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POSTED UNDER Laser Hair Removal REVIEWS

Post Laser Hair Removal Hypopigmentation

ORIGINAL POST

I had laser hair removal and resulting severe...

hypopigmentationMarch 14, 2009
$5,000

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.

Replies (82)

posey_r
March 22, 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
freesoul
March 30, 2009
are you evenly pale or do you have white dots where the hair was?
hypopigmentation
March 30, 2009
I had white huge semi-circles all over my legs (shape of the laser head) so they were everywhere the laser touched basically. I was not evenly pale; my nondamaged skin was pale but these marks were ghost white and VERY obvious and way to ugly to show in public. I am happy to report that I waited 6+ months and they were still just as ghostly white as before but I think the underlying skin had enough time to heal so I am still slowly exposing them to controlled sunlight and they are not about 85% better and almost blended completely as the white spots are starting to repigment and blend in w/ my skin as a result of the controlled sun exposure w/ UVA/UVB sunscreen of course.
Rose7
April 17, 2011
Hi Hypopigment,
I know it has been 2 years since this has happenend to you, but have you healed up completely? I had an IPL for hyperpigmentation on my chest and came out with hypopigment scarring that has not dissappeared in 8 months! I did have sun exposure 3 months after this was done because I am hispanic and thought I would just tan easily and get rid of them......wrong! They are not as white as when they first strted off, but are still noticeable. How long exactly did it take when you started tanning for you to notie a difference that it was working? How long exactly did it take for you to be completely healed? THis is killing me because I cannot wear any low cut shirts and summer is just around the corner. Please let me know.
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Marsi13
January 26, 2012
I am so happy I read your story. It gives me so much courage to give time to myself. Exactly same story!
MANY THANKS
VG2009
April 14, 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?
hypopigmentation
April 15, 2009
my burns occurred in Sept 2008 and I got ZERO sun exposure until March 2009. Actually every doctor told me NOT to get sun but I was relentless in my pursuit of "healing" so I emailed photos to a doctor overseas who had written a book on laser hair removal and he told me very controlled minimal sun exposure may help over time but that this wasn't a tested theory and was at my own risk (of course). Anyway, I started thinking that the skin would never blend since my non-damaged skin is light; however, it isn't ghost white like the hypopigmented areas just by the sheer fact that I have been exposed to the elements, sun, etc. over the course of my life (34 years) so my white skin was damaged so deep and I think I waited long enough with no sun exposure (6 months) for the damage to heal and then the only remaining thing to do was carefully and slowly and with lots of SPF to gradually reintroduce that skin to the sun and I think since it was healed at that point and therefore it was ready to produce melanin again that it slowly begain to recolor. I am proud to say that only the worst area is still slightly noticable but nobody would see it unless they knew and were looking for it and my arms and the rest of my legs are now 100% back to normal. I will never go w/o sunscreen again though as I'm worried that could lead to hyperpigmentation in those areas which would be even worse! I hope this helps; I was so traumatized by my situation that I really want to help others and/or prevent others from having this happen in any way I can. I would wait several more months before getting sun exposure b/c if your skin isn't healed deep down, I have heard you can make the situation worse or even permanent (not sure if it is true but that is what 2 docs told me when I saw them regarding mine). Good luck; I'm happy to answer any questions or provide any info that i can and I'm sorry you are going through this.
VG2009
April 23, 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.
hypopigmentation
April 25, 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!!!!
optgirl
June 8, 2009
Hi! I was very interested in what you wrote about fixing your hypopigmentation problem. I had laser hair removal done on my upper lip from Dec 2007 til May 2008 and had no problems. However, this past November, I started noticing that my upper lip was lighter than the rest of my face. My problem isn't that severe, but it is something that really bothers me & I always feel like it's really noticeable. I've seen a few dermatologists and they pretty much say to just wait and see what happens. I'm afraid it won't get any better. I've also heard mixed opinions...some doctors say to stay out of the sun, others say to get some sun. So I feel very lost...I'm really interested in hearing more about what you did so hopefully I can fix this mess. Thanks for your help!
lizyJa
August 26, 2011

Hi Optgirl I have exactly the same problem as you. My upper lip was also lasered. I started the treatment a couple of years ago and used to do a session once or twice a year. This year I noticed that the skin is lighter than the rest of my face and it bothers me very much especially as I am getting engaged soon. I would be very grateful to know what has happened with you now that it has been 2 years and whether you discovered if there is a way to treat this.
Thank you very much

ellie20
April 12, 2012
hi lizy ja,
i know its been a while since you posted but i just came upon this now. i have the same problem as you. i had been doing laser for two years on my upper lip and last week i came back from my laser appointment (at a new place) and noticed that my upper lip was like way lighter than the rest of my face. it looks really awkward and makes me really self conscious. what did you do for your problem ? did it work? sun or no sun?? i am so lost so any information will help!! thanks
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Marsi13
April 12, 2012
Hello Ellie,
My story is that I got severely burnt all over my legs on November 15, I was very depressed for a long period of time but now I can see that they are really fading away. The thing is you shouldn't expose to sun and wear a sunscreen (50) every day. Perhaps you should go to a dermatologist to prescribe you some medication. For example I was taking "elidel" which is for the white spots, "jalplast" which is hyaluronic acid, and "betnovate" which is cortisone. Also, you can buy a root of ginger and rub it on the white spots twice a day. This will be an extra help plus fresh aloe vera leaves and use it as a gel. I was even drinking aloe, spiralina, tyrosine, eating all green and red veggies in order to get over this.
It is important to go to a dermatologist because you may have developed post-inflammation, if I had started to use creams from the very beginning I think healing would be much faster. However, this aesthetician of mine was so stupid, and of course I am taking legal action against her.
My best wishes,
Maria

Best Wishes
zipo
July 27, 2012
hi hypopigmentation, i am having the same problem and been searching the internet to find anyone with the same case, im so glad this have helped you as now i have hope of full recovery.
thank you
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