I have been wanting to do a post on this because 1. melasma sucks and 2. because I really thought mine would never go away and mine is pretty much all gone now and I could cry I am so happy. So I wanted to share how I got rid of mine! If you don’t know what melasma is, it is also sometimes called “pregnancy mask” they are dark spots or patches that show up on your face. Usually during pregnancy. For me I got mine when I was pregnant with Atticus .. everyones is different and some people get it on their forehead, under their eyes, above their top lip. I got big dark patches under my eyes! I was so self-conscience about it. I felt so ugly with them and didn’t ever want to go out without make up on. The sucky thing about it is that anything that can help with the dark spots, you can’t do while nursing or pregnant. I nursed A for 15 months and got pregnant when he was 6 months and then I nursed Ro for 7 months. So I had to just live with it for a while. There were a few things I tried – mostly serums and they did help to lighten it. These three were SkinCeuticals Pigment Corrector, Estée Lauder Dark Spot Serum, and Caudalie Vinoperfect Serum. The last two my doctor said were safe during nursing actually but ask your own doctor if you want to be safe. When I moved back to Arizona this summer I started seeing an aesthetician (Rachel)… she was the first one to really give me “new advice”.. it felt like everyone else would just say, “hmm yeah dark spots are tricky, they often don’t ever leave..” they would recommend a few products and I never saw a change and I was like okay well there is that. Rachel started me on a good plan. We didn’t do any brighteners – below is what Rachel (my aesthetician has me doing….
- Hydrafacials! This was the first thing we started doing and right away I noticed differences not just in my dark spots but in my whole face. A hydrafacial is like a really deep clean for your face .. it extracts impurities and removes dead skin cells. My face always feels SO dewy and bright after. I have been getting these about every month and a half/two months. They can be pricey depending on where you go.. in bigger cities it is going to cost more (I really don’t want to know what it costs in LA and NYC eek) but ask your local aesthetician and make sure you go to someone legit who knows what they are doing! But I promise you will be loving on your skin with these. *I also have her extract blackheads when she does this!
- Using a retinol cream every night! Rachel recommended I use this one because it doesn’t make your skin dry and flaky (I have never been dry or flaky and I use it every night. But I started off using it every other.) It has high concentration of glycolic acid in it and I am convinced this is one of the products that helped the most! I have talked about retinol creams a few times on here and they are super important for skincare but you can’t use them pregnant or nursing. (Here is a link to buy it.)
- Vitamin C Serum – this is the other product Rachel recommended and I use this before my retinol cream every night. I have been using this one, by the same brand Skin Better and I love that it is a thin layer that absorbs really nicely. I also use this in the mornings!! (Here is a link to buy it.)
- A good exfoliator! Okay she had me get this scrub and holy cowwww it is the best face scrub you will ever use ever ever ever! I can’t even explain it but I will try – the texture of it is so even and your skin is sooo smooth after. Using this 2-3 times a day really helped with the dark spots and also making my pores smaller!
- Dermaplaning – I have done this twice in the last 5 months but doing this a few times a year can also really help! It is a form of exfoliation using a scalpel.. I showed this on insta stories when I have gotten it done! It takes off any peach fuzz as well as any dead skin. The day right after my skin has some bumps because it is such fresh skin but after a couple days you will be in heaven with your skin!
Okay so these are things I have been doing for my skin! I do random face masks and try different creams and serums for fun but these are the things I have been doing insanely regularly and what I think has made my melasma go away. Being happy with your skin feels so good and I know it sounds cheesy but now I will go to the store or out and about without make up and I feel so freeee! I know I could have before and that was on me for feeling self conscience and I always thought it was worse in my head but I just didn’t feel good make up free so I never did.
I hope this helps!!!! Leave any other questions you have in the comments and I will respond throughout the week and I will also ask Rachel about any other questions you guys have (since she is the expert here haha)
