Melasma & Pigment Lesion

What is melasma?

Melasma is a common skin problem. It causes brown to gray-brown patches, usually on the face. Most people get it on their cheeks, bridge of their nose, forehead, chin, and above their upper lip. It also can appear on other parts of the body that get lots of sun, such as the forearms and neck.

Who gets melasma?

Melasma appears on women’s skin much more often than men’s skin. Just 10% of people who get melasma are men.

People with darker skin, such as those of Latin/Hispanic, North African, African-American, Asian, Indian, Middle Eastern, or Mediterranean descent are more likely to get melasma. People who have a blood relative who had melasma also are much more likely to get melasma.

What causes melasma?

What causes melasma is not yet clear. It likely occurs when the color-making cells in the skin (melanocytes) produce too much color. People with skin of color are more prone to melasma because they have more active melanocytes than people with light skin.

Common melasma triggers (what starts it) include:

Sun exposure:

Ultraviolet (UV) light from the sun stimulates the melanocytes. In fact, just a small amount of sun exposure can make melasma return after fading. Sun exposure is why melasma often is worse in summer. It also is the main reason why many people with melasma get it again and again.

A change in hormones:

Pregnant women often get melasma. When melasma appears in pregnant women, it is called chloasma, or the mask of pregnancy. Birth control pills and hormone replacement medicine also can trigger melasma.

Skin care products:

If a product irritates your skin, melasma can worsen.

How do dermatologists treat melasma?

Melasma can fade on its own. This usually happens when a trigger, such as a pregnancy or birth control pills, causes the melasma. When a woman delivers her baby or stops taking the birth control pills, melasma can fade. However, some people have melasma for years, or even a lifetime. If the melasma does not go away or a woman wants to keep taking birth control pills, melasma treatments are available.

The topical include:

Hydroquinone:

This medication is a common first treatment for melasma. It is applied to the skin and works to even out your skin tone. Hydroquinone is no longer available without a prescription.

Tretinoin:

To enhance skin lightening.

Procedures:

If medicine you apply to your skin does not get rid of your melasma, a procedure may succeed. Procedures for melasma include a chemical peel, microdermabrasion, dermabrasion, laser treatment such as PicoSure laser, or a light-based such as IPL procedure. Only a dermatologist should perform these procedures.

Before

after

PicoSure safe for pigmented skin

How PicoSure laser treated melasma?

PicoSure Laser: one of the best for melasma and dark spots, an innovative advanced treatment for many skin conditions, including melasma. The PicoSure Laser works by delivering high-intensity laser pulses for a very short time, a picosecond, which is about one trillionth of a second. The laser targets pigment and activates natural collagen production in your skin cells, encouraging cycles of regeneration and renewal.

The PicoSure Laser is an uber targeted form of laser. It creates short pulses of laser energy that go straight to the pigment of your melasma, breaking it apart so your body can naturally dispose of it. Other treatments for melasma can sometimes cause discoloration or other effects on the surrounding skin.

The PicoSure Laser is an uber targeted form of laser. It creates short pulses of laser energy that go straight to the pigment of your melasma, breaking it apart so your body can naturally dispose of it.

Other treatments for melasma can sometimes cause discoloration or other effects on the surrounding skin. But with PicoSure, the pigmentation in the melasma skin patch is specifically targeted for treatment, which improves the look of your problem areas while also protecting surrounding skin.

PicoSure treatment also results in skin rejuvenation

If melasma is your target problem area, then the PicoSure Laser has you covered. But it also improves the tone, elasticity, and texture of your skin. The laser smoothes and improves the overall appearance of your skin, even lessening wrinkles, sun spots, and acne scars. This ensures that once the melasma pigmentation is treated, that your underlying skin shines through beautifully.

PicoSure treatment also results in skin rejuvenation

PicoSure is a quick and easy non-invasive Conventional treatments for melasma may have been long-term treatments, in which you had to do many and wait to see results. With PicoSure Laser, on the other hand, treatments are short and you see results quickly. The laser session itself lasts about 30 minutes, and you feel little to no pain. Depending on your specific skin condition, you may see results in only one session or you may need several to achieve your desired appearance. This PicoSure laser is an excellent tool for improving the appearance of melasma and other flaws in your skin. If you’re excited to welcome in smooth, clear skin, please contact us for an appointment.

What is Light-base treatment( IPL)?

IPL stands for intense pulsed light. It's a type of light therapy used to treat wrinkles, spots, and unwanted hair. You can use IPL to minimize or remove: age spots. sun damage. IPL uses light energy to target a certain color in your skin. When the skin is heated, your body gets rid of the unwanted cells, and that gets rid of the thing you're being treated for. Unlike lasers, an IPL device sends out more than one wavelength of pulsating light.

After IPL, you may look younger because your skin tone is more even. And since the light doesn’t hurt other tissue, you can get better quickly.

Effectiveness of IPL Treatment

It depends on how severe it is. It can take several months of treatment before acne symptoms improve. It's best to consult our dermatologist if an individual is unable to adequately control his or her acne. The goal of treatment should be the prevention of scarring (not a flawless complexion) so that after the condition spontaneously resolves there is no lasting sign of the affliction. Here are some of the options available

Redness and Rosacea:

After one to three treatments, light therapy can get rid of 50%-75% of broken blood vessels for most people. They could completely go away. While treated veins don’t come back, new ones might show up later.

Sun damage:

You may see 70% less of the brown spots and redness caused by ultraviolet (UV) rays.

Hair removal:

You’ll get the most benefit if you have light skin and dark hair. It may not work at all if you have dark skin or blond hair.

Acne:

IPL may help if you have acne or the scarring it causes. You may need about six sessions to notice a difference. Research is continuing.

Melasma & Pigment Lesion

What is melasma?

Who gets melasma?

What causes melasma?

Sun exposure:

A change in hormones:

Skin care products:

How do dermatologists treat melasma?

Hydroquinone:

Other topical (applied to the skin) medicines:

Tretinoin:

Procedures:

How PicoSure laser treated melasma?

PicoSure treatment also results in skin rejuvenation

PicoSure treatment also results in skin rejuvenation

What is Light-base treatment( IPL)?

Effectiveness of IPL Treatment

Redness and Rosacea:

Sun damage:

Hair removal:

Acne:

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All You Need to Know about Laser Skin Resurfacing

Please consult our dermatologist at Radiance Skin Clinic.

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