Melasma, the luck of being a woman

Some of us are blessed with beautiful, flawless skin. I once was.

Guess I should have listened to my mom when she insisted I not spend working-day hours at the beach with no sunscreen. So after years of tanning with no sunscreen, tanning beds during Vandy winters, and birth control pills, I am now permanently stained with Melasma, or sunspots.

Oh, sunspots? You can go to a dermatologist and get those taken care of, no big deal. Yeah right. No one actually tells you that there is no cure for Melasma. Once you get them, you´re dying with them. Unless someone comes up with a cure before our wrinkles "cover" them up.

A woman usually has a genetic disposition for Melasma. This gene + the sun = sunspots. Or, gene + hormones (birth control or pregnancy) + sun = sunspots. Some (very lucky) women never get them. For the ones with a tendency, learn to embrace your sunspots because they are here to stay.

Six months before my wedding when my sunspots were visibly bothersome, I decided to visit a dermatologist in Sao Paulo. If there was ever a time a woman wants flawless skin, it´s on her wedding day. I visited the office of Dr. Shirlei Borelli, who was recommend by a friend as a wonderful doctor and not too expensive (the latter is not only false, but she is the most expensive in this city of 20 million people). After 3 treatments, lots of money spent, avoiding sunshine at all expenses, and wearing SPF 60 everywhere but to sleep, my sunspots were less noticeable and easily concealed with make-up. So my wedding photos came out beautiful, with no spots to be seen.

Honeymoon consisted of 8 days in French Polynesia (paradise) and I was not about to avoid sunshine or sit under an umbrella. It was so nice to get a tan again and get rid of my greenish-ghostly color. Even though I applied and reapplied SPF 60 about 5x per day, the stubborn sunspots came back, this time bigger and darker than before. All the money spent for treatment down the drain...

So why am I posting such a gloomy story? Because I have discovered what could be the light at the end of the tunnel! Well, not exactly a cure, but my new beauty routine for normal skin has considerably decreased the appearance of my sunspots.

Here it goes:

• Facials every two months (You don´t have to go to the very expensive places. Ask for referrals from friends and choose an esthetician that really cleans your pores).
• Morning routine: Wash with facial cleanser and tone. You MUST use a moisturizing cream with sunscreen, even if you will be indoors most of the day (fluorescent lights are just as bad as sunlight). I highly recommend MELORA C. Manufactured in Europe, this foam sunscreen is rich in vitamins, (5% Vitamin C), non-greasy and easily absorbed. It even works great as a primer for make-up.
• Nightly routine: Wash with facial cleanser and tone. On the first night, apply a small amount of TRI-LUMA cream (contains 4% hydroquinone) directly on the sunspots. On the second night, use the moisturizer Vichy NeoVadiol NUIT all over your face and neck. On the third night, apply La Roche Posay Biomedic LHA Serum to the entire face. You will feel a burning sensation for about 1-2 minutes. On the following night, use the Vichy moisturizer again. Continue the cycle, alternating between the stronger agents (Tri-Luma and LHA) and the moisturizer.
• DON`T forget to use sunscreen DAILY, especially after using the stronger agents, as your skin becomes very sensitive. If you do not, you will notice redness and the treatment goes to waste.

Good luck and until they find us a permanent cure!