Conditions

Melasma sometimes referred to as “pregnancy mask” or “chloasma” when it occurs during pregnancy, is a skin pigmentation disorder.

Melasma appears as areas of patchy brown pigmentation on sun-exposed areas, usually affecting the forehead, glabella (in between the eyebrows), cheeks, upper lip, chin.

Melasma is caused by the overproduction of pigment in melanocytes, the pigment-producing cells in the skin.

Exposure to ultraviolet light, in particular, makes these areas darker, even with minimal exposure to the sun.

Female hormones seem to play a role, as pregnancy, hormone therapy, and birth control pills all aggravate melasma.

In addition to the roles of hormones and sun exposure, both heat and inflammation seem to also aggravate the condition.

There is no cure, but we can significantly help improve it. Melasma is a condition that FACES SkinGym can often control and improve greatly, but not cure.

It is important that melasma patients understand continual maintenance of some form including proper sun protection and brightening regimens are required for good control and lightening of the melasma brown patches.

My primary objective when working with melasma clients is to educate them on how to manage it in a way that fits their lifestyle.

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As we age, many of us turn to treatments that use lasers and heat-based procedures to create more collagen and a younger-looking appearance.

The problem here is that those treatments can then trigger your melasma and make it worse.⁠⁠

This is why working with a Skin Expert, specifically, a melasma expert (like me!) can be absolutely transformative in your skin journey.

As one of the top melasma and hyper-pigmentation experts, I help clients in San Diego and beyond (thanks to our virtual services) better understand their skin, and work with them on their personal complexion goals.

There are two main ways FACES SkinGym treats our hundreds of Melasma clients:

1) Topical, physical blocking sunscreen agents containing zinc oxide or titanium dioxide⁠.

2) Medical-grade peels & in-office treatments⁠.

But like most things, there’s never truly a “one and done” solution.

My approach is to create a long-term maintenance and treatment plan with you so you are educated on the long-term protection of your skin investment while making sure you’re using the most innovated technology and formulations in your products while ensuring the safest, most effective ingredients. ⁠