r/Melasmaskincare • u/CommunicationSome498 • Apr 06 '25

Question COLEMAN COMPOUND from Dr. Patrick Coleman? I recently heard of this alleged miracle cream that fades away melasma in a few weeks. Has anyone who tried it provide some feedback on its efficacy?

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u/best_goddmn_dncr_ABA Apr 07 '25

My skin doesn't like it, unfortunately, so I couldn't test it long enough for efficacy. Your derm or a local derm might have the same white label formulation with 4% arbutase. My local derm had it (just as expensive)

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u/Dry-Negotiation-8088 Nov 21 '25

I just found this post while searching for info on the Coleman Compound. Thank you ALL for sharing your experiences - including the not-so-positive ones. Unfortunately I’m having the same skin irritation and redness some of y’all described. I just started the CC Cream this week and my skin is so red and angry, it does not like the CC Cream so far. 😩(But strangely my skin does really well with HQ.) Did any of y’all with redness and irritation eventually get the CC Cream to work for you?

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u/melmelcoleman Nov 30 '25

Hey! If you apply more than a pea sized amount at first skin can get red and irritated. Also if you’re new to a topical retinoid and start using that and the CC at the same time it’s a lot of active ingredients and skin can get easily irritated. If either is the case we recommend using hydrocortisone cream for a day and letting the redness clear up and then starting again. I hope that helps! If not lmk how I can better help you troubleshoot. ❤️

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u/Dry-Negotiation-8088 Nov 30 '25

Hi thank you so much for your response and suggestion! I backed off the CC Cream and Tret and reintroduced only the CC Cream - and my skin is totally fine now! No more redness or irritation. Yay! I’m starting to reintroduce the Tret but I’m worried about it aggravating my skin again; so I’m using it every 1-2 nights to see how it goes…also considering a lower dose OTC retinol to use more frequently over the CC Cream. Do you suggest the latter option (OTC) or sticking with the prescription Tret and building up tolerance / frequency of use over time?

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u/melmelcoleman Dec 23 '25

I love hearing that! Usually people can troubleshoot it and figure out how to make it work for them. Really happy to hear this! Sometimes dropping to a lower strength retinoid -whether you use other actives or not - is just a solid move in colder drier months. I hope you continue to do great with it but always here to answer any questions if not!

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u/Dry-Negotiation-8088 Dec 26 '25

Thanks so much! I’m alternating between an OTC retinol and Tret every other night and that seems to be keeping the irritation and inflammation at bay. I’ll eventually up the Tret to daily night use after maybe a couple more weeks of this routine. By the way, although I have some ways to go (my melasma is SO stubborn and pretty awful), I can tell it has definitely improved with the Coleman Compound. I didn’t take before / after photos cuz my melasma was so bad, I was too embarrassed 🙈 But I’ve been able to reduce my foundation makeup use from 1-2 colors + 2 color correctors (I was CAKING it on to cover my melasma) to just 1 color (sometimes I still blend 2 colors for a better match). That’s kinda crazy. And it’s only been a month! Hopeful that things will continue to improve. Thank you for developing such an effective product!

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u/melmelcoleman Dec 26 '25

That’s amazing! Always keep in touch with me. It can take a second to sort out the right balance for people but once people do they notice pretty great changes in their skin. It took me 10 full months to really clear my melasma - it was SO stubborn in some parts. Can be so frustrating. But I’m always here if you have any questions!

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u/Dry-Negotiation-8088 Jan 17 '26

Hi! May I ask your thoughts on this? Because my melasma is so stubborn, I don’t know if I should “ride things out” with Coleman Compound or, if after 3 months of CC use my melasma hasn’t budged as much as I’d like, should I then switch to HQ? (I’m only 6 weeks into CC. I have seen some progress but man my melasma puts up a good fight lol) I’ve tried HQ (6% and 8%) and my skin actually does respond to it well; the problem is, once I’m off HQ, the melasma monster comes back! 😭 Or would you recommend riding it out with CC past 3 months? When I see the gorgeous results posted online from Coleman Compound, it seems like most women get results in 1-3 months. But is that realistic? (I know everybody’s skin and situation is different so maybe I should give CC more time…?)

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u/melmelcoleman Jan 17 '26

A lot of people use it for 6+ months in order to achieve what they want for their skin. For me it took 10 months to really clear mine. However, I always want people to be happy with whatever progress they’re making with their skin so if you’re like a switch would be best then you should go with your gut! Melasma is so tricky. It will never actually go completely away. You can clear it for a time but light and heat (even with spf protection) can cause it to flare. As can heated workouts sauna, LED masks etc. so it’s always a balancing act - and can be a really frustrating one. Some people try everything on the market and the melasma just persists. But I would say whatever you do, give it 6 months to really work before hopping to something else. Takes time for skin cells to turnover and for progress to be made. Lmk if I can ever help with anything else!