Melasma Help

[nikolita]

Hello ladies, I know this has been talked about before, but I need some help. I have the dreaded melasma on the best place in the whole world... my upper lip! Mustaches are all the rage now right?!

It started while pregnant with kid #2 and hasn't gone away. I apply sunscreen daily and also focus on that area every day and it is still pretty noticeable. I tend to tan easy too if that makes a difference...

So my questions are: 1. Is there anything else I can do to prevent this? Obviously sunscreen alone isn't working for me, and staying indoors is not an option.

2. Can you help me cover this crap up? It's getting bad!!

Thanks!

[Deleted]

There is a bleaching cream. Ask a derm about it. I think it's discontinued, but I get mine through a compounding pharmacy. It's expensive (mine is $80 for a .01 oz tube).

I have had great luck with Cargo OneBase Concealer/Foundation.
www.amazon.com/CARGO-OneBase-Concealer-Foundation-OB-02/dp/B000Z3DTCI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1338922481&sr=8-1

My moustache just showed up again because I was in a sun a little longer than I hoped for on Sunday. lol

Also, I use Neutrogena 60+ spf ultra sheer something or other sunscreen on my face and it really reduces the redness from the sun. I wear it daily.

ETA: I just looked at what I use and it says "HQ/RA/FLUOC 4/.05/.01% CR" Whatever that means.

[misshark122]

I'd go to the derm and get a Rx for hydroquinone.

[krisim]

I've been dealing with this for 3 years. I always wear sunscreen (I like EltaMD physical sunscreen), I plan to invest in powder sunscreen and reapply throughout the day over my makeup.

OTC mandelic acid has made the largest impact (though you have to use it regularly though). I get mine from Garden of Wisdom online. My derm also prescribed RetinA and hydroquinoine (still BFing baby #2 so I'm not using those right now). I've done a lot of research and supposedly the combo of all 3 should be the most effective way to get rid of melasma.

You can also try lactic acid peels, which I also do occasionally.

[justthetip]

You need to attack it a few different ways with a skin lightening cream and some sort of exfoliant to get rid of the outer layer of skin that's already darkened. Hydroquinone is the best skin lightening cream, and it's over the counter and relatively cheap. Just ask the pharmacist at your local drug store to point it out for you. No need to buy super expensive creams, in my opinion. You can get a prescription strength at about 4%, but you may get some skin irritation from that.
You also need to continue using sunscreen, because it will come back again and again and again...I like some kind of zinc/titanium sunscreen, like Neutrogena Healthy Defense PureScreen.
You can try chemical peels and microdermabrasion to help get rid of it faster, but there is no permanent cure. PP mentioned Tri-Luma cream, which is Hydroquinone, Retin-A and Fluocinolide (a steroid). You can ask your doctor to prescribe you this, or compounding pharmacies can mix up a few different versions of it. Depending on your insurance, it may be cheaper to get a prescription for Retin-A alone and then use over the counter Hydroquinone. Retin-A just helps with exfoliation and skin turnover. It will make you really sensitive to the sun, but you should be staying out of the sun anyways! I think the best thing that happened to my skin is I got melasma from birth control early on. I was always in the sun, but the mustache really got me down. It made me hypervigilant about sunscreen, hats and keeping my face out of the sun. I still battle it, but maybe I'll be less of a wrinkly leatherface than I would've been otherwise!

[nikolita]

Thanks everyone. I'll admit, I was a sun worshiper back in the day. But I'd say in the last 10ish years I've been more vigilant. And more so now than before... The stache is just depressing! And it doesn't help that I have a huge pimple on my chin now too! (The guys I work with even commented on it!) When it rains it pours!

I'm going to write all this stuff down and head to the store, and will definitely be bringing it up at my next appointment.

Thanks again to all!!

[treedimensional]

I have this exact problem. It's made worse by the fact that my upper lip sweats profusely, and waterproof sunblock makes it sweat MORE. Which magnifies the sun and washes away the sunblock. It also tastes horrible.
Honestly I have no solution. I got a Rx for bleaching cream but it doesn't do squat. Maybe I have to apply it 6x a day, but there's no way I could even do that. Once or twice a day has no effect. It's also a tough area to cover with makeup (because it looks unnatural there).
My sympathies.

[nikolita]

Well Tree, we should hang out together. We can start a trend and before long, it will be normal and everyone will want one!