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Hello,
I'm Dr. Neal Schultz
[pause]
And welcome to DermTV.
Melasma, also know as the mask of pregnancy,
is a tan or brown blotchy discoloration of the face,
almost in the distribution of a mask. It’s very, very challenging to treat
because the pigment cells that cause melasma are so sensitive
that any time they are injured, they make more brown pigment.
Which makes your melasma worse.
So what constitutes to these sensitized pigment cells, an injury?
Believe it or not, sun exposure, even with some sunscreens
can cause a minor injury relevant specifically
to the skin of people with melasma.
Since a key step in treating melasma is sun protection,
there have been some very exciting breakthroughs
in sunscreen technology that go a long way
in helping to treat melasma. Let me explain.
One of the differences between traditional carbon based sunscreens
that you put on one half hour before sun exposure
and newer chem free sunscreens -
like this 10% zinc oxide based sunscreen
that you apply anytime before sun exposure
is that the carbon based sunscreens absorb
the sun’s rogue UV energy and the chem-frees reflect it.
AHA!
Remember what absorbing energy does? It creates heat!
And heat equals damage when it comes to the exquisite sensitivity
of those melasma-primed melanocytes
that cause unwanted brown pigment, making your melasma worse!
So instead, you want to use the new variety of chem free sunscreens
that reflects the suns UV without absorbing any energy
and thereby prevents generating any heat
that could potentially stimulate the pigment cells
to make more pigment.
Of course, this only addresses stopping the sun from making new
unwanted pigment. To get rid of what’s already been produced
and infused into the existing epidermal cells,
see DermTV Episode 101, Melasma: The Mask of Pregnancy.
In that episode, I walk through how to use bleaches
and exfoliants to remove the existing pigment
and further help to prevent more future pigment.