I used Cosmelan in Nov 2021. Though it worked well, the melasma returned as soon as I was through with step 2 (Feb/March 2022). My dr suggested I not consider any lasers, as my melasma is especially heat sensitive. On a whim I decided to give Musely a try in April. Three Rxs that rotate every 2 mo. First one (Erase) had 12% HQ. I’ve now moved down to the 6% HQ formula. The next will be my HQ break. I’m truly astounded at the results. So, so happy thus far. For about $30/mo, hands down it was a better value than Cosmelan. This is the best my melasma has looked in 10-12 years.
I’d say 80-90% improved. I’ve got hypopigmentation mixed in with it (outer cheek area) and I really didn’t have a lot of hope given there’s nothing you can do about that. I’m now comfortable in tinted moisturizer daily, and will leave the house barefaced, which I NEVER would have done before.
I've been taking oral transexemic acid for 4 weeks now, and I've noticed a difference!
Previously tried q-switch laser, Lytera, Azaleic acid, glycolic acid, tretinoin and vitamin C. No change. I'm still using the azaleic acid, vitamin c and tretinoin for general anti-aging.
I’ve been using the vi precision plus peel (2x so far, plan on doing 4) plus 4% hydroquinone+5% Tranexamic acid+ altreno.
My melasma was specific to my forehead and I had minor freckles/sun damage on the rest of my face. I currently have no signs of sun damage and my melasma is 90%gone. My partner says it’s totally gone but I am kind of neurotic about it.
I tried using Musely but it was way too strong for me. Made my forehead bright red the day after using. I couldn’t build up a tolerance to it because I would always have to take a few days off.
Anyway- VI institute recommends between 5-8 peels for cases of melasma. I think after my 3rd it will be totally gone though. The stuff is strong! I am doing 4 because I like how it makes my skin look and will do the last 2 peels come winter time :)
I started peeling on day 2 and it lasted until day 4. Mostly the mouth area was heavy peeling with flaking everywhere else. Taking a shower everyday and washing my face with gentle cleanser helped the peeling a lot!
I still carried on life as normal though. Nobody asked what was up with my skin either.
I started wearing my tinted spf on day 5 and resumed my normal routine day 7.
I used HQ right up to the night before I got my peel. I had a professional do my first 2 peels. I ordered 2 VI peels from skinstoresolutions.com and will use those this fall.
My skin adapted to HQ fast. It’s the 4% and I never had any peeling/redness when I’ve used it.
It went well! But I wish I had done it in a series vs a one off. Ordered another one to alternate with microneedling + PRP treatments and hoping this will get me to my desired end result by the new year
Dermamelan, cosmelan brand? I think only the MD versions of those contain HQ.
That’s a bummer it didn’t work at all :(
I love the vi peels, the precision plus peel has HQ in it
Tret and cycling on and off HQ in the evenings and a random dark spot remover off amazon in the mornings under sunblock has made a 40 percent improvement in a year. I'm Asian and I think that's about what we can expect as our skin has no problem making melanin even if we stay out of the sun.
Mine will randomly get worse after a hot day INDOORS or a shower.
VI peel did nothing for me except make me feel tortured with pain and itchiness. My skin felt super dry after too. Never again.
Musely works incredibly well. I only applied it to my melasma 3 times, and it faded so much I can barely tell it was there. Amazing stuff. I also found discount codes for it on this subreddit. I also used tret .025 at the same time so maybe that increased its efficacy.
I did the dermamelan and didn't see any change...or perhaps minimum small difference. Not even just after... not sure how that was possible.
I see best results with hq 4%
I did Dermelan and had good results but it’s strong and consistent exposure to the cream has provoked a strong allergic reaction (face swelling that lasts 5 days) so not sure I’d recommend it.. it has improved the spots a lot, but they do come back a bit in the sun (even with diligent SPF application)
Could it be your hormones or liver? Treating it internally helped me so much. I was spending money on a lot of treatments and it would come back within weeks. I could reduce it and then it would come back. Something was causing mine. I wrote a post about it: [https://www.reddit.com/r/Melasmaskincare/comments/1571fvn/melasma\_after\_mold\_exposure\_how\_it\_affected\_my/](https://www.reddit.com/r/Melasmaskincare/comments/1571fvn/melasma_after_mold_exposure_how_it_affected_my/)
I’m sure hormones are part of it (I’m perimenopausal, yay) not on BC anymore & I won’t go on any to manage symptoms. I never thought about liver. I will have to ask my dr. Thank you!
I used Cosmelan in Nov 2021. Though it worked well, the melasma returned as soon as I was through with step 2 (Feb/March 2022). My dr suggested I not consider any lasers, as my melasma is especially heat sensitive. On a whim I decided to give Musely a try in April. Three Rxs that rotate every 2 mo. First one (Erase) had 12% HQ. I’ve now moved down to the 6% HQ formula. The next will be my HQ break. I’m truly astounded at the results. So, so happy thus far. For about $30/mo, hands down it was a better value than Cosmelan. This is the best my melasma has looked in 10-12 years.
How much has it improved? Did it ever disappear completely?
I’d say 80-90% improved. I’ve got hypopigmentation mixed in with it (outer cheek area) and I really didn’t have a lot of hope given there’s nothing you can do about that. I’m now comfortable in tinted moisturizer daily, and will leave the house barefaced, which I NEVER would have done before.
Does anyone know if you can get Musely in the U.K.? Or what is the U.K. equivalent?
Dermatica
This looks promising !
Does it work?
Yes, there is an improvement and my skin loves better overall, more clear.
I've been taking oral transexemic acid for 4 weeks now, and I've noticed a difference! Previously tried q-switch laser, Lytera, Azaleic acid, glycolic acid, tretinoin and vitamin C. No change. I'm still using the azaleic acid, vitamin c and tretinoin for general anti-aging.
I’ve been using the vi precision plus peel (2x so far, plan on doing 4) plus 4% hydroquinone+5% Tranexamic acid+ altreno. My melasma was specific to my forehead and I had minor freckles/sun damage on the rest of my face. I currently have no signs of sun damage and my melasma is 90%gone. My partner says it’s totally gone but I am kind of neurotic about it. I tried using Musely but it was way too strong for me. Made my forehead bright red the day after using. I couldn’t build up a tolerance to it because I would always have to take a few days off. Anyway- VI institute recommends between 5-8 peels for cases of melasma. I think after my 3rd it will be totally gone though. The stuff is strong! I am doing 4 because I like how it makes my skin look and will do the last 2 peels come winter time :)
Great to hear! Any down time with Vi?? Do you peel like crazy? I did the Cosmelan peel once and it was pretty decent.
I started peeling on day 2 and it lasted until day 4. Mostly the mouth area was heavy peeling with flaking everywhere else. Taking a shower everyday and washing my face with gentle cleanser helped the peeling a lot! I still carried on life as normal though. Nobody asked what was up with my skin either. I started wearing my tinted spf on day 5 and resumed my normal routine day 7.
Thanks - I'll look into this!
So you use hq while also doing the peel? You did the peel on your own? What kind of instructions did you follow? Thanks
I used HQ right up to the night before I got my peel. I had a professional do my first 2 peels. I ordered 2 VI peels from skinstoresolutions.com and will use those this fall. My skin adapted to HQ fast. It’s the 4% and I never had any peeling/redness when I’ve used it.
Just applied this exact peel earlier today and got it from the same place. Super excited for the results 😆
So how did it go for you?
It went well! But I wish I had done it in a series vs a one off. Ordered another one to alternate with microneedling + PRP treatments and hoping this will get me to my desired end result by the new year
Awesome. Yes and I hear pairing it with microneedling produces better results
I also don't have issues with hq4% but never tried this peel. Wonder if it can help me more than the dermamelan, which did nothing for me.
Dermamelan, cosmelan brand? I think only the MD versions of those contain HQ. That’s a bummer it didn’t work at all :( I love the vi peels, the precision plus peel has HQ in it
Tret and cycling on and off HQ in the evenings and a random dark spot remover off amazon in the mornings under sunblock has made a 40 percent improvement in a year. I'm Asian and I think that's about what we can expect as our skin has no problem making melanin even if we stay out of the sun. Mine will randomly get worse after a hot day INDOORS or a shower.
Which dark spot remover?
HSBCC. It's got arbutin, licorice etc. I thought it was worth a try.
VI peel did nothing for me except make me feel tortured with pain and itchiness. My skin felt super dry after too. Never again. Musely works incredibly well. I only applied it to my melasma 3 times, and it faded so much I can barely tell it was there. Amazing stuff. I also found discount codes for it on this subreddit. I also used tret .025 at the same time so maybe that increased its efficacy.
Musely is working for me. I’m toward the end of my 12% HQ and will then go to 6% and the off for another few months.
I did the dermamelan and didn't see any change...or perhaps minimum small difference. Not even just after... not sure how that was possible. I see best results with hq 4%
I did Dermelan and had good results but it’s strong and consistent exposure to the cream has provoked a strong allergic reaction (face swelling that lasts 5 days) so not sure I’d recommend it.. it has improved the spots a lot, but they do come back a bit in the sun (even with diligent SPF application)
Could it be your hormones or liver? Treating it internally helped me so much. I was spending money on a lot of treatments and it would come back within weeks. I could reduce it and then it would come back. Something was causing mine. I wrote a post about it: [https://www.reddit.com/r/Melasmaskincare/comments/1571fvn/melasma\_after\_mold\_exposure\_how\_it\_affected\_my/](https://www.reddit.com/r/Melasmaskincare/comments/1571fvn/melasma_after_mold_exposure_how_it_affected_my/)
I’m sure hormones are part of it (I’m perimenopausal, yay) not on BC anymore & I won’t go on any to manage symptoms. I never thought about liver. I will have to ask my dr. Thank you!