Embarrassing Melasma PLZ help
EDS Skin Care Forums Forum Index » Skin Care and Makeup Forum

Tue Mar 27, 2012 4:35 pm

Hi Everyone I am new to this forum and was wondering if ANYONE out there can help. I suffer from severe discoloration on my upper lip and I my skin complexion is very light so it is impossible to cover up. I have tried hydroquinone in the past it worked to some degree but the area looks greyish at times in certain lighting.

This problem is severely eating up my confidence I feel humiliated in public Sad

If anyone has had ANY success with fading their melasma please let me know. I do have obagi but have not been persistent as it makes my skin red. I am looking into vivite vibrance and phyto + right now...If anyone has used these products please let me know

I appreciate any response and help I can get

Thanks

free skin care · Tue Mar 27, 2012 10:38 pm

Hi Angel Baby,

Trust me...I know exactly how you feel. My melasma was on my cheeks and it was quite dark and embarrassing to me. Not even the highest coverage foundations and concealers could cover it up.

I went to the dermatologist and she told me I would need IPL treatments. I received 4 of them (very painful and expensive), which helped temporarily and then later found out online that IPL can actually make melasma worse over time. Shock

Then I friend of mine told me she got rid of her melasma with at-home peels from makeupartistschoice.com. I started out with a lactic acid peel and moved up to a stronger TCA peel. If you email the company and explain what it is you need help with, they will give you advice on which peels and at what strength to start with and build up with. I've been alternating them for about 1 1/2 years, but wasn't as consistent as I could have been. Still, my melasma is about 85% to 90% faded now and I couldn't be happier. I think just 2-3 more TCA peels and it should be completely cleared up.

Check out the site and the before and after pictures of these women who got rid of their melasma:

http://www.makeupartistschoice.com/catalog/Melasma-77-1.html

I was told melasma was nearly impossible to get rid of, but with persistence, it can be faded.

Good luck if you do decie to try it.

Fri Mar 30, 2012 3:39 pm

Hello Sandooch

Thank you for taking the time to read about my distressing problem and replying back Smile

Exactly I have been through the world of makeup and nothing can cover up mine either :S I've actually had IPL done before too and havent noticed a difference.

I have actually ordered a sample of that lactic acid peel you mention a long time ago...I remember using it just a few times and it would make the area pinkish and I kinda of just stopped..Maybe I will try it again. What peel did you move up to after the lactic? and that is AMAZING to hear that your melasma has faded by 85-90% so happy for you Smile

and it gives me hope now that maybe I don't have to live in misery forever lol.

Just a few questions have you got any irritation from the lactic peel? like redness or a tingly feeling? have you ever used tretinoin cream? Someone suggested I use that as well.

Thanks for your help Smile

Fri Mar 30, 2012 3:42 pm

OH TCA peels scare me I've read great stories about it removing discoloration but also read horror stories about ppl using it at home. Have you ordered your TCA peel from makeupartistchoice as well? I will definetly contact them for more info

thnx again Smile

free skin care · Sun Apr 01, 2012 9:11 pm

I'm a bit scared to do TCA peel on my own, too. How easy or hard is it? What to expect? What to be concerned with?

free skin care · Sun Apr 01, 2012 10:42 pm

At-home peels scared me, too, before starting them. But my friend assured me that there was nothing to be scared about. Just be extremely careful to work slowly and avoid the eye area. I got all my peels at MUAC.com and have never tried tretinoin cream. I just started using Donell Lightening Gel that I bought here between peels, but it's too soon to tell if that it doing anything to help speed the fading along.

Angel, if you can handle the pain and redness of an IPL treatment, you can surely handle a TCA peel. I joke with people that when it's on it feels as if I am standing on the threshholds of He11, but it isn't really that bad. I definitely think the IPL treatments burn more and cause the skin to stay pink longer.

I started out with the 65% lactic acid peels and did about one every 1-2 weeks for a few weeks. That prepared me for the TCA peel at 18%. But start out with a weaker one if you are too scared to do that. I usually do 2 to 3 layers now which boost it up another 25% each layer and cause it to frost (the frosting will turn to pink shortly after being rinsed off). Yes, it does burn like a sun of a gun for a few minutes, but the burning subsides substantially once it is rinsed off. It'll still burn slightly once rinsed off for about a half hour or so, but it is totally bearable.

Make sure to keep it well moisturized with Neosporin or Vaseline (much too thick for me though) for a day or so. After that I move to an unscented moisturizer with sunscreen. Your skin will look tight and shiny for 3 days or so and then start to peel. Resist the urge to help it along by peeling it yourself.

After about a week, I think it's okay to use a washcloth on your face after showering so you can very gently wipe your face to exfoliate your skin and take off the remaining bits of peeling left (sounds lovely, doesn't it?).

Don't expect immediate lightening with only 1 or 2 peels, though. It takes about 3-5 peels to start seeing a pretty good difference(at least it did for me). And always use sunscreen when going outside, even for a quick trip to the store. Your skin will be very sensitive after a peel, but even once it's healed, you'll need to wear that sunscreen to keep the melasma from returning.

free skin care · Sun Apr 01, 2012 11:06 pm

I posted this a long time ago but will again, I think many might find it helpful.

DarkMoon wrote:

So many are doing peels at home I thought I would post a link to an article about them that I found interesting and informative!

http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/1125365-overview

HTH
DM Smile

http://www.essentialdayspa.com/forum/viewtopic.php?tid=37252

Also:

Chemical Peels
http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/1125365-overview

Chemical peels in aesthetic dermatology: an update 2009.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19744174

Clinical improvement of photoaged skin with 50% glycolic acid. A double-blind vehicle-controlled study.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8634809

Fri Apr 20, 2012 1:11 pm

Angel_baby, don't be too scared of home chemical peels. just be sure to do a patch test on your neck a day before and if no bad reaction, you should be fine. as sandooch said, start with low concentrations first...i'd recommend 40% lactic acid and 8% TCA.

everyone's skin reacts differently, but for me, if i don't frost, i don't look too terrible after a peel. my skin is tight and leathery for a couple days, then it gets very flaky. the one time i frosted, my skin turned dark brown in those spots, and stayed that way for about 3 days. it did peel off though. unfortunately, that's part of the process - the deeper your pigmentation problems, the deeper your peel needs to be in order to have an effect. and the effect includes drawing the dark areas to the surface before peeling them off. so, if it's really successful, you're probably going to have to look like hell for a few days.

be careful with layering...only go over the surface one or two times with a q-tip until you feel your skin can handle multiple layers and increased strength. peels are TOTALLY safe if you are patient and don't rush to too high of a strength too fast. good luck!

free skin care · Sat Apr 21, 2012 12:06 pm

Angel_baby, the only product I have really seen success with for my Melasma is Vivite Vibrance made by Allergan. I had some before and after pics posted here a few years ago showing the improvement, but have since deleted them.

The only negative to this product was that it made my skin slightly pink if I used it 2x a day...using it 1x might have resolved that.

I am currently trialing the Nia24 Rapid Depigmentation Serum, and will go back to the Vibrance if it doesn't work as well. (or I will use both...1 in the AM and 1 in the PM)

BTW, I stopped using the Vibrance about 2 years ago and was not diligent in my sunscreen usage, and poof...the melasma came right back. Sad

Editing to add: If you do try this, I would recommend buying ONLY from a reputable source. I bought on ebay a couple of times, and found that the color was grossly off (meaning the product was old or fake). Plus I read in some Amazon reviews that there are definitely fakes out there.

This is where I now buy mine:
http://www.lovelyskin.com/details.asp?PID=117503&MID=198&PG=1

free skin care · Sun Apr 22, 2012 6:06 am

Hello Bethany.....it is so nice to see you back on this forum...welcome back!!

I am still struggling with my hyperpigmentation (I don't know if it is melasma)but its still around. I have tried a bottle of Luzern Serum Absolut - Lighten and sadly to say it did nothing for my hyperpigmentation. It was a very nice serum, though. It sank right into the skin and was not tacky or drying. Too bad it didn't work.

The only thing that has made somewhat of a very slight difference is the Ageless Secret Gold (no, we wont' get into that product) and Karen Herzog oxygen creams.

Thank's for the link to the Vivite. I may try it. Please keep us updated on the Nia Rapid Depigmentation. I did try a Nia24 skin cream but it irritated my sensitive skin. However it was wonderful as a neck cream.

It's too bad that with all of the products out there this darn hyperpigmentation is so hard to get rid of.

free skin care · Sun Apr 22, 2012 10:15 am

leeleedeedee wrote:

Hello Bethany.....it is so nice to see you back on this forum...welcome back!!

Thank you! Very Happy

leeleedeedee wrote:

I am still struggling with my hyperpigmentation (I don't know if it is melasma)but its still around. I have tried a bottle of Luzern Serum Absolut - Lighten and sadly to say it did nothing for my hyperpigmentation. It was a very nice serum, though. It sank right into the skin and was not tacky or drying. Too bad it didn't work.

The only thing that has made somewhat of a very slight difference is the Ageless Secret Gold (no, we wont' get into that product) and Karen Herzog oxygen creams.

Thank's for the link to the Vivite. I may try it. Please keep us updated on the Nia Rapid Depigmentation. I did try a Nia24 skin cream but it irritated my sensitive skin. However it was wonderful as a neck cream.

It's too bad that with all of the products out there this darn hyperpigmentation is so hard to get rid of.

I already started a review thread on the Nia Rapid Depigmentation Serum, and I just got the Nia spot treatment Pen yesterday. I'll keep you posted!

free skin care · Sun Apr 22, 2012 5:45 pm

I just got a 20% off coupon for the Vivite line from SkincareRx (code VIVITE2012):

http://skincarerx.com/vivite.html

free skin care · Sun Apr 22, 2012 6:41 pm

Quick question about melasma.. at what age does this typically crop up?

free skin care · Sun Apr 22, 2012 7:19 pm

Ava with wings wrote:

Quick question about melasma.. at what age does this typically crop up?

Child birthing years, pre-menopause, among others.

Automatic Message

If this is your first visit to the EDS Forums please take the time to register. Registration is required for you to post on the forums. Registration will also give you the ability to track messages of interest, send private messages to other users, participate in Gift Certificates draws and enjoy automatic discounts for shopping at our online store. Registration is free and takes just a few seconds to complete.

Click Here to join our community.

If you are already a registered member on the forums, please login to gain full access to the site.