How To Manage Melasma, According To A Beauty Expert

I have melasma on the very top third of my forehead, which came out of nowhere over the course of a week a few summers ago. Two things caused it: first of all, it was a very stressful period in my life – it’s well known that stress can cause melasma. In fact, what sets it apart from other forms of pigmentation is that it’s often triggered by hormonal changes (including stress). Second, I’d just switched desks at my office and had been seated under a skylight, which meant my forehead was exposed to the sun all day, every day. According to the experts, sun damage can be present for years before you see any pigmentation on the surface and, despite working in the beauty industry, I didn’t apply sunscreen in my early twenties because I’d never found an SPF texture I enjoyed using.

When my melasma appeared, it was obviously a patch of dark pigmentation, but I didn’t really know what it was at first. It looked almost like a birth mark and it was very geometrical – some of the lines were almost square. I was working as a beauty curator at Violet Grey at the time and I worked with so many dermatologists, but I wasn’t formally diagnosed until five or six months after the patch first appeared.

Melasma isn’t one of those things you can get rid of and it stays gone, though. It’s a bit like working out: if you go to the gym once and eat a salad once, are you done working out forever? Melasma is like that. It’s constant reduction and prevention. It took me years to figure this out.

The most effective treatment for me has been in-clinic treatments. I had a Cosmelan peel [a type of targeted chemical treatment], which almost entirely eradicated it long-term. It’s an intensive procedure followed by a full week of downtime. That’s partially because your skin peels off, so your face does look kind of crazy – a bit inflamed and very red – but also because, with that kind of peel, you just can’t be in the sun afterwards. Had I also used the Cosmelan aftercare products, I think my melasma would have reduced further, but, being in the skincare industry, I was constantly having to use so many different products that I couldn’t consistently stick to one routine. So, about a month and a half ago, I also tried the Clear + Brilliant laser treatment, which was possibly even more effective. It comes with a less intense downtime but is much more painful. The results were worth it, though. You’re supposed to do a minimum of two passes [with the laser] on your face, and a maximum of four. I got to three and couldn’t take it anymore. Now, having had both treatments – albeit two years apart – my melasma has never looked better.

When it comes to my daily skincare routine, it’s tailored to assist with preventing my melasma from worsening. In the morning, I’m all about sun protection, so I’ll start with a vitamin C-based serum paired with a moisturizer and SPF. In the evening, I use a prescription-grade retinol to keep my skin cells turning over.

Aside from my skincare routine and the in-clinic treatments, I’m super-intense about supplements, as well as my diet and alcohol consumption. Aesthetician Camille Fields recommended a supplement regimen for my melasma, so I take a charcoal supplement in the morning to help with hormonal detoxing and a liver regenerative in the evening to help restore my liver health. During the week, I stick to an anti-inflammatory diet, too – I don’t have gluten, dairy or refined sugars, so I mainly eat fruit and nuts and omega-packed protein, like fish. I also reduce alcohol as much as possible; liver is the organ most linked to melasma, so I’m strict with this diet during the week, but when I’m out and socializing, I really don’t have any restrictions.

Overall, despite my melasma patch darkening a bit after spending a month in Bali, it has not come back much at all since undergoing the Clear + Brilliant laser treatment. The visible color is about 10% of what it was when it first appeared; it’s night and day. At one point, I honestly thought I’d never be able to successfully tackle my melasma, so I’m truly happy that I’ve found the right routine.

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