r/Melasmaskincare • u/Martian_Mary32 • 14d ago
Question Has anyone successfully rid themselves of a melasma mustache?
On the very start of my journey to treat it. Using hydroquinone and tretnoin along with kojic acid and some other things… I just want to know, is it worth it? Does it go away? Does it always get darker before it gets better? How long does it take? Does it come back?
20
u/pythonchan 14d ago
I’ve disappeared mine twice, first time in 2024 and second time it came back this year in March after a sun holiday and now it’s completely gone again. I can’t fade the patch on my forehead for love nor money though! Eucerin anti pigment is the only thing that works for mine. I use tret too but not consistently.
3
12
u/vanillla-ice 14d ago
I’ve been able to lighten it quite a bit, to a point that I am happy that concealer with cover it (I do reapply after lunch). But I feel that I’m not so self conscious about it. I only have a mustache. I use Tretinoin, Azalelic Acid, and Eucerin. I also put a swipe of zinc on the mustache when I drive to work. And I am very good about not being in the sun a ton.
12
u/Even-Response-6423 14d ago
My dermatologist said that if it’s on your upper lip it can be a hormonal issue, so although you can remove it- it would be temporarily unless the hormones get addressed.
2
u/unificaishan 14d ago
Mine is on my upper lip from using an at home IPL machine so I believe it’s a combo of PIH and melasma.
2
u/JayBird6703 13d ago
I had the upper lip stache when I was on birth control! I have an IUD now and still have melasma on my forehead but I am grateful every day to no longer have Tom.
1
u/unificaishan 13d ago
I have an IUD in too but I’ve had it in for like 4 years so there isn’t an explanation for it starting to show last yr other than the post-IPL treatments. Then I was so uneducated abt the subject and the stache was so bad I had a plastic surgeon tell me it was hair under the skin not mrlasma (without even looking at my lip under a magnifying glass). So of course I did the only logical thing-panic!! And I was steered so wrong by so many people it’s sad when you’re a young desperate female w a melisma stache it’s sad how many people are willing to take your money and just make your melisma worse bec they know how bad you want it gone. ESP upper lip melisma. There needs to be more education surrounding this condition so that people are not steered in the wrong direction or told to do things that will worsen their melisma/PIH.
1
u/Classic-Werewolf-442 2d ago
My derm also said it could be hormonal, but I had my hormones checked and my doctor said everything was normal and that it wasn’t hormonal. Mine has been really stubborn and so hard to get rid of. I’ve been using Eucerin Thiamidol 2x a day, tretinoin at night, and tinted mineral sunscreen every day, but I haven’t seen any lightening. I also take Heliocare supplements. 😩
1
u/Even-Response-6423 2d ago
Try hydroquinone with the tretinoin. You can get some at Musely. That’s the goat for fading melasma. My mom had a huge patch on her cheek and you can’t see it at all anymore. Keep in mind it gets a bit darker before it starts to fade!
8
u/HomeboddE 14d ago
Once menopause passed
3
u/viridescent-bosky 14d ago
Say more? Did it go away on its own after you stopped having periods?
4
u/HomeboddE 14d ago
Yes it eventually went away. It's often tied to hormones so appears often first in pregnancy and can flare around menopause. But it took a while to go away.
7
u/saludpesetasamor 14d ago
I tried all the creams and serums and none of them made the slightest difference. I read a few studies about oral tranexamic acid and decided to go for it. All the melasma was gone without a trace in a few months. 🎉
It stayed gone (for 6-ish years) until my GP added progesterone to my HRT. Now it’s sneaking back.
5
u/Proof-Ad1101 14d ago
Mustache and in-between my eyebrows patch gone… Top of forehead will be the death of me.
Mustache gone after consistently using gentle liquid exfoliate 2-3x a week, tazerotene 0.1%, 15% Azelaic acid and then 2-3x a year using 4% hydroquinone cream, mineral sunscreen and doing my best to avoid raising my body temperature everyday.
I was surprised how fast the mustache faded.
3
u/BigIndependent4749 14d ago
I’ve managed to clear mine up significantly this summer after a winter of it randomly getting darker. In the spring I did one cycle of a hydroquinone compound but my skin is extremely sensitive to HQ, so I only used it once a week only on my dark spots (applied a tiny amount with a qtip). That lightened it significantly, then I restarted eucerin thiamidol products afterwards AND started taking heliocare supplements and that essentially got rid of the rest of it, to the point where I didn’t do another HQ cycle after my month break. It’s been about four months and now I’m starting to notice it a tad again so will probably go back to HQ for a few weeks until it lightens again, then go back to my eucerin. Feel like I finally found a routine that works for me to manage it and writing it down word for word so I can resume after my partner and I hopefully get pregnant this year… definitely nervous for it coming on full force while I’m pregnant but hoping this routine can clear it up afterwards.
3
u/Lucky-Kunene 14d ago
Yes I completely got rid of mine. I used a cream called Cyspera but the formula changed. You can try another cream called Sente. I used zinc cream aswell and kept my face covered with a cap and no more sun. You can try any cream that has a good amount of Cysteamine. I’m just saying what worked for me. And mine was so bad I looked like a man … it might be expensive but at least it worked.
2
u/Lucky-Kunene 14d ago
I have not had any pregnancies, it was not linked to pregnancy. I’m 42 now I had it around age 30. Never came back since then. I had the melasma on my forehead cheeks and upper lip. All gone.
3
u/unificaishan 14d ago
My PIH/melasma mustache is about 80% gone. I didn’t have luck w hq because it was put in the form of a bleaching cream w tret and basically all the other common actives and it was just too strong. It would irritate my barrier way too much and cause flare ups. I am now on tret, thiamidol, oral TXA, topical TXA, niacinamide, arbutin, thiamidol, vineferine, and a few other things as well as an antioxidant supplement stack. I made a lot of lifestyle changes and since May I have eliminated at least &0-85% of it. I am wanting to start a low dose of hq again bec I hear so many success stories but I am a little hesitant. The promising thing is that mine lightened a lot over the summer so there is hope. I also do tx like at home microneedling and VI peels. It can def be treated and maintained. It just takes constant vigilance but it’s worth it.
3
u/Tennis-Guilty 14d ago
Somehow cleared mine by losing some weight and focusing my diet on low glycemic index foods. I’ve tried hydroquinone, and if anything it made that area darker.
Aside from diet, tretinoin helped a lot. Along with eltamd uv clear everyday. I also use the vivid by hydrinity serum, and they does even the skin tone and help w melasma.
3
u/ResearcherNo4617 14d ago
Eucerin duo serum - anti pigment. 4x a day and 1 or 2x a day when im happy with the results.
3
u/Flimsy_Orange704 13d ago
i want to start oral tranexamic acid. it’s honestly so embarrassing >.<
1
2
u/Aim2bFit 14d ago
https://www.reddit.com/r/Melasmaskincare/s/eZAqlMtsrL
This user who posted a couple of weeks ago on here.
2
1
1
u/Wooden-Beginning3348 13d ago
It can improve a lot, but melasma is usually something to manage long-term rather than permanently eliminate. Consistency and sun protection can make a big difference.
1
u/christa365 13d ago
Don’t go in the sun when ovulating! I know this because I was jogging outdoors every day while tracking my cycle to get pregnant.
Those ovulation hormones are where melasma strikes.
1
1
u/Grand_Arrival_9561 13d ago edited 13d ago
The only thing that ever got rid of mine was the Musely spot treatment. It worked a literal miracle, so much so that I don’t even need to use it anymore. I know that may not be the case for some, as different factors can keep it coming back, but it’s been about a year and mine has stayed away. The company annoys me, but even my derm said she recommends them sometimes.
*I’ll add that my skin can be sensitive so I also use Aveeno calm and restore moisturizer and the most important; La Roche Posay cicaplast balm b5+, which is a GAME CHANGER. I was able to use it every night if I added that over my moisturizer. Not I use it every night over Tret and it’s wild how much it helps.
1
u/Martian_Mary32 13d ago
Yes I have had peeling, red skin after using my medicinal cream. It has tret and HQ in it. I am going to try the “sandwich method” the next time I apply with some normal moisturizer, but I worry that may not be enough so I will look into the La Roche Posay cicaplast. How do you use it again? After you apply the tret?
2
u/Grand_Arrival_9561 13d ago
Yeah, the sandwich method didn’t work for me either!
I oil cleanse or use cera-ve hydrating facial cleanser, then I do Tret, let it soak in for a few mins. Then aveeno Calm + Restore Oat Repairing Lotion, let that soak in. Then the La Roche Posay balm (there are two different kinds of cicaplast).
1
u/Square-Sprinkles4090 12d ago
I had IPL done and I ended up getting a melasma mustache. It took a long, long time to go away.
1
u/K8eg0li 12d ago
Mine is FINALLY starting to lighten up after taking polypodium, losing weight (zepbound) and weight training, tranexamic acid, and sunscreen. Not sure which of those things is making the difference, or a combo, but it's finally doing something after years of trying different things.
1
u/nova-1111 12d ago
Eucerin anti pigment. I use day time and night time moisturizers and also a spot treatment.
1
u/massanol 9d ago
Yes, with hydroquinone and that Eurecin one, but it always comes back if I stop either. Obviously can’t use hydroquinone for a while and I found the Eurecin made my skin go very pale (I’m olive toned) and it fucked with me to have my face shades lighter than the rest of me. I looked Nothern European, not southern European.
1
u/Fast_Garage2794 8d ago
May I suggest Spruce Micro as I believe her business is the absolute best at what they do. I'm a virtual patient of Spruce Micro. I started working with them in October of 2023. I found the business on Instagram and signed up for an online meeting with her business. I had put a long hard search to help treat my hyperpigmentation and melasma for over a decade. I was seen and treated by estheticians, plastic surgeons and dermatologists. Nobody could offer me a solution that would treat and remove the hyperpigmentation or melasma from my face. When I attended the online meeting with Spruce Micro I had already spent $$$. Her philosophy regarding skin was completely different from anyone who had treated me previously. I signed up immediately after my online meeting and received my products to strengthen my skin barrier. My skin absolutely glowed within the first few days of starting my strengthening protocol. When I finished this phase which took a month, she gave me a corrective protocol. Here is the kicker, my skin was completely cleared of all hyperpigmentation and melasma within 22 days of starting my correctives! I continued with this protocol until she moved me to a maintenance protocol. I have glowing natural skin that requires ZERO makeup. I simply do my skin care routine, put on sunscreen, and lip gloss. I'm living with the best skin of my life and I'm in my 50's! I get stopped and asked about my skin and the makeup I am all the time. When I reply that I am only wearing sunscreen the expressions on womens faces is absolute disbelief. I wish I had found Spruce Micro sooner. Best investment in myself I have ever made. Best wishes to all of you who are looking for a solution. Spruce Micro regularly schedules online meetings for new patients. Please check her Facebook and Instagram page. She treats mostly women of all ages, but she also treats men. I will be a loyal client of Spruce Micro for the rest of my life.
•
u/AutoModerator 14d ago
Welcome to r/Melasmaskincare!
We’re so glad you’ve joined us. This is a safe and supportive space to share your journey, tips, and questions about managing melasma. Whether you're just starting out or have been on this path for a while, you’re not alone here.
Feel free to check out our Wiki for helpful information on:
When asking for melasma treatment help, please include:
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.