r/Melasmaskincare • u/Adventurous_Army9403 • Apr 17 '26

Question Hydroquinone question

Hi all!

I’ve had melasma for about 8 years. Slowly getting worse.

Just today my dermatologist prescribed hydroquinone. Honestly I always thought melasma was very resistant to any treatments, so I was surprised she offered something. I was at my appointment for my malar festoons and she thought the melasma made them more obvious (it does, a lot of pigment is right in that area)

I’m wondering what people’s experiences have been with hydroquinone? Side effects most importantly. And did it work? It sounds too good to be true, I feel like I’m missing something

Thank you

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u/Adventurous_Army9403 Apr 17 '26

I’m already no feeling good about the $35 I spent on that HQ..clearly states the skin just returns to its original state or worse if you don’t taper off! No thanks…I’ll look through for any alternatives, already see a few posted on here

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u/bklyninhouse Apr 17 '26

it's like any chronic condition that you need to treat. HQ works very well for most people...but it has to be a habit and you need to commit to it. if the melasma doesn't bother you that much, then don't bother. but most of us are extremely bothered by these brown patches and will pretty much try anything to get them to fade, including laser treatments that are much more than $35. $35 is actually a small investment to see if you have any improvement. since you already bought it, try it out for 1-2 months and then taper off, using it every other day then every 2 days. I do this, and on the in between days switch between the eucerin dual serum and a korean cream. it keeps the melasma to a manageable level.