Cosmelan Day by Day - Orange, CA

While researching Cosmelan, I appreciate the day by day status members posted because it helped me get over some of the anxiety of the procedures. I have melasma/freckles/brown spots all over my face but concentrated on the cheeks. I got treated with Cosmelan (w/ hydroquinone) at a MD's office last week so here's the progress so far.

First off, let's go over the vocabulary. Day 1 is the day after being treated with Cosmelan 1 mask, Day 2 is 2 days after treatment with Cosmelan 1, so on and so forth (I was always confused about whether Day 1 is the day of the procedure or the day after). The face cleaner I'm using is Cerave foaming face wash and sunscreen is Neutrogena Age Shield SPF 110.

Day 0 (Cosmelan 1 applied to face): I was asked to clean my face with face wash, in addition my face was cleaned with the included Mesoestetic acetone cleaner. The entire content was used one my face, with just a little leftover in some of the mask rubbed off on accident. Application of the mask was painless and felt cool to the touch. A few minutes after the mask was applied I did feel a slight stinging sensation, but nothing that was surprising or unbearable. I was asked to leave the mask on for 9 hours, over the next hour the stinging went away as I got more used to the mask. I had the occasional itch and urge to scratch, but nothing that was uncontrollable. Off the mask came of with face wash and lukewarm water at exactly 9 hours. Most of my face was slightly red, except the area around my mouth which was dark red, almost brown. I applied the Hydra K which helped cool my face a little and went to bed.

Day 1: I woke up to a tomato red face and reddish brown skin around my mouth. I wasn't in any pain and the morning face wash was uneventful. Slapped on some Hydra K and then some sunscreen. The Hydra K stung a little but it went away after about 15 minutes. I spent all day at home, watching movies and surfing the internet. Towards the end of the day, the area around my mouth and nose were clearly showing signs of peeling. I was worried a little that the peeling would just be around my mouth where I least needed it. I needed to peel around my cheeks mostly.

Day 2: Still too soon to judge whether Cosmelan works for me. I woke up feeling pretty good, my face was red and area around my mouth and nose was clearly peeling. I felt comfortable trying Cosmelan 2 on a couple spots in the morning. It didn't sting or hurt like some reviews mentioned. In fact, I handled Cosmelan 2 so well, I applied it to my entire face around noon. Once again the application of hydra K stung more than the Cosmelan 2. By night my cheek and forehead area were showing signs that it was going to peel. I applied the Cosmelan 2 and hydra K combo at night as well. So in total I applied Cosmelan 2 three times today since I tolerated it well.

I will post progress tomorrow.

Day 3: Face is less red, but pretty much the entire face is peeling. The peeling is thicker around the mouth and nose, with the cheeks and forehead peeling in thinner layers. By night I was a walking, shedding, piece of flesh. My face looks like a jigsaw puzzle of peeling skin and areas that looks like it's about ready to peel (reminds me of the Thing/Ben Grimm from Fantastic Four). My skin does have a more youthful look with skin tone more even than before. Pigmentation seems to be lighter in some areas. I'm watching the darker areas closely, but it's only been a few days. I used Cosmelan 2 three time today, hydra K was applied each time, and sunscreen was applied in the morning and midday. Any application of Cosmelan 2, hydra K, or sunscreen does sting, but it goes away after 30 minutes or so (I do have a high pain tolerance). I bear the sting because I believe it's important to follow the protocol as closely as possible.

Face continue to approve, Most of the peeling is done except on the corners of my cheeks and some flaking. I shower twice a day since it seems to help clean up the dead skin better than just splashing water on my face in the sink. I'm still applying cosmelan 2 three times a day, followed by hydra k and sunscreen. Applying c2, hydra k, and sunscreen still stings for about half an hour. Overall I'm seeing fading of brown spots and an younger complexion. I hope to improve enough to see daylight tomorrow.