Melasma is very common, but it’s not harmful, so there’s no reason to treat it from a medical point of view. But because it shows up on the face and chest, where it is easy to see, many people feel self-conscious about it and decide to treat it.
Melasma needs to be treated carefully and differently for each person to get the best results. Your plan to treat your melasma may be very different from what someone else did, and that’s fine. Different treatments work for different people.
This article talks about hyperpigmentation, including how to treat melasma at home, with over-the-counter medications, or with laser therapy.
Melasma Treatment at Home
Before you start treatment, you should know that melasma is hard to get rid of. So if you want good results that last, you’ll probably have to keep up with them over time.
Sun Protection Is Key
It is very important to keep your skin safe from the sun. Melasma is usually caused by too much time in the sun. 1
If you don’t use sunscreen every day already, now is the time to start. Choose a sunscreen with at least 30 SPF and put it on every day. Even if you don’t spend much time outside, you should wear sunscreen every day of the year. This is true even if it’s cloudy, rainy, or cold outside. With melasma, even a little bit of sun can make it darker.
On days when you spend a lot of time outside, you should reapply sunscreen often. Also, think about wearing a hat or staying in the shade as much as possible.
Even if the treatment works and the melasma goes away, you’ll still need to stay away from the sun. Melasma comes back completely for many people after just a few hours in the sun.
Plan on using sunscreen every day as part of your skin care routine. This will help your skin respond to other treatments you may be using. You’ll also protect your skin from sun damage and skin cancer, which is a bonus.
Home Remedies
In general, home remedies for melasma aren’t very good at helping. A few alternative treatments, such as turmeric and aloe vera, have helped melasma at least a little bit. But there isn’t enough information to suggest aloe or turmeric as treatments for melasma, and traditional treatments work faster and give better results.
Melasma may get worse with some other home remedies. You shouldn’t put things on your skin like lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, raw onions, or garlic. These very acidic ingredients can irritate your skin, which can make the spots you want to lighten get even darker. Lemon also makes your skin much more sensitive to sun damage because it is a photosensitizer.
Over-the-Counter Therapies
If your melasma isn’t too bad, over-the-counter skin care products and cosmetics with brightening or exfoliating ingredients can help. You can use these as part of your daily skin care routine, but you might have to wait. Melasma is hard to get rid of and won’t get better for a few months.
Here are some helpful things to look for:
- Kojic
- Niacinamide
- Licorice extract
- Vitamin C
- Mandelic acid
- Glycolic acid
Topical Corticosteroids
Steroid creams, which are also called topical corticosteroids, are used to treat many skin problems because they stop inflammation. They also have a slight effect of making the skin lighter. Topical corticosteroids don’t work well enough on their own to treat melasma, so you’ll also be given another topical treatment to use along with the corticosteroids.
Tretinoin
Brand names for tretinoin like Retin-A and Renova are more well-known. As a form of vitamin A, tretinoin speeds up cell turnover, getting rid of old skin cells and making new ones grow faster. Even though tretinoin is very good at treating acne and the signs of aging (such as fine lines and wrinkles, uneven skin tone, age spots, and rough skin), it is not very good at treating melasma on its own.
But tretinoin works well when used as a maintenance cream for a long time. Buy Tretinoin Cream Online at the Lowest Price in the USA.
Triple Combination Cream
This medicine, which is sold under the name Tri Luma Cream, is a mix of tretinoin, corticosteroid, and hydroquinone. It gives you the benefits of all the medicines listed above in one cream. This treatment is more effective than others and can help even severe melasma.
A Word From Verywell
Melasma is hard to treat in some ways. Hyperpigmentation takes a long time to go away, and it’s not unusual for it to come back even after treatment. In some situations, it’s more realistic to think about lightening and fading the spots instead of getting rid of them completely.
No matter what you do, don’t forget to use sun protection every day. Melasma can get better if you use treatments regularly and for a long time and if you get help from people who know about skin care.
