Is V Beam Safe for Ethnic Skin?

Hi, I am 43, suffer from melasma and have tried Triluma, Cosmelan and a Vitamin C serum at different times for it with mixed results.

The first two made the hyperpigmentation worse as I didn't protect my skin adequately afterwards with a high enough SPF. Now I use Kotz total sunblock and wear hats everywhere.

I also have Rosacea and underneath the hyperpigmentation are broken red vessels. I'm considering getting V Beam laser for the redness but am worried about causing more hyperpigmentation issues. What should I do?

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age 35-44 skin broken capillaries hyperpigmentation melasma rosacea ethnic sun protection

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3 Doctor Answers | Asked by Dlite in California

Doctor Answers (3)
Community Comments (0)

Pulsed dye lasers are not used in darker skin types

Because melanin (pigment) blocks the transmission of the 595nm wavelength photons from the Vbeam pulsed dye laser, this laser is not used nor effective in darker skin types (types IV, V and VI). If your vessels are sizable, the long pulse Nd:YAG laser can be safely and effectively used in darker skin.

VBeam not good for darker skin

VBeam targets blood in blood vessels. Unfortunately, it can cause severe hypopigmentation in skin of color. For this reason, we do not use VBeam in darker skin types. You can try the long pulse Nd:YAG for your vessels set with a long millisecond pulse width to try to decrease the risk of pigment alteration.

VBeam on Dark Skin

The darker your skin, the greater the chance of hyperpigmentation with a V-beam treatment. From your description, it sounds like you are not a good candidate for the V-beam. If you are on the borderline, a test spot or two might be helpful. I have seen post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation occur with the V-beam in patients with skin as light as Fitzpatrick type III (e.g. hispanic), although it was always temporary, it sometimes lasted for months.