If you haven’t noticed, there’s been a shift in beauty standards lately. Gone are the days of the smokey eye and the super-rouged cheeks. Now, it’s all about natural, minimalistic, effortless beauty.
But what if melasma is forcing you to hide behind concealer?
That’s when you turn to our expert.
Dr. Chinyere Orafu and our team at Ohio Laser & Wellness Center want everyone to be comfortable in their skin, and we know reaching that goal needs a push from science.
Here, we highlight two of our most popular and most effective melasma-fighting treatments: Tixel® and chemical peels.
Tixel is a breakthrough, non-invasive skin rejuvenation treatment that tackles various skin concerns, including pigmentation problems like melasma. Our patients love Tixel because it works faster than other treatments and with minimal downtime, pain, or recovery.
The Tixel system uses thermo-mechanical ablative (TMA) technology instead of chemicals, lasers, or invasive methods to deliver powerful but gentle heat energy into your skin.
When we activate Tixel, a uniform spherical heat wave radiates in and out from the device. The heatwaves cause just enough disruption below the surface of your skin for your body to kickstart collagen production but not enough to cause damage.
With more collagen and newer, healthier skin cells, your melasma spots begin to fade, leaving you with a more even skin tone.
The device has a unique titanium pyramid tip, giving us ultimate precision and control during your treatment. Other than a warm feeling similar to a sunburn, minor scabbing, and mild redness, any symptoms last no more than a few days.
Bonus: Your results show up often within a few days after treatment, with the best results developing over the following weeks. You may benefit from a series of treatments, depending on the severity of your melasma.
Do you want another way to reduce the appearance of melasma — a process you may be more familiar with?
Chemical peels are an excellent option for mild to moderate melasma. With chemical peels, we use chemical solutions to slough off layers of skin that contain dead, damaged, and abnormally pigmented skin cells.
The three main types of chemical peels include light (or superficial), medium, and deep. Light and medium peels are gentle on your skin, but deep chemical peels are the most invasive and often require anesthesia.
For melasma, we typically only recommend a light or medium chemical peel. However, if your pigmentation problems are significantly dark, a deep peel may be your best way forward.
Light and medium chemical peels remove only the outermost layers of skin to strip away melasma and restore your skin’s tone.
Your skin is irritated after a chemical peel, especially if you get a medium or deep peel. Depending on which type of peel you get, you may need to carve out a few days to a couple of months to heal fully.
You can have multiple light peels and even repeat medium peels after enough time has passed, but you should only get a deep peel once a year if you need to repeat it.
Whichever treatment is best for you (don’t worry — we help you decide), once you’ve recovered, it’s time to get serious about melasma prevention.
We can’t do anything to change your genetics or completely stop melasma in its tracks, but we can give you some pointers on how to reduce your risk for a melasma encore.
To keep your skin healthy and your skin tone even, we recommend:
Even limiting your time in front of LED screens can go a long way in protecting your skin.
Have more questions about melasma treatment? You can request a consultation online or call our friendly staff today. We serve patients in the Dover and Canton, Ohio, area.
