What has been the traditional treatment strategies for melasma?
Various treatment options are used to treat melasma including chemical peels, IPL, LED, topical creams, lasers, as well as proprietary skin care systems such as, Obagi and Cosmelan. Unfortunately, none of these modalities produce consistent and dramatic result. Some procedures, such as chemical peels (Cosmelan, TCA peel, etc) and IPL, can produce rebound hyperpigmentation so that any initial improvement will disappear a few weeks after treatment. Fraxel laser has been promoted to treat melasma but it comes with significant risk of post-treatment hyperpigmentation in Asians, treatment discomfort, significant down time, and a big price tag. Dr. Ngai has explored and performed all these procedures in the past.
