Embracing My Melasma

Hydroquinone (HQ) is not a permanent solution to treat melasma. After you stop using it, the spots will come back. Certain strength of HQ may be too much for our skin to bear and expecting it to work miracuously and make melasma disappear, is putting too much faith on a product that has to be used with caution. And let’s not forget the fact that it is not a safe product because its side effects are damaging to the skin to the point that it is considered a prohibited substance in several countries.

When I used it, I got positive results and although the dark spots faded, eventually my melasma reappeared. When I stopped using it for almost a year, I dedicated myself to using gentle products and slowly, I saw a difference, which is not much, but it has been effective and lasted longer. As we know, melasma is mostly hereditary and it is a symptom of hormonal disbalance and inflammation so as I get more seasoned (pretty word for older), I have discovered that my melasma spots are very slowly fading. I have spent lot of time learning my own skin and invested in basic non-abrasive ingredients, regular exfoliation, dermaplaning, microneedling, religious use of sunscreen, and lately, tranexamic acid, and finally, I am seeing a difference. More importantly, my 53 years old skin, is at its best. Most products, which promise the cure, cause stress to our skin and make it worse.

There is no miracle. This is an endurance race, there should not be any rush. It is not easy to accept this, but in our desperation, we are making companies very rich, but not seeing concrete results. I have stopped doing so, I rather put my money in a savings account so I can treat myself to something special. You are beautiful and you know what else? Most of our immediate circle (the ones who matter) don’t care about our spots, they care about us being happy and most importantly, healthy.  They think we are beautiful because we really are. I am going to leave you with this: I love myself, melasma at all. I hope that you do, too!!