I hope you're doing better now. Protecting your skin from the sun continues to be very important for you, especially as we're heading into spring. Since melasma is a chronic problem, follow-up with a board-certified dermatologist can be critical for obtaining long-term good results. What you use on your skin... more
IPL left discoloration-should I have IPL again?
I had a IPL treatment over a week ago (9/10/08). Prior to this treatment, I had a treatment in April which was fine. I had mentioned to my Dr. that I had recently been in the sun. She said that it looked like I was getting the beginning stages of Melasma and we should be aggressive with the treatment and do IPL on my entire face so I trusted her treatment plan. I went for a follow up to this recent treatment because I now have on both cheeks a pattern which is much like a stripe effect on one cheek and a coffee spill on the other cheeks. I had no sign of discoloration in the areas that are now damaged. She told me to wait two weeks and come back and that she will treat again. I can't really cover this damage with makeup and I look like a scary creature. I am becoming increasingly worried that I will never have an even skin tone again. She assured me that there was no perm skin damage but I am not sure if I am being naive to believe her. Please help me.
Sort: Date | Helpful
8 answers to “IPL left discoloration-should I have...”A: Fraxel works better than IPL for melasma
IPL can leave discoloration and is not very effective on treating melasma.Darker skin people are not good candidates for IPL and often two weeks is not enough time for the tan to fades.Melasma can succesfully be treated mith Fraxel restore laser and pretreating the skin with hydroquinone, or bleaching cream... more
A: IPL is not a great melasma treatment.
It is true that sun exposure can cause an unwanted response to IPL. The melanin is a chromophore for IPL meaning that it is a colored target that absorbs the light energy produced by the intense pulsed light. Too much chromophore and the skin can actually break down. The tiger stripping is due to the actual... more
A: Treatment of Melasma with IPL, topical treatments: Reduction in Pigment on Face
Hyperpigmentation of the facial skin requires the skills of an experienced skin expert. Melasma cannot be cured, but can only be treated. It is an ongoing process that will improve with laser, chemical peels, IPL, and topical creams. Ironically, all of the treatments, excluding topical creams, can... more
A: Melasma
The IPL treatment may be aggravating the melasma. Sometimes, hydroquinone and retin A formulations can improve the melasma. Steven Wallach, MD www.stevenwallachmd.com
A: Stop IPL and Bleach your skin for quicker improvement.
The sun and IPL may contribute to hyperpigmentation with patient with a history of melasma. At this point, it is best to stop IPL's and get the pigment producing cells in your skin to calm down. This is best done by 'putting them to sleep', a bleaching cream may achieve this for you. Unfortunately, all of... more
A: Prescription bleaching creams would be appropriate now.
Dear Danai, the hyperpigmentation after your procedure could be due to a few things. Regardless, it is probably not permanent and you should have treatment to hurry up the recovery. usually a bleaching cream combined with retin A and a cortisone cream resolves these tempory problems quite well... more
A: You will get better if you stay out of the sun.
It sounds like this patient is prone to hyperpigmentation which is aggravated by the sun. With proper care it will improve. The problem is a complicated one. Melasma (also known as pregnancy mask) is a very common and difficult condition to deal with. It appears in some women with hormonal changes, in others... more
Comments
IMPORTANT: As noted in our Terms of Service, the information found on RealSelf.com, including that provided by professionals in the Questions & Answers area, is a general educational aid. The Questions and Answers contain opinions and views created by community members. RealSelf.com is not responsible for the accuracy of any information posted by community members. Do not rely on this information as a substitute for personal medical or healthcare advice, or for diagnosis or treatment purposes.
44 posts
29 Nov 2008
Hi, I am 11weeks post fraxel repair still five shades darker than my natural skin colour and hyperpigmented.Any suggestions? Will further laser treatments of the hyperpigmented areas make them worse?
95 posts
1 Nov 2008
From your description, I suspect the discoloration is from the recent IPL treatment alone and not necessarily because you may also have melasma. Basically the treatment was done while your skin was too dark (from a sun tan) for it. There is a pretty well understood biochemical explanation for this but its scope is probably not for this forum. It is for a similar reason that darker skin types cannot take advantage of IPL technology. For those that can one ought to wait for summer tans to clear up completely before attempting IPL treatment. Sun exposure after the treatment without use of a good sunblock is another no, no. Suffice to say, time and not a repeat IPL treatment is the answer. The discoloration should get progressively better but expect complete clearing up in about 60-90 days. Your physician could consider prescribing a skin lightener to even out the skin tone as you wait for the natural clearing up process.
2 posts
16 May 2009
I was left with what looked like almost a half mustache from discoloration after my IPL.. a darkening pattern above my lip. They did the IPL again over that area (for free) to clean that up and it improved perfectly. I would actually recommend letting them do another treatment. Sometimes one treatment brings the damage up to the surface but it doesn't quite slough off. One more treatment should help it come up permanently. Just my personal experience. Good luck!