Hormonal dark spots. Cosmelan did not work for me
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free skin care · Fri May 09, 2014 6:14 pm

I have 2 quite big hormonal dark spots on each cheeks due birth control pill i think.
I really hate them, i tried retin a, hq, kojic, glicolic and mostly everthing but the dont go away or even get lighter, i am very white and they make my face look like is dirty Sad

I had a Cosmelan treatment 3 months ago and while my face was kind of red seemed like it had made the spots lighter but now than the face is back to its normal white they are the same as before the treatment.

I was wondering if dermarolling with longer needles could help to fade black spots or maybe someone could recommend me something different.

I have started taking msm, have read in some threads that could help dark spots, but i am not sure how much msm a day should i take to treat the spots.

Fri May 09, 2014 11:02 pm

I have had some luck with overall skin lightening using dermarolling at 1.5mm with tranexamic acid.

Here's a study you might find interesting (it includes a few before/after pics)- it also used 1.5mm needles with tranexamic acid in a series about 4 weeks apart and I think that needle depth is necessary to target the melanocytes effectively.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3800287/

I've previously had hyperpigmentation from dermarolling, I suspect from prolonged inflammation, so after needling at this depth which is pretty brutal I do a few rounds of red and green light therapy the next day to help bring the skin back to normal ASAP.

free skin care · Sat May 10, 2014 2:58 am

That's very interesting! I have the same problem, two patches of brown, one on each cheek. I also have a spot on the side of my nose. Sad

I think I'm going to order a serum with this ingredient. It's popular in Asia. I found this particular one on ebay that is a micro needling serum. They have several different types, including one with tranexamic acid:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Microneedle-Treatment-SERUM-Use-with-Titanium-Derma-Roller-Stamp-Skincare-/271294668926?pt=UK_Health_Beauty_Skincare_PP&var=&hash=item3f2a6c207e

free skin care · Sat May 10, 2014 8:38 am

I am definetely going to try te 1.5 mm dermarolling with the tranexamic acid.
Whicha brand are you using? And what brand of lights? I must get myself some lights to help healing as well.
And can teanexamic be used on summer on very hot places, cos derm told me to stop using most anti dark spot products on summer time.
Anyway nothing he gave me helped me at all not even cosmelan Sad

free skin care · Sat May 10, 2014 8:40 am

Inmacolata do you dermaroll for dark sports as well? I think i am gonna order that dermarolling serum from ebay too

free skin care · Sat May 10, 2014 2:59 pm

I haven't started dermarolling yet. I will soon though. Right now I'm getting my skin ready with Retin-A. Probably I'll start in July or August.

I've decided to use one of the My-M knockoffs on ebay - several here have them and are pleased with them. I'm definitely going to check out those serums when I do. They seem pretty reasonably priced, and the seller's feedback is good.

Tired of these spots! They're much better than they used to be, and are easily covered with makeup now, but I want them gone, gone, gone! LOL

Sat May 10, 2014 4:22 pm

Pablita wrote:

I am definetely going to try te 1.5 mm dermarolling with the tranexamic acid.
Whicha brand are you using? And what brand of lights? I must get myself some lights to help healing as well.
And can teanexamic be used on summer on very hot places, cos derm told me to stop using most anti dark spot products on summer time.
Anyway nothing he gave me helped me at all not even cosmelan Sad

I use lights from lighttherapyoptions.com . They are quite expensive (were cheaper when I purchased them) but I like them. I use them for longer than the recommended usage guidelines of course Bad Grin

You might be interested in the following articles regarding the use of green light (as well as red light) in wound healing:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22380691
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20001321

Green light for hyperpigmentation is also well documented as I'm sure you know.

Sat May 10, 2014 4:26 pm

Immacolata wrote:

Tired of these spots! They're much better than they used to be, and are easily covered with makeup now, but I want them gone, gone, gone! LOL

If I can afford the downtime, absolutely nothing works as fast (for me!) as a 3-layer Jessner's peel.

free skin care · Sun May 11, 2014 2:22 pm

I had used a very strong TCA peel, 20% I think. It worked very well, but it was SCARY strong. I don't think I'll do that again. I did a whole series of them and each time I wondered how on earth it was possible to buy something this strong on the Internet! LOL

I might peel again come winter. I go through stages. Right now I'm in love with serums. Soon it will be dermarolling, and then who knows? Smile

free skin care · Sun May 11, 2014 2:32 pm

I was looking at what Cosmelan is and found a kit with a few products in it.

This cream pretty much surprised me:

mesoestetic® Hydra Vital Factor K Cream (50ml)
Hydro nutritional cream for face and neck. Hydroviton, VItamin K,
Vitamin E, Amniotic fluid, Glycerine, Silicone oil.

Amniotic fluid?? From humans or animals and YIKES?!?

free skin care · Tue May 13, 2014 9:08 pm

Felixia how much downtime with that peel? Do you do it yourself or at doctors office?

Inmacolata how often did you do th tca peels and how many downtime days? And do you think facial exercises can be done if doing the peels? Because i had to stop doing them wirh cosmelan cos my skin got so thin i was scared to get wrinkles.

Amniotic fluid lol, i actually put that stuff on my face, guessing is animal fluid not human, i didnt like the cosmelan at all did nothing for me apart from thinning my skin and beingred for almost a mont, for what i have read over the internet the new formulation does not work well.
I have read good reviews about malanage, but they dont have it in my country otherwise they are using it here with another name i have not found out yet

Tue May 20, 2014 5:04 pm

SEVERAL BLEACHING MASK TREATMENTS HELP NOT GOOD TO USE IN SUMMER HAVE TO GET THEM FOREVER BUT ITS BETTER THAN HAVING MELASMA IT'S CHANGED FOR LIFE I RARELY GO OUT ONLY TO WORK IN THE DAY TIME MY SELF CONFIDENCE IS -0 ITS MAKES ME LOOK OLDER ITS SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO DEPRESSING MY SKIN USED TO BE FLAWLESS JUST A FEW YEARS AGO I DIDNT EVEN SEE IT COMING! !@#!@$##$ SAD JUST SAD GLAD ITS NOT WORSE BUT STILL DEPRESSING Sad

WHEN I SEE OTHERS WITH IT I THINK NOTHING OF IT BUT B/C ITS ON MY FACE ITS DEVASTATING!

Tue May 20, 2014 5:34 pm

Pablita wrote:

Felixia how much downtime with that peel? Do you do it yourself or at doctors office?

Inmacolata how often did you do th tca peels and how many downtime days? And do you think facial exercises can be done if doing the peels? Because i had to stop doing them wirh cosmelan cos my skin got so thin i was scared to get wrinkles.

Sorry Pablita, I just saw this.

I do Jessners at home. This is the product I use http://www.amazon.com/Skin-Obsession-Anti-aging-Anti-acne-Treatment/dp/B0018P2ZEA/ref=aag_m_pw_dp?ie=UTF8&m=A2T4SPZGNBDEZH and the reviews will give you a good feel for the experience you could expect. My skin renewal cycle is probably higher than average and I can get away with 5 days for a 3-layer peel but a week is more usual for most people. The key to success is good prep and after-care (as well as careful application of course!). If you're not familiar with medium-depth chemical peels then doing it at a doctor's office, at least for the first time, is a great idea IMHO.

TCA is higher risk for melasma patients than Jessners as tends to penetrate deeper in the skin. For general rejuvenation that's great; for hyperpigmentation you don't need that (especially as the added depth comes with higher risk of post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation itself). I have done 20% TCA like Immacolata and absolutely have the same opinion as her regarding strength. If you can get hold of a downloadable copy of The Color Atlas of Chemical Peels then you can see which peels are recommended for different skin conditions, contraindications etc. IIRC, TCA for melasma patients is recommended at 10-15% maximum, to be layered over a salicylic peel. The salicylic acts as a penetration enhancer for the components of the TCA solution that will zap the brown spots and it's generally considered to be much "safer" than a straight TCA which could remove a similar density and depth of superficial melanin.

Hope that helps.

free skin care · Sun May 25, 2014 2:46 pm

Thanks a lot for all the helpul information Felixia, i am going to try the Jessners peel after the summer and download the colour atlas of chemical peels and educate myself a bit on the subject.
I want my dark spots gone for good too!

Mon Jul 07, 2014 3:28 am

Hi I am a new member . Just turned 40 have a 2 year old and been struggling with melasma for the past year .
Have done lasers, peels, Hq , and none of it helped .
Am finally seeing results with a few different things I got at sephora and neutrogena .
The dark patches actually increased and darkened at first and then almost peeled away .
Took around 3 weeks Smile

free skin care · Mon Jul 07, 2014 7:37 pm

For those that are trying to lessen dark spots, are you using a high PPD/UVA sunscreen every day?

free skin care · Mon Jul 07, 2014 8:14 pm

Window dressing, What did u find worked for you? what were the products you got at Sephora and Neutrogena?

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