Melasma Remedies

I am Anna Farahmand (researcher you can find me on the web) and you answer how to stop melasma in brief:

1- Fresh lemon juice dry fast, so best cheap composite to brightening skin is a mixture of fresh lemon juice with equal amount of glycerol. Also you can eat lemon juice as syrup as well as vinegar to intake enough vitamin C.

2-copper can make pigmentation. So it is good remedy to get rid of gray hair. Nutrition copper bomb is walnut. It can reverse aging if you take 6% of your calorie intake from this nut and make your hair better but also make hyper pigmentation.

3-spinach and onion are best to clear your skin from inside. Onion has enough MSM. Although you can take small amount of MSM medically.

4-nuts have much all minerals you need which are critical for your skincare.

5-if you notice, melasma is mostly visible on your face and your paw, it is because of sun. That's why Muslim women who wear scarf have a better skin, in the other hand they don't go out much time. But if you have pigmentation on all of part of your body without going exposure to sun, you can't heal it. Small size of melasma can be disappeared with laser therapy in many cases

My melasma originally started on one cheek. After two years, I started noticing it developing on the other cheek. I was on the contraceptive pill and made the decision to come off it (I'd been on it for 8/9 yrs).

Last summer was particuarly difficult as the marks were so dark that they couldn't be covered. Cover-up made them look grey. Then I started noticing tan patches appearing on my forehead - nightmare.

I decided not to use any harsh chemicals on my skin - I truly believe these mask the problem and will only make your skin sensitive and susceptible to further problems.

I invested in a high factor (40 ) sunscreen/make-up, which I always wear - rain or shine.

I increased my water intake and made sure my diet was full of fruit and vegetables.

Initially, I tried Grapeseed Extract 1000mg, Grapefruit Seed Extract (which I found made me feel sick with the taste), MSM 1000mg, Zinc 100mg, Vit C 100mg. I think I probably needed to start off with smaller amounts because I started to feel really unwell and felt my health was suffering. Plus, I saw no change in my skin. Although I should point out I was still on the pill when trying these.

However, a couple of weeks ago I visited this site again and saw someone mention kefir. I did some reading and thought it was worth a shot. I bought some grains on the internet and started making kefir (daily) - which I turn into a smoothie or pancakes.

Well - after only two weeks my melasma looks like it's fading. It can now be covered with make-up. Even better, I spent the day in the sun and it isn't any worse.

Even my husband has told me my skin looks smoother and brighter - result. I'll definitely keep this going. I'm also going to introduce Grapeseed Extract and MSM again - (slowly this time) to see if I can speed up results.

So thank you for posting about kefir - it's brilliant stuff. If anyone has any other advice they could give me that would be great.

I'll keep you all posted on the results.

About 3 months ago I had a big patch of my melasma got dark and crusty and then completely went away to reveal normal skin. Then, no more of the melasma went away so I recently went through my food journal to find out what I was eating and what I was putting on my face. The only thing that I could find that I was doing then and not now was eating lots of raw carrots (not sure why). I'm not a huge carrot fan so I started looking online for beta carotene benefits and saw that a lack of beta carotene causes dry skin and other skin conditions. I bought some at the health food store, 25,000 IU and took it immediately. That was yesterday, and no joke today it is much lighter. BUT, before that I remembered reading that melasma might be a fungal condition and I gave my boyfriend a long time ago some oregano oil for something (I can't remember) that he was dealing with. He suggested to me that I try it on the melasma only because it is an anti-fungal oil.

So on the eve of Easter of this year, I took a couple of drops and started rubbing it into only the parts with melasma and OMG, it burned so bad at first, worse than ACV. The burning subsided so I left it on for about 30 minutes or so and washed it off really well. I have to tell you, you should maybe dilute it with another oil, I used argon oil after that painful experience and it helped but still burned a bit. Anyway, yesterday morning I used the oregano oil again in the morning with the argon oil and by yesterday evening, some of my melasma spots are dry and flaking. Before when I had that big patch that went away, it also dried up and fell off. So I think it is either the oregano oil or the beta carotene or both. I'm not going to pick the dry scaly pieces off, I'm going to wait until they fall off. I'll check back in as soon as I notice the difference. I'm hoping a couple of days the skin will slough off. This condition is awful and I too am on the hunt for a solution. I've tried EVERYTHING and I research this every single day. I also want to say that I'm doing the GSE, MSM, ACV and have not seen any real difference with those. Hope this works, I'll check back soon.

My current regime is:

Scrub face twice daily (or more if can fit in) with Apple Cider Vinegar... Stinks... Rub in undiluted to the affected areas until cannot bear the stinging anymore... scrub hard.

Taking following vitamins daily:

1 zinc tablet, 1 selenium tablet, 1 vitamin b3 tablet, 4 vit c tablets, 2 pure msm capsules

Castor Oil ..... massage onto face after apple cider vinegar scrub.

Something is happening - some areas have lightened a lot, other areas are lightening but not so quickly.

I have had comments that I look 'fresh'

I'm not sure what is helping whether it is all of the above or one thing in particular.

I am not seeing the 'miraculous' overnight success that other have talked about. This is the most encouraged I have ever been though. I will continue this regime for at least 3 months to see if there is continued improvement.

Good luck to everyone fighting the same problem

Cheers, Maz

I am a RN and acupuncturist. It sounds like you have more blood stasis causing blood deficiency ( itching) so the MSM would move blood but I don't think your defcient in sulfur as to why yr seeing some results with the MSM but now you need to tonify blood to see everlasting results

Would luv to see what your tongue looks like and feel your pulse.Good luck

A little over two months ago, I started making my own kefir from the living grains which I've written about here on EC. I started because of reading about all the benefits which sounded unreal because it lists a long array of them. Well, I have found so many of the benefits to be true. Among them, one of the most profound for myself was that almost all of my melasma is gone and my skin is amazing. If you google kefir and melasma a lot of info comes up about it! It might interest you to do that. At any rate, I just thought I'd share this info w/ you since I can feel your frustration. Just remember it won't work overnight although I have to say it was only about 2 weeks into it that I started to notice its disappearance! Best to you, Lisa

I was trying a sea salt remedy which was working quite well until I substituted sea salt with excessive amounts of these over the counter salt pills which I now understand this type of salt just kills your cells causing you to look older. I tried MMS (miracle mineral supplement), which seemed to work but they only grow back and I have heard it is a pool cleaner or something and I don't recommend it any longer. Any use of drugs for the problem also had devastating side effects such as hair loss and worsening of the condition.

Before all this all of my life I was a heavy meat eater and always looked young for my age. I am a type O blood so I don't know if that really means I must eat meat to be healthy but that is what I read. But after coming down with several parasite infections, one from a restaurant and contamination from trying on a wig at a beauty store I come down with this horrible infection so I want to be vegetarian at least until I am fully cured if not for life.

However the worst thing that has come from vegetarianism has been the development of melasma over my lip and cheeks and blotchy skin. A couple years ago prior to becoming a vegetarian I had blotches on my face (not as bad as now or with it over my lip) and from your site and other research I found out it was from a copper overload because I was taking all this excess chlorophyll and green supplements. It all disappeared when I did Teds remedy for Candida where you take the stuff for chelating plus I was doing oil pulling at the time. My face cleared up beautifully but I had no idea it was melasma.

After becoming vegetarian in 4/09 not knowing what to eat or liking vegetables all that much I ate a lot of nuts and green stuff which contributed to skin blotchiness again due to the high copper but still not over my lip. Then, to make matters worse in Oct of 2009 I tried the mini beet program and about 2 weeks into it I noticed for the first time in my life a dark discoloration over the top of my lip which was horrifying and ugly.

After listening to the promoter talk about the mini beet program I heard him say that the beets release estrogen and I later read that the release of excess estrogen is usually what causes the melasma over the top of the lip. I don't blame the mini beet program but feel the vegetarianism had made it easier. So at least I understand it.

I am so devastated and feel very self- conscious and ugly now. I have had some terrible experiences because people have noticed the difference in my looks and can be so cruel and shallow.

Hi Everyone...a quick update on my treatment of melasma. This is day 3 and i can see some improvement -just enough to get a little excited!For me this is like a miracle after all the diasters of creams and lasers. I know there is some improvement as a lady at work told me today I looked 'glowy' today. No one has said that to me in years!

This is the regime I have followed for 3 days:

3000mg of pure MSM - bought at pharmacy
3000mg of vitamin c
2x 100g of GRAPE seed (capsule form) bought at pharmacy
Dab hydrogen peroxide on to affected areas - evening only
Apply Glycolic exfoliator - leave on for as long as can stand as burns like crazy after the HP

(The glycolic exfoliator is from Skin Doctors and is called Rapid Peel - I tried it before on its own and it didnt work)

By no means has my skin cleared up but I am going to keep going with this system and see how I look in a week.

A bonus has been I am full of energy from all the supplements!

Thank you and good luck to everyone with their treatments

Maz :)

I have tried all the creams, serums, 'beauty' treatments, microdermabrasion, lighteners, brightners, lotions, potions , peels and worst of all Laser and IPL - IPL made everything so much WORSE to the point that now make up doesnt cover it. It just looks like I have big dirty patches on my face.

Since reading all the natural remedies I have stocked up on Vitamin C, MSM, Grape Seed extract, Hydrogen Peroxide and have ordered a product called Meleston off the web.

I pray one or combination of these will give me some result - I will be happy if it just fades somewhat.

Reading about all of you who have been living with this too is such a relief (not that you are suffering but that I am not the only one)

Thank you all for your information and I will keep you posted on my progress

Maz

Just wanted to clarify, Hydroquinone is not banned in Australia. You can get it over the counter at the chemist/pharmacy or high dosages of it with a prescription.

I'm currently on it myself. I have seen results but then it comes back again. And yes, there are risks associated with it too.

My dermatologist says that UV light is the main culprit, - I've found if I miss putting on sunscreen once (eg. putting it on in the morning on a cloudy Melbourne day then forgetting to put it on in the afternoon) my melasma gets worse. However, there is a question as to whether light in general (eg. from lightglobes) is also a culprit. Which would be pretty frustrating if true! 'Coz wandering around in a balaclava is not something I can really get away with most days.....

As already mentioned here, the dermatologist said that friction is also a cause of it, elsewhere mentioned here. So DO NOT TOUCH YOUR FACE! I touch my face all the time so I'm sure this has contributed.

And when using HQ it makes my skin peel so I'm not even supposed to touch my face to get it off so that's just as unsightly as the melasma. So I'm pretty much still a melasma mess. : (

Thanks for all the advice, I think that HQ is not a long term solution so will give the supplements another go. And that fungal infection cream, as there's a browny grey patch around my mouth and chin that looks horrid and makeup seems to just draw attention to it. Just hard to figure out what works and what doesn't.

Good luck everybody!

Another great anti-fungal so is coconut oil if kills the biofilm and kills the fungus. A friend came back third world country with some skin fungus so the doctor told her to use Selsun Blue and leave it on the skin for like an hour a day then rinse it off and I think she did this for few days I can't recall the number of days. Selsun blue is selenium sulfide it kills fungus Selsun blue is very strong smelling I put it in zip lock plastic bag but it works. Be sure to avoid around your eyes.

A heartfelt thanks for sharing this with me. I really do think that grapefruit seed extract can make a difference. When I read Marea's post about Grapefruit seed extract, I purchased it (Nutribiotic) and started using it but it gave me a very bad die off reaction. I know that I used 10 drops/3 times for few days and seeing that it it not doing anything, I think I did 20 drops/5 times a day which gave me a very bad die off (I did not know at that point that it was a die off, only realized later) but your post has definitely given me hope and I'll try that again. I think supporting liver at the same time'll make a huge difference.

I've some specific questions if you don't mind answering!

1)Did you start the liver detox formula at the same time? (I'm sure it has milk thistle in it but can you mention some ingredients?)

2) Did you start on GSE slowly? If you remember could you tell me the details?

3) Did you ever get a die off reaction like flu like symptoms or muscle ache while using GSE?

4) Did you have constipation problems? I'm asking this because I've read so many times that if you try to kill candida with antifungals like GSE and your bowels are not moving 2-3x a day, that may release more toxins in the blood.

5) Did you change your diet like no caffeine, sugar etc?
I'm also taking MSM and vitamic C and liver support formula (just started 3 days ago). I'll really appreciate your answers to these particular questions I've and hopefully I can start on GSE as I've it sitting in my kitchen.

Take Care,
Preet

Thanks for replying. You can see how desperate I'm for a cure. I keep checking this site every few hours to see if anyone has replied or not (I hope this'll be over soon). I've started GSE yesterday (liquid, nutribiotic)..I'm starting with 15 drops twice a day and 'll slowly build it up to 5 times a day (hopefully by next week).

I've taken MSM previously but never had a die off with it but with GSE it was wholw another story. I've also started a liver detox thing. I hope this helps. I'll take it for few months to see if this helps.

I'm from India and know how difficult it is leave chai tea :-) and again, I cannot express in words how grateful I'm to you for taking your time in order to help others like me.

One more question: DId you change your diet? (avoid sugar, flour, wheat etc.)
Thanks,
Preet

Cheers,
Gigi

It scared me at first because I put it on 3 times for twenty minutes in a 36 hour period and it got so much darker and stayed that way, so I cursed my decision and fate. However, it peeled off within two weeks, similar to a sunburns peel (and close to what IPL does to freckles) and was lighter. Since then I experimented with the best way to administer it, and I know the goal is to just irritate the skin enough to get it to peel. For me with fair skin, I now cake it on the affected areas and leave it for an hour and fifteen minutes or so and then wait a week while it peels.

I recommend starting slowly by doing it once for fifteen minutes and then waiting a week or two to check the effect, Slowly increase either frequency or duration until you know what it takes to get a peel and then go with that. Although it burns fairly painfully to leave it on longer, I prefer one long dose because it's such a pain to put the stuff on and have it on your skin. Just go slow, and trust that it will work, for which I am so grateful to this site and other natural sites for turning me on to. Good luck.

Can you give us another update? You're taking 1,000 mg or 100 mg a day of grape seed extract. The pills I have are only 100 mg and I've been taking them 3 times a day for about four weeks. I've noticed nochange. After reading your post, I'm wondering if I should increase the dose and if I should try the juice. Where do you buy the juice. and what
brand of GSE did you buy? Are you still taking it?

Hey Leah,

Could you please tell us what brand of grapeseed extract are you using? I know that we are not supposed to report product names here but I'm bit confused as the Grapeseed extract products that are available come in 100mg caps and are quite expensive as well. Did you take 100mg per day or 1000mg/day. Please let me know!!

Thanks,
Preet

Grapefruit seed extract extra strength, three drops in water with a little juice twice a day. I have found this at most health food stores. With regular strengh you would want to use about 15 drops.

A prescription cream derived from vitamin A every other night on very dry skin. You wash, moisturize, wait 45 minutes to an hour and then use the cream to avoid irritation. It comes in cream and gel. I prefer gel as I am very oily.

On alternate nights I use a prescription hydroquinone cream that also contains some sort of acid and some steroid cream. I use this only on the brown spots and I do the same as with the other cream... wash, moisturize and wait 45 minutes to an hour. It's gotten a bad wrap, but it works for me. You MUST avoid the sun when using it or they will get worse! I plan to taper off and discontinue this cream when the spots are totally gone. I will report back and let you know if they come back. I know that this cream can't be used for extended periods of time.

IMPORTANT: I use a sunscreen containing a physical block EVERY SINGLE day. I say this is important because prior to using this sunscreen the spots would fade and then come back. It's a bummer, but you have to use sunscreen every morning. A physical block sunscreen will contain something like zinc, a physical block, rather than a chemical block. My doctor specializes in melasma and she suggested this. It works. Also, if you are gardening or hiking or at the beach, you MUST wear a hat. It's just part of your life now. You must accept it. Learn to love it.

Also, I discontinued the birth control pill which I believed started the whole thing in the first place. I had been on it for about twenty years with no problem and then I woke up one morning with brown spots all over my face. A giant one across my forehead. I believe my hormones shifted as some other thngs started happening like migraines, etc... these have stopped since stopping the pill. I now use a hormone-free IUD. It works well for me. But it does have copper and some people believe copper causes melasma for some people.

I do have another theory though. I got the brown spots basically overnight after getting an immunization shot for typhiod fever before going to Egypt. I have heard theories that certain medications like anti-seizure medication and anti-malaria medication can cause melasma. I have always wondered if this immunization caused the problem, but I don't know.

I have also improved my diet. It's not strict, but I eat less sugar and starches and more vegetables and fruits. I also consume less dairy now. I try to give my liver a rest now and then and not drink alcohol, but I do like my wine.

My melasma is almost completely gone. I am getting the compliments I used to get on my skin before the brown spots. This combo is what is working for me. I think it takes a lot of dedication to get rid of melasma, but I think the changes made are good for you anyway. It's a pain to wear sunscreen every single day and not get a tan, but you won't wrinkle or get skin cancer, so look at it that way. I was on the pill for a long time, but now I am wondering how good that was for me. And a healthy diet is always a good thing.

I think a combo of interior and exterior will fade the melasma in many people. Just one or the other probably won't work as well and just exterior probably won't do much for long if the interior problem is still there... like you keep taking the BC pills or going in the sun.

BTW, I did try several IPL treatments. Although they made my skin look good for a while I don't think they did anything for my melasma really. They probably aren't worth the money. not for me anyway.

Anyway, good luck!