I know this may not help anyone, but since I know almost nobody seems to cure melasma I wanted to share my story so you know that it CAN go away. When I was around 29 years old I worked in a hospital blood bank so I had to get the hepatitis B series of shots (everyone in the blood bank had to get that). I also was offered (it was totally voluntary then) free flu shots annually, so that year, I took a flu shot and got the Hep B shots. Suddenly, my skin had melasma. I had zero prior health problems or conditions. I had a big spot on my forehead (an oval about 2 inches across and an inch high), I had a stripe all down my nose, all on my upper lip and on my cheeks a bit. Horrors! Anyway, I researched constantly for years. I kept getting very depressing information that made it seem like nobody cured it. I read one person saying something about shots and heavy metals but I didn't understand how there could be any connection at the time. However, I did try chelating because some people said it might be excess metals. I tried cilantro, MSM, etc. Finally, after about 5 years of obsessing over it, staring at it in the mirror, I got fed up with it and said to myself, "Woman, you are going to have to make an executive decision to just love yourself anyway. Forget about it. Nothing has worked. Leave yourself be, stop upsetting yourself over this! " And I stopped looking at it, stopped thinking about it, stopped worrying. I don't know WHAT happened but one day I looked in the mirror and saw a spot in the middle of the forehead spot. It freaked me out until I realized it was a small patch of normal colored skin in the center of the discolored skin (you know that greyish melasma color?). I didn't know what that meant, but stuck to my resolution of not paying attention to the melasma. As the days passed, the normal skin patch grew bigger and the discolored spots shrunk until they were GONE. The stripe down my nose shrunk and vanished, my cheeks went back to normal. My upper lip took longer, but the discoloration also shrunk and finally vanished. I think it took a few months. Maybe 4 or 5 months.
I was drinking plenty of water during this time and taking good care of myself - other than that, I didn't do anything.
I don't know what will work for other people, but try not to stress over it. Sounds impossible. I was a single woman, and was so upset to have to try to date with those marks on my face! Make up didn't cover it. It looked even worse under fluorescent lights, and got darker if I was in the sun.
Well, it's been over 20 years now, I'm healthy, happily married and happy to say, that melasma stayed banished away, even during my two pregnancies! I never wear sunscreen and spend plenty of time gardening in the sun. No problem. It's gone and it's stayed gone.
So, just know this - melasma CAN go away.
I was NOT doing anything anymore. I just loved myself, and stopped worrying over it. My body healed.
I wish a perfect solution for you all, whatever it may be. Just know this - it doesn't HAVE to stay that way! It CAN go away because it did for me. Be patient, be kind to yourself, take care of yourself and don't insult yourself over it. Imagine you're your own best friend - if you had a dear friend with melasma, would you stare at her face constantly and tell her she looked awful? Probably not.
