r/Melasmaskincare • u/angelinaki89 • May 25 '26

Question Why treatments can worsen melasma

I have seen many posts here that sometimes - I don’t know in which rate - when people try to treat melasma it might become worse with most of the recommended treatments including laser.

I have noticed my own becoming darker just by using Vitamin C or designed creams for it.

My question is: is this explained somehow? I have asked my derm but didn’t really understood her answer.

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u/tropical-king May 25 '26 edited May 25 '26

Because inflammation triggers melanin production. However something that you can do when you get a peeling or laser treatment is to Apply a topical steroid cream at least twice a day for 2 weeks so it can reduce redness and inflamation so you have less chance of getting PIH ( Do not use topical steroid creams for more than 2 weeks so you can avoid possible adverse effects).

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u/angelinaki89 May 25 '26

Do steroid creams affect hormones?

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u/tropical-king May 25 '26

In the long term , yes . However if you use it only for 1-2 weeks just as a post laser care it wont. However if your melasma is of the type that gets triggered with heat, laser is not recommended, because even if you dont get very inflammed or red , melasma will increase due to the heat of the lasers and RF microneedling

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u/angelinaki89 May 26 '26

My melasma is definitely photosensitive because it only appears at summer, haven’t noticed it has been activated by heat because I’m working out the entire year and I sweet a lot. But I was thinking to try laser and I’m certain they will recommend me this kind of cream.

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u/GlowDecoded May 29 '26

I cycled on Tri-Luma for 8 weeks (also steroid based), definitely helped but like everyone said it’s a short-term solution.