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ES (Newton, Nj) on 05/09/2010
5 out of 5 stars

OK. You need to do a lot of detective work very thoroughly to figure it out, but melasma and copper overload are connected. Search around to find the scientific jargon for it, but copper plays a major role in pigmentation and melanin. Moreover, the copper levels in pregnant women, women on the pill, and when you are premenstrual are higher. Also, it rises with the estrogen. Hello, I've heard many women note what I myself noted. The melasma darkens before your period and lightens after. Copper levels are elevated so makes sense. Now, many people noted MSM, zinc and vit C help when nothing else did. Well, MSM helps purge the body of heavy metals by making cell walls more permeable and releasing toxins. Zinc and vit C are "antagonists" to copper. But that stuff works slowly. I have had mild melasma, darker in summer very light in winter, on upper lip, nose and forehead for past 4 years. Taking MSM recently (10 grams per day) I did notice two things, it didn't darken much in the sun anymore and a 3mm wide x 5 mm long splotch of it vanished from my nose, replaced by normal colored skin.

But this really isn't good enough for me.

So I read up on the copper link and you know, while for the most part I'm extremely strong and healthy, I have had some acne (under control now mostly) some hormonal imbalance, yeast infections, and a few other of the milder symptoms of copper toxicity. OK, well, now let's talk about getting rid of said copper excess.

I read a few people did this and their melasma's gone.

Cilantro - google it - rids the body of heavy metals, including lead, mercury, and copper.

I for one, took the pill at two points in my life for 3 years each time (threw my whole body out of whack for a few years after). I used a copper pan for a few years - RIGHT at the time this problem appeared. I drank tap water at the time too, who knows what's in the pipes, and I also smoked cigarettes and drank too much white wine. (Copper is used in process of making white wine). Anyway, I don't intend to never have a glass of wine, nor watch every morsal of food that has copper content, hello I like mushrooms and avocados. Besides, some copper is needed in the body. So thankfully there is a natural way to leech those heavy metals from your brain, blood and tissue.

Buy fresh cilantro, take one quarter cup of it - I put in blender and add cold water and drink it as a juice. Apparently you must take "chlorella" an algae supplement (I take 10 capsules with my cilantro juice) because otherwise you will remove the heavy metals from where they are being "safely" stored and on the way through small intestine etc the metals will be re-absorbed into the body, and will be all over the place. So cilantro brings out the heavy metals but chlorella helps to flush it right on out.

You do this for 3 weeks, no more. It works very quickly. A doctor discovered this cilantro link, apparently something in the cilantro binds to the metal molecules and removes it, causing it to be excreted and flushed out in the urine.

So, I started this a few days ago and my marks are fading fast but I will post back later to let you know my progress because I know how it feels to have this condition, it SUCKS. I'm a beautiful woman, and thank god this year I refused to feel down on myself for this melasma, I now know I still am beautiful. But there's no doubt it sucks to have to wear makeup to cover it, and in flourescent light it still shows up.

I know many people have it much worse than me too.

By the way most copper testing is ineffective because it is often stored deep in tissues so may not show up in the test.

But please, be your OWN judge, go do your research on the following: Copper and pigmentation. Copper melasma. Copper cilantro and chlorella. Copper and estrogen. Copper and pregnancy. Copper and MSM, or heavy metals and MSM.

I hope that this will help people, no-one should feel bad about themselves. Prior to 4 years ago, my complexion was even-toned. I trust it soon will be again. Will let you know how it goes. And hey, whatever happens, I'm sure over the course of my 35 years of life I've stored up some excess of metals, so at least I'll purge 'em out.

PS - make sure whatever chlorella you order is pure and read up on it to find the best brand for you, you can order it online, and as with any supplement it should be processed properly in some way that doesn't mess up the properties (as with everything, I mean, even for example olive oil should be cold-pressed!) but do your research on that OK, I'm not a chlorella expert, I just googled and read up on it and picked what looked like a good product to me. The stuff isn't too expensive. Whatever works. Cilantro is, thank god, cheap! A buck or two for a nice bunch of it at the grocery store. Also, I thought eating that much cilantro would taste bad but surprisingly it doesn't taste like much. Not bitter, not strong, it smells strong but tastes mild. I like it in salsa but never dreamed of drinking a glass of it!!!

God bless (:
ES

Replied By Cn (Houston, Tx) on 05/21/2010

I am a mother of a 8 yr old and a 3 yr old and on my last pregnancy started noticing more pigmentation on my cheek bone freckles. I consulted with my OB and she said it's normal with the hormonal changes and should return to normal after my hormones regulate themselves. To add to the insult, two years ago I bought pillow covers as well as towels made with COPPER, because they were really recommended by a person at work as anti-bacterial and beneficial to sleep on. Thanks to this blog, I can now trace the link of copper to my melasma! I am a very active 40 yr old mom and professional woman. I use SPF daily but my melasma has worsen and I can not go anywhere without three layers of make-up, I am self-conscious and embarrased by it. I will give the cilantro a try, luckily I like it. I will research the chlorella and will post my results asap. Thank you!

Replied By Rosie (Uk) on 05/27/2010

Hi,

Please can somebody please help me with my treatment of this 'stuff' on my face!?! I believe it to be caused by a reaction to anti biotics (strong ones) about 2 years ago. I did buy Grapefruit seed extract juice but couldnt take the taste so I have tablet form now. I am unsure as to the dose of Vit C I should take as more than 1000mg per day is harmful and how many tablets or the mg of GSE I should be taking. I do wonder if what I have read about copper overload is true to me so I am taking 20mg of Zinc too.

Thank you in advance.
Rosie

Replied By Jean (Tampa, Fl) on 07/27/2010

Any updates on the cilantro cleanse and the effect it has had on your melasma?

Replied By Es (Newton, Nj) on 10/05/2010

Hi - I promised to write again and it took a while but I wanted to make some changes and wait until I had progress to report. I now have BIG patches of healed normal skin on the forehead melasma splotch. Here is what I have done:

A) Quit smoking cigarettes 3 months ago. For those of you with melasma who smoke, I believe it can only help to quit. I quit with hypnosis, it was a cakewalk - I feel great and life is VASTLY improved - never goin' back.

B)I quit drinking alcohol also about 3 months ago - candida/copper/hormone connection. No good for melasma. Also quit via hypnosis, also a BREEZE.

C) Currently taking the following supplements daily:
10000mg MSM
1000mg vitamin C
50mg zinc
10 to 15 drops GSE (Grapefruit Seed Extract)

When I started the GSE a few days ago was when I started to see the big patches of healed skin appear literally overnight. Let me be accurate and clear here: I had a solid splotch on my forehead, a solid splotch down my nose, and shading on my upper lip. When I say "big patches of healed skin" I mean, the splotch of light brown pigment on my forehead is about 1. 5"x2" big. Now, splotches of regular healed skin appearing are varied sizes, a couple approx 4mmx3xmm, several 2mmx2mm, and several more measuring 1mmx1mm. This happened on my nose several months ago, making the whole solid mark down my nose disappear leaving only two small faint spots. Upper lip is somewhat faded. Also noticed today the white yeast on tongue vastly decreased. I'm sure I had inbalance of yeast. See the melasma magically appeared a few years ago, at a time when I was rather depressed and drinking alcohol almost every day, and smoking cigarettes. I cut down, but it was too late. Anyway, MSM and GSE are key. The healed skin becomes normal and no sunscreen is needed - the melasma doesn't come back on those areas when you get rid of them with MSM. I know, as my healed nose area melasma never returned even when I was in the sun without sunscreen this summer regularly. The skin that returns to normal remains normal. I will report back on progress but please be patient as I will wait until I have what to report. I do truly believe it is an internal issue and have not bothered with external treatments as I've heard horror stories about it worsening the melasma and I won't dare take any chances with that. I can say I've seen progress. Now lets see how much more progress comes. Hang in there people, sooner or later someone'll find a real cure for this. Staying positive also does help. I will try the cilantro again, but what happened was, I realized it was rather foolish to do the cilantro metal cleanse while continously re-introducing copper & heavy metals into my body with my nasty chainsmoking cigarette habit and several bottles of white wine per week. So I quit the junk completely, continued with the supplements, added GSE and NOW will try the cilantro cleanse again. Whatever works will likely be a combination. Healthy lifestyle, spirit, and mind are a huge plus. ES

Replied By Akhan (Long Island, Ny) on 10/07/2010

Can you please clarify if you are taking these supplement as described or X3. Also, did you mean to write 10,000mg of MSM? How long did you do follow this routine before you started to see the difference. I would really appreciate your reply.

Replied By Su (Columbus, Oh) on 11/05/2010

Thank you, Es, I appreciate your comments. Please I would like to confirm if you mean 10,000mg MSM or maybe 1,000 mg. Thanks again!

Replied By Es (Ny) on 04/04/2012

OK, it is a long time since my first post. That awful melasma is gone completely from my upper lip (thank God) and the spot on my nose between my brow is gone, the marks over my brows are gone. I had a big splotch in the middle of my forehead, from the brow all the way up to the middle of my forehead. It is shrunk down to just a small spot, light, a few millimeters. Do you know what? IT JUST WENT AWAY. I stopped taking MSM and doing anything with cilantro over a year ago. Nothing was working. The only thing I can think is that I have been taking TURMERIC the spice every day, about a half teaspoon or a quarter of a teaspoon, and I do eat plain yogurt with fresh ground flax seed (one to two ounces of the seed, ground fresh) every morning. I DID quit smoking and drinking alcohol almost 2 years ago.

But seriously, I think what happened was, I stopped caring. I stopped obsessing over it. I started loving myself more. I believed my body could just heal itself and that paying attention to it was only making it worse. Anyway, it was there for, oh, maybe 5 years? I tried everything, almost. Seriously I write this to give hope to other people that it can really just go away. I realized it was going away a few months ago, but wasn't sure what would happen when warmer weather came. But I know now. I have been in the sun plenty of times without sunscreen. Also with sunscreen. I mean like daily hour long hikes on sunny days. I don't fear it anymore. It's just gone. I assume the last little spot on my forehead, maybe half an inch by half an inch will be gone soon enough - it's way shrunken down from what it was before - it's literally vanishing. Anyway, it just started going away by itself as far as I can tell. My body is just healing itself. Please don't obsess over it, tell yourself daily you love yourself anyway, ignore it. I am pretty healthy, I eat well, but I'm no fanatic. I think the more we worry the worse it gets. I think when we let go, and believe it can heal but don't mind anymore... it will just go away.

Good luck! ES

Replied By Jtn_hopeful (Bay Area, Ca) on 05/15/2012

ES, I am so happy for you!!!! Successfully getting rid of melasma stories are so far and few, I'm glad it worked out in your case. Hopefully, we all will just be as lucky! Thank you for giving us your update, this gives the rest of us still suffering some hope. Please post back periodically, esp when its finally all gone!

Replied By Nichole (Johnson City, Tn) on 06/13/2012

Hi ES, I am so happy to hear about your success. I have suffered from Melasma for two years now. It initally appeared on my upper lip and I went to the dermatolgist to see if it was from hair removal. They told me it was from a skin condition called Melasma. At the time, I had never heard or noticed anyone with it. They suggested I have a laser treatment at the end of the summer and I did. I had two. They faded temporarily but came back much darker as soon as I stepped in the sun even with sunscreen. I noticed last year that the Melasma was spreading. By the end of the summer, I had little splotches on my chin, cheeks, and forward. It didn't worsen in the winter but has gotten much worse this summer even though I am avoiding the sun like the plague. I have two young children that love to swim and play at the lake. I feel like this horrible skin condition is taking my joy. I am constantly looking in the mirror. I used to have beautiful skin.

I found this site about a week ago and started on the supplements. I have added a few vitamins each time I read. For about three days I am doing the following. Daily Vitamin, MSM, Vitamin C, Cod Liver Oil, Grapefruit Seed Extract, Grapeseed Extract, MACA, and using ACV topically. I am praying that this will going away. If it does I am going to tell everyone I see so that I may help others. It's so good to hear success stories; it gives me a glimmer of hope. Can anyone tell me how long it should be before all this starts working?

Replied By Es (Nj) on 05/28/2015

ES (formerly from NJ) posting to update here. It has been 5 years since I originally posted here, I've done nothing for melasma at all for years. It went away a few years ago (I had it for about 5 years). It went away when I stopped worrying about it and loved myself anyway. I'm now 6 months pregnant for the first time (at age 40). (Having a wonderfully easy pregnancy, BTW). Anyway, I go in the sun, I don't use sunscreen and I'm fine. I noticed occasionally a mild darkening of the skin on upper lip but it's very very very mild - NOT like it used to be AT ALL, and that would happen sometimes around my period and then just go away. Now, in my pregnancy, I'm fine. In fact, I just checked in the flourescent light of the bathroom here at work to make sure before I post this. I truly, TRULY believe it is mind over matter and our body's own ability to heal itself. But the more you worry and obsess and look at the spots, the worse they will get because your body can't heal while you are focused on having a problem. So... just my opinion... focus on loving your skin and self anyway. I know, it seems hard. I OBSESSED about this for years. But I finally gave up, figured I simply couldn't do any more to try to fix it, and I dropped it. And one day I realized it had gone away... and it stayed away. I'm healthy, but I certainly don't eat a perfect diet. I don't generally use sunscreen. I don't avoid the sun (I garden and ride a motorcycle all the time). But I don't sunbathe anymore either, but that's because I don't dig the wrinkles and also we just don't do the beach. ANYWAY... I used to search and search for hope online and found so little hope at all. So I'm here to share my story with you all and give you hope. IT CAN GO AWAY BY ITSELF. Also, yes I'm pregnant, and NO I'm not afraid of melasma, even though it's common in pregnant women. My body healed itself already so I'm not going to be afraid, I'll have faith in my body.

Best regards to you all!

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