“Post Laser Hair Removal Hypopigmentation ”

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!!!!

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!