Melasma — Treatment Options and Prevention Tips

Your face has taken on a new feature — an area of skin that’s darker than the surrounding tissue — and you’re not all that pleased with this highly visible development.

Called melasma, this form of hyperpigmentation strikes women far more than men — about 9 to 1 — and this is largely due to hormones. In fact, up to half of pregnant women develop melasma thanks to the change in the reproductive hormone environment during this time.

The good news is that there are some great treatment options for melasma, as well as prevention strategies, which the team here at Dutch Hollow Medical Day Spa wants to review below. Let’s take a look.

Melasma basics

Let’s start with some useful background on melasma, focusing on what causes the darker patches of skin on your face.

When you develop a dark spot, it typically means that cells called melanocytes, which produce the pigment melanin, become overactive. The resulting overproduction of melanin is often in response to:

• Light
• Heat
• Ultraviolet radiation
• Shift in estrogen hormones

Melasma tends to strike darker skin colors, as well as people who tan more easily. 

Far and away, the biggest group of people who are at risk for melasma is pregnant women, as up to half develop these dark spots during their pregnancy. As well, women taking the birth control pill are also more at risk for melasma because of the change in hormones.

We also want to point out that melasma is a bit different from age spots — they’re often bigger with different types of coloring that range from dark brown to bluish gray.

As for location, melasma often develops on your forehead, cheeks, around your upper lip, and on your hands and forearms.

Clearing away melasma

The good news about melasma is that it is harmless. That said, you don’t love the cosmetic effect it’s having, so you want to learn about treatment options, which vary.

For example, if you’re dealing with melasma during pregnancy, many women find that these spots fade after the pregnancy, and no treatment is needed.

If your melasma develops outside pregnancy and it looks like the spots are taking up permanent residence in your skin, we can fight back with:

Topical skin lightening medications

The most common treatment for melasma is topical medications that lighten your skin by reducing pigment production and shrinking blood vessels. Examples of skin lightening medications include hydroquinone and azelaic acid.

Corticosteroids 

Another common melasma treatment includes corticosteroids to reduce inflammation in your skin.

Retinol

We’ve also found success with retinol medications that promote skin cell turnover.

Chemical peels and light therapies

To reduce the appearance of melasma spots, we can use chemical peels that remove the skin’s outer layers. Or light therapies that break up areas of hyperpigmentation are also effective. Bear in mind that the melasma can return after these treatments if you don’t take preventive steps.

Melasma prevention tips

Once you get rid of existing melasma spots, you need to protect against the skin condition from recurring by:

• Doubling down on your sun protection efforts, as sun exposure is a big risk factor
• Consider not using hormone birth control pills
• Using gentle products on your skin
• Reducing LED exposure (screens, etc.)

If you’d like to learn more about melasma prevention or you’d like to discuss the best way to clear melasma spots from your skin, we invite you to contact us at our med spa in Godfrey, Illinois, today.