any success story to get rid of brown spot for Asian?
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Fri Feb 22, 2013 6:59 pm

I have a brown spot on my left cheek since years. It started from a tiny spot, which then slowly developed into a pea-sized, dark brown pigmentation over years. Had a local laser treatment done 4 years ago by a dermatologist (2 sessions). The spot was very much faded away (around 80% I would say).

Ever since, I have been practicing sun avoidance and wearing sunscreen religiously every single day. Meanwhile, I'd started to use anti-age skin care products with AHA (e.g. 6% glycolic acid), vitamin c (e.g. LAA 10-15%, tetra C), kojic acid (2%), vitamin A (retinaldehyde by Avene, adapalene by Differin).

A year after the laser treatment, to my great dismay, the treated brown spot had managed to creep its way back! Despite my use of sunscreen and anti-age skin care, the spot has just become darker and larger day after day. It is much more worsened in the past one year (some friends who haven't seen me for a long while thought I had got a bad bruise after knocking my face on a lamp post or something Crying or Very sad

).

The brown spot has been back for three years now, and I am currently seriously thinking about getting IPL treatment or giving laser another shot. Have an appointment with a new dermatologist in 3 weeks. Could anyone with similar experience share your thoughts or suggestions?

FYI, I am Asian descent with Fitzpatrick between type III and IV. Very sensitive oily skin with broken caps, large pores, and sebum plugs.

Thank you for your time.

ps: sorry for the long post. just try my best to provide as much info as possible to get help.

free skin care · Sat Feb 23, 2013 9:45 pm

I am not Asian, but I don't know if that makes a difference. I have a couple of fairly large spots - one on my face and one on my leg. The one on my leg is larger so I decided to have it removed. I had it surgically removed, but it eventually grew back. It is a genetic flat mole and the dermatologist didn't quite remove it entirely - she must have left a couple of cells that eventually grew back and looked exactly the way it used to.
So, I guess the success of the removal of your spot depends on what is causing it. If it is something caused by sun damage, I believe it can be removed by laser treatments. If it a genetic expression in your skin it would be very tough to remove it. Speak to your dermatologist and discuss options. Good luck.

Mon Feb 25, 2013 12:12 am

Hi SnowFairy,

Thank you for your reply, I appreciate it.

My brown spot is a hyperpigmentation, which is most likely caused by sun damage according to my previous dermatologist. What makes me worried now is that underneath the spot, there are quite some broken caps now. It may become too complicated to be treated...

I read some studies showing that Asian skin is very prone to PIH (post inflammatory hyperpigmentation) from certain laser treatment. That is why I mentioned about my Asian descent to see if anyone here may have similar experience.

It is kind of expensive to consult a dermatologist for cosmetic reason. I feel like I need to do some self-education before seeing one.

Mon Feb 25, 2013 12:28 am

Forgot to mention that I try to avoid hydroquinone because I won't be able to get this supply where I live normally.

Also, my skin has hard time to cope with harsh low pH (<3.5) skin care products such as AHA or LAA. It just gets red, itchy, and paper-like even at mild doses. Surprisingly, my skin seems to cope better with 0.1% differin gel (buffered with moisturizer).

ps: this is the link to the studies mentioned above if anyone is interested in -
www*medscape*com/viewarticle/704995
(replace * by . )

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