“Post laser hair removal hypopigmentation ”
Laser hair removal: NOT worth it
Cost: $5,000
Pain: Uncomfortable
Pain: Uncomfortable
Laser hair removal satisfaction: Poor
I had laser hair removal and resulting severe hypopigmentation all over my legs and arms. The cause was that I had sun exposure prior to the treatment combined witht the laser strength being too high.
It has been 6 months and my arms are 90% better; however no real improvement has occurred on my legs at all. I have seen 2 dermatologists who say this should get better eventually but after 6 months I am starting to feel like it will never get better and too embarrassed to show my legs in public.
Any advice or response is greatly appreciated. I also have photos I can email if anyone is interested.
Mar 14, 2009Comments and replies (35)
8 of 8 people found this review helpful
This review is the subjective opinion of a RealSelf member and not of RealSelf, Inc.
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17 posts
22 Mar 2009
Oh no! Hypopigmentation? May I ask what your skin tone is like? I am of Sicilian descent with olive skin, but I have stayed 100% out of the sun for the past 4 years (lived in Alaska) so my skin has gotten very pale. Also all my hair is black, which is good for the laser treatments. I would like to see the pictures if you feel comfortable posting them or emailing them. I hope your legs get better!!! Thank you for sharing your story with us. --Rosie
21 posts
29 Mar 2009
are you evenly pale or do you have white dots where the hair was?
2 posts
14 Apr 2009
Hypopigmentation, how long did you wait until you started exposing your legs to the sun? I was burned on feb. 02, 2009. I am very light but had residual ( over 6 mo old) tan on my legs. My arms did not react, but i have the white marks on my legs just as you described. I am planning on waiting longer and just letting my skin even out by fading the residual tan around the marks. Question is, have I actually lost pigment and should I possibly start applying the controlled sun exposure? What's your regimen? Did a doctor recommend it, or you just figured it out on your own?
2 posts
23 Apr 2009
Hypopigmentation, Thank you so much for such a comprehensive response. It feels good to have some support, as the doctors at the Ideal Image failed to even return my phone calls after this happened. I am going to be 3 months into this mess first of may, and will try to stay out of the sun. I can see the fading happening already, mostly because the residual tan is lightening up. Is there a way doctors test if there was deep damage to the skin? I am not nessessarily thrilled with an idea of seeing a dermatologist about this, since I dont know a good one and it feels like gambling trying to find someone I can trust. On the other hand, if they can tell me something I didnt research on my own, it might be worth it. What regimen did you come up with? How much spf, for how long, outdoors or tanning booth? I wonder what tanning spray might do, did your doctors say anything about that? I am in no hurry to look good, I just want to make sure I dont make it worse in the long run.
20 posts
25 Apr 2009
I went to 2 dermatologists and both told me to stay out of the sun completely for a very long time to let my skin heal. They told me they have no way of knowing how deeply into the skin the damage went which would determine how long the healing would take. I did spray tan for a few months and although it did make the spots less noticable since my regular skin was one color and the hypopigmented skin was ghost white, they still spray tanned as 2 different colors... but it was better to me than the ghost white marks so I spent hundreds of dollars on spray tanning. Eventually when your skin is totally healed the only real way i have found to make the areas blend together is the sun w/ SPF. I started with 20 minutes at at a time w/ 45 SPF then worked my way down to 4 or 8 SPF (over a few months as I saw each time was helping and not hurting). Now I actually go to the tanning bed but I use 15 SPF in the tanning bed and do not go for the full amount of time. I was worried that the blending would take forever and be very uneven for a long long time but once i was healed and then exposed myself to sun using the same levels of SPF on the hypopigmented areas and my regular skin, those hypopigmented areas seemed to tan faster and therefore blend in quite nicely but just like the 7 months with no sun prior to the sun, the gradual and slow process of getting sun takes a few months and minimal exposure at a time and waiting time (I did about 3 or 4 times per week; 20 mins each). Now I am pretty much 100% better and I am so thankful. I believe that had I not gone in the sun ever that the hypopigmentation would have never blended totally as that skin needs to take in the sunlight once it is producing melanin again in order for it to regain any color other than white. I honestly think thg biggest thing is waiting months and months before trying it and then really monitoring it when you try it and I really think you will be better but will probably take a year or similar like mine... Let me know if I can help or tell you more about my experience. I was so distressed and couldn't find any support or anyone who was going through it so I want to help others as I know I am not alone in this!!! That's why I took my story to the web. Best of luck! Keep me updated on your progress, I hope by end of the year you are back to your normal self!!!!
2 posts
3 Jun 2009
I have the EXACT same issue that 'hypopigmentation' has described. My entire body is covered in round, white spots. I went to the dermatologist and he didn't seem too worried but that still hasn't eased my fears. He said to stay out of the sun and it should repigment on its own. However, like 'hypo' stated, I also thought my skin could use some sunlight and am now taking her advice re: tanning w/ SPF. I just started this week so I won't know it works for a while. BTW, I am now 11 months post-laser so I'm pretty sure any underlying damage has healed. But my skin still looks the same. If anyone would like to discuss or see pics please email me. I'm DESPERATE for a resolution to this.
4 posts
8 Jun 2009
Hey! I am very interested in hearing more about fixing the hypopigmentation problem. I had some laser treatment done on my upper lip and now it is lighter than the rest of my face. It isn't a severe problem but it's very noticeable to me and bothers me a lot. I've been to several dermatologists but they all say to wait and see what happens...and I've had some tell me to stay out of the sun and some say to get some sun. So I just feel very lost...I had the treatment done from Dec 2007 to May 2008. I had no problems until this past November when I noticed my upper lip was lighter. It's been the same ever since and it's driving me crazy. If you could let me know what you did, I'd be very interested! Thanks for your help!
20 posts
16 Jun 2009
I'm certainly no expert but from my experience with the same issue, it sounds like you definitely got sun exposure too quickly after the procedure and it is probably much more difficult not to when the affected area is on your face which is exposed to sun when you are in a car and basically every time you go outside. I have heard that in rare cases the hypopigmentation can be permanent and that the risk can be greater if the area is exposed to the sun too quickly after the hypopigmentation occurs since the underlying skin damage didn't have the necessary time to heal w/o exposure to the sun. Since you can't undo the sun exposure you already had and the area is lighter than your other skin, I suppose it wouldn't hurt to try controlled sun exposure like I did with high level SPF on the area in small increments to see if the skin starts darkening and matches your other skin. This definitely worked 100% for me but that was after literally 0 sun exposure for 9 months or more after I experienced the problem. I'm so sorry you are going through this; I can SO understand how distressing it can be as it really ruined 9+ months of my life and I cried enough tears to fill a river (imagine having this in semi-circle marks ALL OVER your legs and ALL OVER your arms and living in a climate where it is 80 degrees year round so not the easiest place to hide your arms & legs). I am just trying to help others since I couldn't find any help or resources and I just about searched to the end of the internet to find some! I hope I was helpful; please let me know if you have any success as it helps me and others with this problem to know what does and doesn't work on others!
46 posts
25 Jun 2009
Hello, I read in an article that the dermatologist Dr. R.W. Urbanek reported that a product know as "V-Tar" helps with people suffering from hypopigmentation. "According to Dr. Urbanek, this compound causes the skin to produce melanocytes which in term create melanin and restore the skin’s normal pigmentation." You can read more here, http://ezinearticles.com/?White-Scars-and-Hypopigmentation:-Their-Causes-and-Cures&id=374479 And here is a link to the scientific article which is mentioned as a second way of treating hypopigmentation, but it's not a product, it's a special dermatological procedure, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14692936?dopt=AbstractPlus
1 post
27 Jun 2009
I was wondering if the places that you had the white circles started out as blisters? or did white spots just appear after the laser