasion, or microdermabrasion. With these treatments, the top layers of skin are removed, which may also help lighten dark spots.

If you don’t want the melasma to come back, you might have to go back for follow-up visits and keep doing certain things to your skin. These include staying out of the sun as much as possible and putting on sunscreen every day.

Medication

Still, topical depigmenting agents are the mainstay of melasma treatment in the early stages of the disease. Medicines help people in the early stages of the disease.

Hydroxyquinone (HQ): It is the best possible first-line agent and is still used a lot, both on its own and in combination with other agents, even though there are concerns about its long-term effects. This is the most common way to treat melasma, and the National Institutes of Health consider it the gold standard for treating melasma. It is also the best way to get rid of the problem.

When hydroquinone is put on the skin, it makes the area lighter. This medicine comes in the form of a liquid solution, lotion, gel, or cream that contains alcohol. Some of these options can be bought without a prescription, but they are usually not as strong as the ones your dermatologist would recommend because they don’t have as much hydroquinone, and the safety of the skin is also in question.

Tretinoin: Your dermatologist may give you Tretinoin because tretinoin can boost and speed up the effects of hydroquinone and make other treatments work better. So you can easily buy tretinoin cream online.

sometimes given along with HQ to help people who don’t respond to HQ alone. With or without a topical corticosteroid, tretinoin and hydroquinone HQ combinations have been made better.

In fact, the only topical ointment approved by the FDA to treat melasma is a triple-combination ointment made up of hydroquinone (4%), tretinoin (0.05%), Tri-Luma Cream, and fluocinolone acetonide (0.01%).

Also, when using this medicine to treat melasma, the doctor should make sure not to leave the affected area unprotected, as this can cause hyperpigmentation, a burning feeling, irritation, and dryness.

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