Thanks for your question. The treatment of melasma requires more than just a specific device. It requires an evaluation of the type of melasma- how deep is it- epidermal, dermal, or both. Also, your skin type needs to be taken into consideration (fair skinned vs olive vs dark skinned) as this impacts the recommendations as well.I general, the best approach to melasma is medical grade skin care under the guidance of an expert. This will involve a combination of lightening agents, exfoliation enhancers, melanocyte stabilizers and antioxidants. The right skin regimen can often work so well that procedures are unnecessary. If a procedure IS necessary, the same skin care pre conditions your skin so that you do not hyperpigment from the procedure itself. And the skin care is also your maintenance in between procedures, to prevent the pigment from bouncing back. Most glycolic peels are what we call "light peels". They MAY temporarily improve the appearance of the melasma if it has an epidermal component, but you will feel like you are chasing it all the time and it would be unlikely to clear it to your satisfaction. With proper skin conditioning (skin care), you can have a procedure done safely which can get more improvement, if needed- for example, laser skin resurfacing or fractionated RF resurfacing, or even a deeper peel. I would not expect omnilux to help your pigment- it does not resurface and it does not change the pigment.Avoid irritation of the skin in the region where you have the melasma. So for example you should not be waxing above your upper lip. We don't cure melasma, but we can gain better control of the cells that produce the pigment and thus minimize its appearance dramatically. Best,Lisa Vuich, MD
