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Thu May 05, 2011 8:07 am  |
I have melasma on right side of my face and i have done some acid peels from professionals about 6 times and have minimal effects. I am also using Finacea and a pigment regulator given by the person who did acid peels. I do use sun block spf 30 (neutrogena) when it is sunny outside.
I am not sure what else I can do to get rid of the area since it is so noticeable (people say if i got into a fight or something...). I read Retin A is good? I also read laser might also be good but my dermatologist said it might just work BUT i think to cover himself he emphasized on potential side effects of it and saying since it is a very noticeable area (face) it might not be a great idea to risk...
I have yet to use Obagi but that's similar to the acid peels? So any suggestions on what to use/try? thanks! |
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Thu May 05, 2011 8:50 am |
| i also read somewhere that HQ 2% + retin a works wonders? |
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Thu May 05, 2011 9:11 am |
| Do you have a picture to show us what it looks like? Yes, HQ can help, but it's usually for smaller patches and such. |
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Thu May 05, 2011 12:30 pm |
Perhaps you want to ramp up your photoprotection: like a 15% zinc oxide sunscreen, plus powder sunscreen on top, plus hats or parasols, plus Heliocare or Sunpill, and tomato paste, green tea, and lutein in eggs or pistachios... It might also be good to try to remove all possible irritants from your routine--chemical sunscreens, acids--and see if that helps, with the super sun-protection.
BTW, I love Retin A, but it can irritating, so be careful and go slow if you do. Another option is Triluma, a combo of RA, HQ, and a cortisone.
A helpful link: http://www.skintour.com/q-and-a/What-can-I-do-about-melasma-It-just-doesnt-go-away-with-products.-.html.html |
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30-ish, sensitive fair skin, oily and acne-prone, faded freckles; tretinoin since Oct 2010 |
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Thu May 05, 2011 1:01 pm |
so is triluma "better" than the hq + reti combo because it has those 2 in it and is it as safe? I read the HQ can cause some serious illness like leukemia etc and the posts with triluma in it arent very flattering either...
I read someone had good results with Vitamin C Serum?
For safety concerns is it better for me to try out Reti 5% and vitamin C serum first with my Finacea (AHA right?) Any suggestions on a routine i should run? thanks!
what is a good 15% zinc oxide sunscreen brand to get? widely available in drugstores? |
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Thu May 05, 2011 10:46 pm |
About RA vs RA/HQ, I would discuss this with your derm.
Pure mineral sunscreens: Blue Lizard and Vanicream in drugstores, and Burnout and Elta MD are ZO-only and inexpensive online. ZO/chemical UV filter combos: Coppertone Sensitive skin faces SPF 50 and Copp. Kids Pure and Simple SPF 50 have the same formula. |
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30-ish, sensitive fair skin, oily and acne-prone, faded freckles; tretinoin since Oct 2010 |
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Fri May 06, 2011 6:22 am |
i will look for those copper zinc suncscreens then... I have right now neutrogena helioplix spf 55 after i checked.. Also below is the image of the affect area on face.. When people see it they think i got a bruise or something...
i will pm you the pic since i cant post it here due to restrictions |
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Fri May 06, 2011 7:16 am |
| Hmm I think laser may be your best option then. Retin-A can take up to a year to show some improvement, and there are also side effects that come with it. What did your derm say the side effects of laser were? |
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Fri May 06, 2011 7:39 am |
| Oh, just thought of another thing--a quick fix, but totally superficial--medical makeup, for instance Coverblend by Neostrata, that has amazingly skin-like total coverage. Learned about this from Paula Begoun's radio show interviewing Kimberly Heintzman: http://www.kimcosmetics.com/About.html |
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30-ish, sensitive fair skin, oily and acne-prone, faded freckles; tretinoin since Oct 2010 |
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Fri May 06, 2011 9:55 am |
| oasisjc wrote: |
| Hmm I think laser may be your best option then. Retin-A can take up to a year to show some improvement, and there are also side effects that come with it. What did your derm say the side effects of laser were? |
well he just said it is a sensitive area (the face) and he showed me some pictures of "mishaps" (in general not from there) where it shows a lot of redness post surgery etc...
I am actually gonna see another dermatologist next week to see what he thinks and prescribes... you really think none of the non-laser fixes here will make it better?
it seems the local walgreen has vanicream/blue lizard.. both 35spf - is that good enough? the helioplix from neutrogena has 100+spf.. |
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Fri May 06, 2011 11:26 am |
There's little difference between SPF 35 and 100, as this chart shows: http://thedermblog.com/2010/08/25/3-summer-skin-myths/
SPF 35 blocks 97% of the UV rays; SPF 100 blocks 99%. Anything over about 50 is a meaningless gain, and the FDA is supposed to enact regulations soon limiting the SPF ratings to about 60.
What's more important is UVA blockers and their stability, because UVA is what causes hyperpigmentation. ZO is a far more stable UVA blocker than avobenzone, which has to have octocrylene and even then, it "runs out" after about 2 hours in the sun. Reapplication is less of a concern for ZO, just when it gets rubbed or sweated off.
The other thing is that there's a much higher risk of irritation from a chemical SPF 100, whereas ZO is a soothing ingredient as well as UV blocker (it's what makes diaper cream white). Irritation can contribute to melasma.
All of which is a long way of answering your question, and the short answer is yes and no: SPF 35 is both enough (as far as sunscreen goes) and not enough (as far as behavior goes). It's still crucial to stay out of direct sunlight as much as possible.
From my own experience, my freckles kept getting darker and darker each summer, even though I was wearing high-SPF sunscreens... It wasn't until I started wearing wide-brimmed hats obsessively, together with only SPF 15, that they faded down to almost nothing, though it did take a few years.
Hope this helps!  |
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30-ish, sensitive fair skin, oily and acne-prone, faded freckles; tretinoin since Oct 2010 |
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