I’ve fought worsening and improving melasma since I was pregnant with my now almost 6 year old. Adding two other children since then, breastfeeding all three of them for 16 months each has had my hormones all out of sorts on a constant basis, living in Atlanta with my 2 oldest had sun exposure at a constant unavoidable high. I’d tame it and then one day without a hat would undo months of progress. It got to its worst at the end of this summer, while still breastfeeding, going through a relocation, etc. The before pictures are September 1. The afters are today, October 26. I’m so glad to have the befores of the flare at what felt like my lowest and its worst.

AM Routine:
1x 225mg oral txa.
Water wash.
Sunday Riley Pink Drink.
Eucerin serum.
15% Azelaic acid.
La Roche Posay tinted physical sunscreen.

Repeat layer of Eucerin serum mid-day when possible.

PM Routine:
1x 225mg oral txa.
Wash with Cerave hydrating facial cleanser.
CosRX snail mucin.
Tretinoin 0.1.
Drmtlgy night peptide cream

nothing topical seems to improve my melasma so I’m at the point now I just want to hit it with a cosmetic treatment and then try maintenance with topicals . I’m really not sure where to start or what others have had success with. Any help would be appreciated. Lasers face peels I’ll consider anything

This may be an oddly specific question but I have some sensory sensitivities & thought maybe someone here would have an answer. Does anyone know of a tinted mineral sunscreen that dries down similar to Biore UV Aqua Rich sunscreen? I don’t like the feeling of something sitting on my skin such as foundation & the Biore seems to skin into the skin rather than sit on top of it. Or are all mineral sunscreens going to feel mask like?

So impressed! After 1.5 years (after a holiday in the sun) of sunscreen, wearing hats, alpha arbutin, vitamin c serum, gentle peels… Was about to go to a dermatologist but thought I’d try this first as I’d heard such good things. Glad I did! 3 weeks of using this as a spot treatment morning and night :)

Hi everyone,

I have a similar skin tone to Zendaya (don’t know the technical shade but my skin tone is exactly like hers) and i’ve had dark spots on the temples of my forehead for going on 9 years. I’ve tried just about everything besides a laser because most things aren’t recommended for my skin type or i’m afraid that it’ll make them worse.

I just started currently using Tret 0.025% and want to eventually move up to 0.5%.

I’m wondering what prescription would help more (the two in the title) i’ve tried a non prescription version of hydraquionone before and it was ok, the problem is i don’t like that it lightens everything else too, which sort of makes my skin also not even. Is that just the cost of using it. I’ve also read that prescription azelaic acid can produce the same results but at a slower rate without bleaching just that spot, does anyone have any experience with that

TLdr: i use tret and im wondering if i should use azelaic acid or hydraquionone additionally, but i don’t like that hydraquionone makes skin that’s fine brighter.

And I don't have budget for laser also

Hey everyone , seeing that the thiamidol % isn't disclosed by eucerin , does anyone have first hand experience between the eucerin anti pigment dual serum & illuminating serum ?

The illuminating one is almost half the price 😭

I noticed that Eucerin sensitive mineral tinted sunscreen is not included in the mega list of recommended sunscreens in the wiki, and I wondered if something is wrong with it? Seems like an ok option since it has zinc at 24%...

I wanna try the moxi laser for hyperpigmentation. Did you see improvement in hyperpigmentation? I’ve done other lasers and treatments in the past and like to try new things.

I like what this sunscreen claims to do, but it’s too orange on my skin tone and I have to wear additional makeup over it, but makeup seems to pill a lot and look really bad. I think it’s a popular sunscreen on this sub, so I was curious what base products are you using that work well with it?

Best sunscreen?? I have used tower 28 sunny days for years but Chagbt is telling me it doesn’t have enough protection to help melasma :(

Derm said to spot treat my facial melasma but it’s almost like a moths wings it’s not a discreet patch on my upper forehead. Spot treat or do whole face or forehead? I’m a white person also so I don’t know if the Halo effect applies. I’m scared it will ruin my skin if do whole face.

i use sk ii toner before applying this serum, but after just 5 second I gently rub my face to apply this, the product starts peeling off like it refuses to penetrate to my skin. what happen?

also I bought this on shopper service since the product is not available in any offline store in my country

Hello! As we know, a tinted sunscreen is vital for melasma management. I’ve tried numerous ones and each one either breaks me out and/or leaves my skin looking dull/flat/muddy.

Does anyone have recs for a highly protective, hydrating tinted sunscreen for Fitzpatrick III skin? One ideally that has a lovely finish and doesn’t cause acne or clogged pores? I currently use Elta MD UV Clear with Jane Iredale Amazing Base loose powder on top. I like this combo, but I realize it’s not adequately protecting my skin.

And do you guys put makeup on top of your tinted sunscreen? Or is it acting as your foundation/base?

Thank you melasma warriors!

After reading up on SO many success stories of Eucerin dual serum, I bought it! And gosh, it gave me so many breakouts after literally first 2 days!!!! I wanted it to work so badly!!! I feel strong fragrance might be the culprit here. I have 2 questions:

1. Is there a way to manage breakouts using this serum?

2. Is there any breakout-free option of Thiamidol from this brand or any other brand?

Hopefully it will work!! How long did it take for you to see some changes?

I’m a lurker and have gotten some great ideas from this sub. I was recently checking on my FSA/HSA accounts and decided to check out the FSA store. I completely forgot that some tinted sunscreens and other skincare products are FSA eligible. I went into my Amazon orders and found quite a few things that I can submit for reimbursement from 2026! I normally use my FSA for prescriptions that insurance doesn’t cover and wasn’t thinking beyond that. Since I still have some money in my FSA, I’ll be reimbursing myself for skincare.

Seeking some advice regarding the cosmelan peel. I have sun damage I believe on my forehead which has literally been there for like 15 years, I use to have really bad cystic acne and I would pick at it and then go into the sun when I was younger which caused this freckling affect on my forehead. I have tried HQ which certainly helped but I am planning to get the cosmelan peel in a couple weeks time.

Do you think with the hyperpigmentation on my face would respond well? Would the pigmentation on my forehead lift even after being present and stubborn for the past 15 years? Excuse the redness on my cheek I just had some acne scar biostimulator in that area. Would appreciate some insight.
Current compounded topical I am currently using is tret/koji acid/niacin/tranex acid/azaleic acid

I'm in my 50's and look like I have a mustache. I'm taking advice from many on this sub and ordering the Eucerin Radiant Tone. I've looked through many of the recommendations for a tinted sunscreen and haven't seen any that state that they won't make fine lines look worse. I currently use hyaluronic acid serums that seem to help, and don't wear concealer often because they seem to make my fine lines look worse. Any recommendations appreciated.

I am on week two and haven't noticed any changes. I am reading mixed reviews and am thinking of stopping it as it should only be used for three months. One spot on my face actually looks darker.

For those who tried hydroquinone cream, what is your experience with it?

L-ascorbic acid irritated my skin pretty badly. Has anyone had better luck with a gentler vitamin C? I was looking at a Typology one with a 15% complex and vitamin E. Skinceuticals CE Ferulic is another option, but it seems like a lot to spend when I don’t even know if vitamin C will help.

Did anything actually fade your melasma patches? What did you use?

So I did a post on Reddit a year ago about the melasma I had on my forehead. Majority of comments suggested I tried eucerin anti pigment serum which I did end up trying but had absolutely no success whatsoever. Just want to share that I’ve been using Medik8 vitamin c for the past 8 months which has been absolutely incredible for my melasma. Before and after pics attached!!

My original Reddit post : https://www.reddit.com/r/Melasmaskincare/s/HrPyTEdIAb

I've gotten musely nurture hydroquinone 2 times. Same exact formulation, nothing has changed. The first batch I got was fine and I had no irritation whatsoever. But this most recent order has got me feeling like my face is on fire and made me red like a tomato... I know that it's not going to be exactly the same each time you order since it's compounded but if the formula is the same, I'm not sure why this time it's so wildly different. Has anyone else had this experience?

Did they maybe start using fragrance or something? I'm trying to figure out what is happening.