Treatments for Melasma Vs Sun Damage

These often are one and the same. Without question, the leading cause of extrinsic aging of the skin is sun exposure. One of the results of sun exposure is what we dermatologists call dyschromia. This is a fancy name for the unattractive pigmentation which blotches the skin. Besides the prudent use of sunscreens, there are two main types of topicals which can be used. One of these would be a Retinoid. Retinoids, besides being an anti-aging formulation can also handle dyschromia on their... more

Hi Violet, We think hydroquinone bleaching programs are an excellent option for Melasma. We have not found TriLuma or any other 4% prescription to really do the trick for resistant Melasma. With more difficult cases, we use two programs, one that is produced for us by a pharmaceutical company and another called Cosmelan. The % of hydroquinone bleaching agent in these products is much higher than the standard prescription and thus yields better results. For sun damage, the gold standard is... more

Products such as Triluma, Blanche, Lumixyl etc will improve pigmentation from both melasma and sun damge. The new Fraxel Dual is also good for both of these problems.