Melasma Treatment

Melasma is a very common skin disorder. Melasma is often associated with the female hormones estrogen and progesterone. It is especially common in pregnant women, women taking birth control pills (oral contraceptives) and women taking hormone replacement therapy during menopause. Sun exposure is also a strong risk factor for melasma. Treatment options include topical bleaching creams (which gently lighten brown spots over weeks to months), and pigmented laser treatments (which lighten or remove most brown spots after 1-3 treatments). Fractional Q-switched laser can destroy the pigment cells dispersed in dermal layer with reduced exposure time of laser beam on skin, so it minimizes the damage on normal cells and makes less recovery time.