Please help! Malar pads are WHITE and smooth
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Sat May 11, 2013 5:45 am

they look scarred/burned, and I've been told by two different dermatologists that this is sun damage. I have NEVER seen someone else with this exact problem, and trust me I read up on it and/or TRY to find answers for over two years now. Endless visits to estheticians offices, dermatologists, plastic surgeons. Nobody has ever offered any solution other than mentioning lasers and I am not financially able to afford this plus lasers scare the crap out of me, even if I did have that kind of money.

This is the problem. The areas right under my eyes and on upper cheeks, where there are "malar pads" are completely without pigment, are white in appearance, wrinkled, and the normal skin texture is not present. No pores, no fine hairs, no nothing but ugly scars and NOTHING has worked to help with this! I seriously look about 50 something and I am only 44!!! Wish I was brave enough to post a picture but I am nearly in tears like I usually am over this. I hate leaving my house, I cringe at the thought of ANY sun or being seen in normal light, and it just looks sooooo ugly! Name it and I have tried it, from cocoa butter, to bio oil, creams lotions, oils, (even tried EVOO as a moisturizer after reading up on it!), and finally Nu Derm which is the only line that has ever made the skintone difference less noticeable (but the ugly texture difference has never gotten better!)Originally I had scheduled a Vi peel for MOnday but after reading up on that (mostly bad stories and outcomes) cancelled it. This has affected my entire view of myself and I have become a hermit in my own house!! Is there ANYONE who has had this problem? Sick of looking like this, and I am feeling very desperate and depressed and hopeless. ANY feedback would be so greatly appreciated. Fillers were my final hope but after a consult on Thursday was told they are not a viable or encouraged for under my eyes. Please help!

free skin care · Sat May 11, 2013 7:44 am

I would really like to see a picture as I am having a tough time imagining exactly what is going on that will make you feel so bad about going out in public.
If you don't want to post your picture, maybe you can find a similar looking one already on the web.

How long have your malar pads been like this? Did it happen gradually or rather quickly. How is the skin on the rest of your face? Have you had a lot of sunburns on your face? How about any peels, DIY potions or anything else?

Maybe someone will be able to help a little more.

free skin care · Sat May 11, 2013 10:52 am

My cousin had this on her stomach from sun bathing, she called it sun poisoning. I will have to ask her if it faded over time (this was 15 years ago last time i was at the beach with her).

Sat May 11, 2013 10:53 am

this I've been told, is from sun damage, and indeed start to accelerate with a severe sunburn on the left side of my face (through the car window, while sitting in traffic, honest to God!) over two years ago. To try to give you a better picture, please picture someone who has worn large sunglasses, fallen asleep in the sun, and gotten a burn on the REST of their face, it's like reverse raccoon eyes, whiter/much lighter on the areas around and under the eyes and RED/brownish on the rest of the areas. The skin on the rest of my face has large pores, is red/mottled and I have some broken red caps all over. But the troubling thing besides the color/ton difference is the TEXTURE is completely and totally different under my eyes/cheeks and on the rest of my face! There is a demarcation point that is very obvious and much much worse on my left side but it's on both sides. Would be happy to send you a personal email pic but never brave enough to post one on here if that makes any sense. Thank you for getting back to me, I cannot find anything like this to illustrate what I mean (I search constantly have never seen anything like this online or on anyone else).

Sat May 11, 2013 11:24 am

Snow Fairy, this came on with a lot of suddenness, starting two summers ago, and has just accelerated since then, it seems, at first I thought it was vitilgo, honestly it was that noticeable and sudden, but have since had it confirmed it is not, however, this is still very very ugly and seems to have gotten worse, with ANY sun exposure and I use spf50 for nearly two years now, every single day, no matter the weather). I should mention that for many, many, many months, I would have HUGE white bags under my eyes every single morning. I finally asked a plastic surgeon why, he suggested I sleep propped up, and not flat (not very comfortable but I have adjusted and no more swelling in the mornings). It sucks, because ever since I never sleep comfortably or "curled up" with a pillow smooshed into my face because it looks BAD if I do this (but I don't sleep as soundly or well either, a tradeoff I guess). Truth be told still looks BAD mornings but minus swelling, ugly whiter areas and texture difference is ALWAYS there but worse looking mornings. I was told early on that this is facial "edema" (by a plastic surgeon via online consult, one of many consults I've had to fix it, sun damage (two derms said this). I am thinking not lasers but both upper and lower blaspharoplasty will be the only thing that will fix this and feel sick. I am currently not working full time, am seeking full time work, and working a p/t job very early mornings while I search. So it's not like I can just sign up and get it done.

free skin care · Sat May 11, 2013 1:13 pm

red2013 wrote:

I am thinking not lasers but both upper and lower blaspharoplasty will be the only thing that will fix this and feel sick. I am currently not working full time, am seeking full time work, and working a p/t job very early mornings while I search. So it's not like I can just sign up and get it done.

I don't think surgery will fix this. Surgery is more for removing loose skin and tightening. This really sounds more like a skin texture issue in which case lasers are probably your best choice. When you talk about malar pads is this the area you are talking about?

http://dresteche.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/MALAR-FAT-PAD_21.jpg

Sat May 11, 2013 2:30 pm

Pandal, thanks for your response and YES that is the exact area I am talking about!!! Meaning the area outlined that is right below the young lady's face and it is also migrating downward and outward from there. Sigh...I was so hoping not to have to resort to lasers, but I think you are right in that it is likely the only thing that will make this better. Thanks so much for your message.

free skin care · Sat May 11, 2013 4:32 pm

http://www.menshealth.com/health/skin-cancer-pictures

I don't mean to be alarmist here and scare you, but I think we need to have all bases covered. Can you please take a look at the link and see if your skin looks anything like that?

The one on slide number 7.

Sun May 12, 2013 5:27 am

Snow Fairy, no worries, you aren't freaking me out. I have explored this possibility, but have to wonder that if it WAS a cancerous lesion (or both were) that the derm would have picked up on it right away (this is my dad's same derm, and my dad has had FIVE growths removed from his face that this doc recognized right away). So I honestly don't think it's cancer, that was one of my concerns I brought up to this doc during my visit.

It's strange, because although we ALL have skin that is a bit lighter under our eyes (I do have that as well), this is BELOW that area, right on both malars and right where the sun would hit your face, especially through a car's sunroof (this became a problem for me two summers ago, exactly WHEN I got my current car and went a bit crazy with the sunroof open, and NO sunblock or hat! Very stupid of me! But the timing makes perfect sense, it's also when the whiter/lighter looking area on my forehead started to become noticeable. If I am honest, although this looks WHITE to me (mainly b/c the rest of my face is so red all the time), if I look closely it's more of a "yellowish" tone, and not truly white (the contrast makes it LOOK white though). It's still very ugly though and I would pay a million dollars to get it fixed somehow. I do suspect that it may be some type of skin rash, since my scalp is often very itchy and the ends of some of my hair get these little "flakes" on them ((probably a case of dandruff). My eyelids are often swollen too and itchy especially mornings. This was diagnosed as tinea versicolor by a clinic doc two years ago who prescribed a strong sulfur lotion to get rid of it. I used this lotion on my entire face and it turned red, so I stopped after about a week.

Sun May 12, 2013 1:40 pm

sorry meant to add, it's not tinea obviously b/c that lotion didn't work, nor did the full body dandruff shampoo I tried using for a week or more. Sad

Sun May 26, 2013 6:11 am

anyone else who might be dealing with this. For years and years and years, I battled mild acne on my face, and used benzoyl peroxide once to twice every single day to keep it controlled. The bp made me continuously peel (as it IS a mild acid) and things looked pretty nice for a long time. Then I stupidly exposed myself to sun, direct sun, for a long time, and one of the precautions of using bp is that is makes your skin more sensitive to the sun (says right on the bottle to use sun protection for this reason). I never did and I regret it now, majorly.

Now, because the areas on the malars are closer to my "normal" skintone (although they DO appear to look white sometimes, but they are in reality more of a lighter tone), the surrounding skin on my face is constantly RED and irritated. An esthetician at a local plastic surgeon's office told me that REST of the skin is the actual problem NOT the areas that are obvious in contrast. She pointed to the areas that are lighter and said, "THIS is normal", then to the rest of my cheeks, nose, etc. and said "THIS is from broken capillaries, more of a blood flow issue" (this runs in my family so makes sense). I have found/am finding that if I use less products that are not harsh (currently using a skin gel for redness from Murad, it is slooooowly taking my redness away). Got it as s sample form the esthetician to try and although slow going (only a week or so or use)I can see the redness is less than before this might be the way to go. Time will tell but I hope so!!!

ETA I had never considered the REST of my red/splotchy face as being the problem as I got soooo obsessed with the other areas for months and months and months! I will keep on with Murad for now, and if it doesn't work after more time, I will hit the Obagi road hard, (that is truly the ONLY thing that has ever made this even out/look better but if I can avoid harsh products, I would rather do so). Plus it's NOT realistic to think in a normal day you can completely hide from sunshine, it's just not realistic or normal (but with Retin A yo are supposed to). We all get sun exposure, even taking out the trash or walking to the mailbox so unless you wanted a bag over your head or to wear a ski mask it's just not realistic. Just my opinion of course! Wanted to also say THANK YOU to everyone on here, I love these boards!

Tue Nov 03, 2015 3:28 pm

SnowFairy wrote:

I would really like to see a picture as I am having a tough time imagining exactly what is going on that will make you feel so bad about going out in public.
If you don't want to post your picture, maybe you can find a similar looking one already on the web.

How long have your malar pads been like this? Did it happen gradually or rather quickly. How is the skin on the rest of your face? Have you had a lot of sunburns on your face? How about any peels, DIY potions or anything else?

Maybe someone will be able to help a little more.

I have the same problem minus the pigmentation issue. My malar bags also have an appearance of burned skin-fortunately, they are small. I am told that ultherapy may be a viable option and I am getting it done in December. There is a doctor named Adam Scheimer (may be misspelled) in Florida who claims to have created a lazar procedure to eliminate malar bags but it utilizes a Co2 laser and my dark skin can't take that. Good luck and keep us posted.

free skin care · Tue Nov 03, 2015 3:56 pm

This could be a fungal infection, tinea versicolor, http://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/tinea-versicolor-cause-symptoms-treatments.
Recently a user here posted about that.
It would be best to ask dermatologist to test for that.

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