hypopigmentation

Location: Macon, GA
Joined: 14 Mar 2009
Activity: 15 posts

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Recent comments by hypopigmentation

one problem I am now having is getting sun exposure and having small white spots appear (kind of like age spots). I am only 34 and hadn't ever had these before so I think it may be a result of the laser hair removal. They are small and much better than the major hypopigmentation I had but I can tell they are not going to tan ever and I seem to notice a new one every couple of months. I read that you can experience hypopigmentation months and months after laser hair removal and I now think this is happening to me. This was the worst thing I ever did to get laser hair removal but I guess I just have to be happy that the major hypopigmentation is gone.
i waited 7 or 8 months and then did controlled sun exposure with lots of spf. i am now 100% back to normal and had severe hypopigmentation all over my arms and my legs.
started as blisters and burns and then blisters came off and pigment was gone.
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!
I was confused; when was the date of your last treatment? Did you have any burns or adverse reactions to the treatment immediately after the treatment or everything was fine and seemed normal and then several months later you developed hypopigmentation? If everything was totally fine w/ no adverse reaction for months adn then you all the sudden developed hypopigmentation, I am wondering if you had sun exposure and that was the cause of the damage after the treatment which resulted in hypopigmentation? This brings me to a key issue in my recovery as I am female, 34 years old and although my hypopigmentation is completely gone, I have noticed that as I tan and resume my normal life that I have more "sun spots" which are normal and come w/ age than i had before on my lower legs. They are tiny and definiltey something I can live with but these sun spots are permanent and not like the temporary (well if you call 9 months temporary) hypopigmentation I had after the laser hair removal burns and damage. i think the additional (albeit tiny and not very noticable overall) sunspots are also a result of the laser even though i haven't had any laser treatment now for nearly a year. oh and by the way, i will never be having any laser touching me anywhere unless it is for some life saving surgery.
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