PRP & Melasma
What is Melasma?
Melasma is a common, stubborn & very frustrating skin condition. It appears as brown or grey patches over the face and it differs from regular pigmentation in how it forms and how it is treated. Melasma happens from the body producing too much melanin, a natural substance that gives colour to our hair, skin, and eyes. The exact cause of melasma is unknown, though there are many contributing factors. The two main triggers are thought to be hormones and sun exposure—this is why many women might notice melasma developing during their pregnancy or after starting birth control.
This is a topic that hits close to home for me as I have suffered from the condition for a few years. After my second son was born, not only was I not sleeping through the night, I began to notice these brown patches on my forehead and underneath my eyes. As if not sleeping through the night wasn’t bad enough, here appeared these island looking things on my face. Good thing my son Levi is cute and totally worth these new badges of honour! However, these spots were not helping this new mama feel like her best self.
Treatment
Being the skincare nut that I am, I knew there must be a treatment or product that could help me lighten these stubborn patches. I began to research and try different products and the only thing that worked so far was a round of hydroquinone skin care. We carry 2% hydroquinone from ZO Skin Health at PHI and if a topical product is in order, this regime is for you. But Melasma is not a one-size-fits-all treatment and that is why it is so tricky to treat. If you want to stay away from hydroquinone products, we also carry Skin Medica’s Lytera, Brightenex from ZO and SkinCeuticals Discoloration Defense. These all work great, but just not quite as fast as our hydroquinone products.
I like to avoid energy-based devices because although they will improve things temporarily, my melasma will almost always flare back with a vengeance. A good laser practitioner will usually avoid laser treatment, as heat can bring out the spots almost as bad as the sun. My other go to treatment for Melasma is Microneedling with PRP. This treatment was a pleasant surprise, so hear me out below.
PRP and Melasma
One of the MANY perks of working at PHI is we get to try out our amazing anti-aging treatments. Hoping to look a little freshened up and like I have had a good nights sleep, I tried our new Innopen with PRP treatment. To read more on this treatment click this link - New at PHI - INNOPEN. Essentially, microneedling is a procedure that repeatedly punctures the skin with small, sterile needles. It penetrates deep into the dermis, tricking your body into thinking it’s been injured so that it floods a particular area with healing power. It can help with pigmentation, collagen production, acne scars, fine lines, pore size and loose skin. We use the Innopen for microneedling and then boost the area with your bodies own growth factor - PRP.
Post procedure, I noticed a big difference in my skin’s tone and texture. You know how your skin looks after putting on a sheet mask? Now imagine that look LASTING more than just one day! Im not only noticing the positive effect PRP can have on my skins texture, weeks later I noticed a drastic difference in my melasma. Guys, the dark patches lightened significantly! Turns out my results were not just my imagination, there have been numerous studies going into this treatment for Melasma lately. Follow these two links to read more on the scientific findings on the treatment.
Hopefully this will give you some insight into the condition and as I stated above, Melasma is not a one size fits all treatment. This is what worked for me and 7 years later my dark patches have lightened and we are all sleeping through the night.
See ya soon PHI babes,
Sarah M