From the Top

I wanted to start a blog, a place to share my struggles, if not with anyone than at least with myself.  My struggles began 5 years ago.  Melasma is a skin condition that inflicts the face and is mostly in women.  Some call it hyper-pigmentation, “the pregnancy mask”, cholasma, etc.  They say that it is due to a hormonal imbalance due to pregnancy and birth control pills but I have also in my research heard it to be “estrogen dominance”, hypothyroid, adrenal fatigue, liver toxicity and copper toxicity.  Nobody really knows what causes it.  Not everybody is the same.  I have never been pregnant and stopped using BCP about 3 years ago, but I struggle with my melasma still.

About 5 years ago I began to notice a tan like darkening on my face especially over my eyebrows and my upper lip.  Then I began to notice more freckles and age spots.  The age spots were on my cheek, forehead and temple.   I contributed the changes to growing up in Arizona, and outdoor activities like surfing without being conscious of sunscreen or any sun protection.  I went to a dermatologist who told me that it was not cancer and gave me a prescription for hydroquinone.  His instructions were to spot treat the age spots and darker areas.  It didn’t get better, and I noticed that if I did go in the sun, it looked worse for weeks.  I still did not know what it was.

One vacation, I went home to visit my parents.  My mother, in all her directness, said that I have a mustache and need to wax my upper lip.  I explained to her that I have, even bleached it weekly, but it was the skin that was dark.  This was the beginning of my self-consciousness.  I figured that if my mother saw it, everyone must have but she was the only one who had the guts to tell me.  I was so embarrassed.  I wanted to cry.  I believe I did.  We decided the next day to go to her “skin person”.  There I had my first IPL and was told that what I had was called melasma and could be from my birth control pills.  That was the day I stopped my BCP all together.  IPL stands for intense pulsed light.  It is lazer of low intensity.  It felt like a strong rubber band that was snapped continuously over every inch of my face.  Afterward, it felt like I had a second degree burn all over my face for about 6 hours.  For about 5 days after, I looked like burnt toast.  Thin black scabs covered every millimeter of my face.  Eventually they peeled off.  I did notice a difference and wanted to continue the treatment despite the pain and recovery time.  So far I have had about 8 IPL treatments and although I no longer have a dark upper lip or age spots, my melasma continues in patches on my forehead and upper and lower cheeks.  About one and half years ago, I went to another dermatologist.  I was now able to diagnose myself but wanted to see if there was something else I could do.  I was put on the Obagi system.  Both treatments are very expensive and time draining.