Melasma

Treatment | Before and After Pictures | Cost

Are you suffering with embarrassing, dark discoloration on your face that bothers you every time you look in the mirror? Is it impossible to cover with makeup? Have you spent hundreds (or thousands?) of dollars on different skin care products that don’t do a thing to help? If this all sounds familiar, we’re glad you found us because we can help you!

How do we treat Melasma?

Since 2004, we’ve treated thousands of patients just like you who suffer with Melasma. We’ve spent countless hours evaluating many treatments and have settled on one that works well to control Melasma for the majority of our patients. Our treatment program involves the use of topical (on the skin) hydroquinone.  Although many of our patients come in expecting to be offered laser treatments, we have found that lasers can often make Melasma worse and if it does improve temporarily, the results last less than a month.  This is why we have settled on Hydroquinone.  Still, many patients say “but I’ve already used hydroquinone.”  While we know many have failed the standard 4% hydroquinone creams, our product is 8% hydroquinone and is a liquid gel.  It penetrates the skin more easily because it’s a gel and works better and faster because it‘s 8%.  Because we use a higher % hydroquinone, we do require our patients to take a break after 3 months of continuous use.  To learn more, call us today for a free consultation.

What is Melasma?

It is a condition that usually affects women, and is often referred to as the “mask of pregnancy”. Though becoming pregnant isn’t the root cause of melasma, the hormonal changes that occur are just one of the different things that trigger it to mysteriously appear during that time. Almost out of nowhere, dark brown appearing patches can appear on the forehead, cheeks, upper lip and neck area. And while it’s not a sign of something serious, it can be really aggravating to have to look at and cause you some anxiety about your appearance.

It is also common in women who take oral contraceptives for birth control (they have hormones in them too) and those with darker skin types. Believe it or not, we are really only now just starting to unlock some of the mystery around what causes melasma. Studies have linked it to multiple different things: endocrine dysfunction, medications, nutritional deficiencies and hepatic (liver) dysfunction can all be involved. Because it doesn’t usually occur in postmenopausal women who take estrogen replacement, we know that hormones alone aren’t the only cause.

The one thing that is universal to everyone who has melasma is sun exposure. So in someone who’s predisposed to it, sun can trigger its onset. And no matter how careful you are about it, everyone gets UV exposure when they are out and about in their daily life. It also seems to get worse with heat and humidity, which depending on where you live can be completely unavoidable too.

Melasma is a multi-factorial, lifelong problem for the many women who suffer from it. Celibre understands this. Our goal is to not only educate you about your melasma, but also recommend and provide you with the most effective tools for you to use to keep it in check. It really is a problem that takes a team approach. Come visit us at either of our Los Angeles offices today. We can help you better understand what’s happening to your skin and work with you to find the solution that’s right for you. What are you waiting for? Give us a call today to get started.