Escaping the Melasma Miasma

Original Article by Greenwich Medical Spa Staff

Suffering from a chronic skin condition might not pose a health risk, but it sure can have negative effects on your self-confidence, and therefore, your well-being. This is true of conditions like acne and rosacea, as well as darkening of the skin known as melasma.

If the patches you’ve noticed on your forehead, cheeks and nose appeared with sun exposure, pregnancy or hormonal changes but now refuse to go away, there are a variety of methods to treat melasma naturally. You won’t be able to cure melasma, but you can improve and manage it with treatments and homecare products.

Where does melasma come from?

Whether you call it melasma, hyperpigmentation or the mask of pregnancy, this skin condition consisting of dark patches on various areas of the face or even the body, affects approximately 6 million Americans and is more common among women. Hormonal changes are often the cause, which is why melasma is frequently associated with pregnancy, birth control pills and hormone therapy. Sun exposure and heat can also be to blame because they trigger melanocytes – the cells that control pigment. People with darker skin have more pigment, so they are also more susceptible to melasma.

How can I treat melasma?

The best strategy for managing melasma combines a corrective treatment series with consistent use of the right at-home products. This dual approach will help you improve the appearance of melasma hyperpigmentation and maintain your results.

At Greenwich Medical Spa, we offer multiple medical-grade series options so that we can tailor melasma treatment to each client’s condition. Our 3-in-1 DermalInfusion Diamond Tone Microdermabrasion simultaneously exfoliates, extracts and infuses skin with condition-specific serums. We use Lumixyl, a lightening and brightening solution, for patients with melasma. Another option for successfully treating melasma is a series of our Greenwich VIP Peels, which improve skin tone and texture, as well as reduce or eliminate discoloration and hyperpigmentation. PCA Peels are highly effective for all skin types and require minimal downtime – for melasma sufferers, we often pair this peel with HQ and Resorcinol Acid to boost the brightening effects.

Most importantly, these treatments should be performed in a series, spaced as recommended. Typically, that will mean 3 to 8 treatments taking place somewhere between weekly and monthly – our experienced aestheticians will determine a plan based on the condition of your skin and your personal goals and lifestyle. Next, homecare products will help improve and maintain the skin-lightening results from your treatments. We have a variety of effective at-home products, such as Arieed Re-New, Lumivive, Lytera, IS Clinical Vitamin C, ISDN MelaClear and Obagi Clear/Blender with Tretitonin.

For women and men with melasma – and all other humans too – applying and reapplying SPF 30 or higher sunblock in all seasons represents good skincare practice. We love EltaMD SPF 46 and so do all of our patients who use it. With the right treatment strategy and maintenance techniques, even those with melasma will see bright days ahead!


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