THE SPECTER OF MELASMA

Enhancing Your Beauty within the cities of San Diego, Carlsbad, Del Mar & nearby areas of California

Melasma is a hyperpigmentation condition affecting an individuals face and neck. While this condition can affect anyone, it’s most associated with drastic hormonal changes in women especially during and after pregnancy. Although Melasma isn’t a critical condition, it can affect a person’s self-image due to it affecting such highly visible, upper body areas.

Melasma is commonly seen in individuals who have experienced specific changes in their body’s estrogen levels. If you’re pregnant, routinely taking birth control medications or undergoing hormone therapy you might be someone affected by this skin condition. The flux of estrogen triggers abnormal activity in skin cells responsible for producing pigment melanocytes. The irregular production of melanocytes results in uneven, patchy skin coloration.

Melasma isn’t a reason to start panicking. It’s an extremely common skin condition and purely cosmetic in nature. It cannot be “caught” from someone and if you have it, your health is far from being in danger. Melasma does however cause cosmetic distress and potential self-esteem issues depending on the severity.

So what’s the best way to prevent or minimize the effects of Melasma? The first thing is to maintain a daily skin care routine, with an emphasis on gentle, healthy skin exfoliation. Home exfoliation can be done at home or professionally with microdermabrasion or chemical peels. If you’re dealing with Melasma, keep your exposure to sunlight at a minimum and wear a minimum of SPF 30 sunblock.

If a case of Melasma is very pronounced, you can opt for cosmetic laser correction or pulsed light treatment from a skin care specialist. Avalon Laser of San Diego for example uses an extremely safe and effective laser treatment for resolving Melasma and other skin pigment disorders. Their laser treatments go far beyond the surface and treat underlying skin tissue at the source achieving better results than oral medications or skin cremes.

No one says you have to live with patchy, unattractive skin blemishes. Advances in laser technology and techniques have allowed clinics like Avalon Laser of San Diego to provide patients with safe and effective Melasma relief.