MELASMA
Do you see dark brownish blotchy patches located symmetrically on your face?
Melasma is often confused with other pigmented conditions like post inflammatory hyperpigmentation (PHI), solar lentigo or sun spot, even uncommon types of pigmented nevus.
Melasma is a pigmentation disorder appearing symmetrically distributed brownish patches on your forehead, bridge of the nose, temples, cheeks, upper lip and chin. It’s an acquired condition, affecting mostly females.
Melasma Risk Factors:
- Pregnancy: occurs frequently or worsens during pregnancy
- Oral contraceptives pills
- Genetic predisposition & family history of melasma
- Certain cosmetics & photosensitizing medications also appears to trigger melasma
- Ultraviolet (UV) radiation: all wavelengths of sunlight, visible and invisible spectrum, are capable of inducing melasma.
- Heat: Excessive heat affects cooks exposed for long periods of time to hot grills and ovens, factory workers in plants without cooling, office workers exposed to overhead desk lamps and even patients undergoing treatments heating lamps
Streaks of melasma can often follow the pattern of sunglasses! Sunglasses with metal rims tend to accumulate heat when exposed to sun or left in a car, which is then transferred to skin – take a look at your skin.
TREATMENT:
Melasma is a complex condition and one of the most difficult to treat and maintain. Melasma is often reluctant to treatments with traditional topical compounds and peels, has tendency to worsen due to discouragement, disappointment or lack of patient’s compliance.
It is true that melasma has no cure, however with proper skin regimen you should be able to keep at at bay.
Treatment of Melasma with Lasers
With multiple failures and setbacks in topical management of melasma, patients always seek newer, better, faster laser treatments without realizing that, many treatments aimed to remove epidermal pigment, bring only short-term result, condition clears only to fully reappear 3-6 weeks later.
Over the years many lasers have been used in attempt to remove pigment of reluctant melasma.
Most lasers create thermal damage of treated tissue and surrounding areas (as intended), after initial clearance of pigment, melasma reappears even more wide spread, along with post inflammatory hypo and hyper-pigmentation (PIH).
Why Treat Melasma with PicoSure and Not Other Lasers
- PicoSure Laser PressureWave™ technology with high-intensity Focus injury creates “Acute thermal injury limited to epidermis” where “Effects are isolated to melanin bearing cells” - In lay terms PicoSure laser does not produce heat. Heat triggers melasma
- PicoSure ultra-short pulses of laser light reach deeply into the skin’s sub-layers, creating microscopic, photomechanical reactions that shatter pigments into small particles for absorption and removal by our immune system
- Melasma involves epidermis and dermis, deep dermal pigment takes much longer to resolve than superficial epidermal pigment. PicoSure Laser treatments trigger pigment removal at in deep layers of the skin.
- PicoSure Laser offer faster and longer clearance of melasma pigment, without thermal damage of surrounding tissue. Pico lasers don’t offer cure for Melasma. It is also expected for the pigment on threated area to look darker initially before getting lighter.
Consistent use of topical agents, avoidance (UV, heat) and elimination of triggering factors along with combination methods of laser therapy and properly spaced laser maintenance treatments, appears to be a key to successful melasma management. With proper guidance from experience provider, enthusiasm and persistence on your side, you should be able to achieve visible improvement.
Call: (847) 518-9999 to schedule consultation with Dr. Tryzno
Disclaimer: Every patient is unique; therefore cosmetic results can vary between patients. No two laser treatments will get same results – even if performed by same physician on patients with similar conditions.