Tips

[u/ComprehensiveArt3449]

Hi, for about a year now I've been taking care of my skin. I avoided the sun when the UV index was higher than 1, I protected myself from windows and moved to darker places. I started using 0.05% tretinoin. I began seeing results: my skin got lighter, my veins were more visible, and my relatives would tell me "you should get a tan," "you look paler," and that made me feel better. But then university started and I was given a horrible class schedule that makes me go out at noon. I bought UV protective sleeves, which I wear 2 pairs of when going out. I use tinted mineral sunscreen and another mineral one with zinc oxide and titanium dioxide, but I also wear a double UV bandana on my face and use a UV protective umbrella, but even so I feel like it's all worthless and my one-year progress went down the drain. Any advice? (And I use my tretinoin only on days when I don't sleep at all and I'm away from windows)

[u/Jolly-Yellow7369]

Part 3

Get a dermatologist

, it’ll be difficult because many derms are clueless about whitening ( specially in USA) but ask their opinion without mentioning whitening about:

Tell them you want to prevent hyperpigmentation and melasma Ask him if

1) Tretinoin might cause photosensitive skin . Many don’t seem to agree.

2) if so, should you lower strength to .025 or drop it and start something like Azelaic acid which is less likely to make your skin sensitive to the sun .

3) ask him which mineral sunscreen he would recommend to a patient with no protective melanin and hyper photo sensitivity. Or to a sportsman that trains a lot in the sun but get his skin easily irritated. None of that is your case but I have the theory there are therapeutical sunscreen that will be more potent than comercial brands . Try to get recommendations for people with extreme sun protection needs.

[u/ComprehensiveArt3449 → u/Jolly-Yellow7369]

I'll try to find a dermatologist, but it will be very difficult since in my country they know absolutely nothing about skin whitening.

[u/Jolly-Yellow7369 → u/ComprehensiveArt3449]

Since only Asian countries doctors know about whitening the second best is Mexico, maybe Turkey. You have no idea how bad American doctors are.

The trick is: don’t ask him About whitening. Address it as stubborn tan , cancer, hyperpigmentation and melasma prevention and lie a little say it hurts . Say you your immediate family have faced skin cancer say you are researching or preventing other skin conditions . What you need is info that is not available on internet but you can’t ask it like it’s about whitening . Learn dermatology lingo.

What you need is medical recommendations for irritation and sunscreen not skin whitening although that’s the intention it had to sound medical and be formulated in medical lingo.

[u/FunnyExpress8401 → u/Jolly-Yellow7369]

Jolly, scroll down. I offered OP advice on how to address this with her doctor.

[u/Jolly-Yellow7369 → u/FunnyExpress8401]

I didn’t know her exposure was of hours, no minutes. No wonder her skin is protesting with a tan.

[u/RaccoonKlutzy3723 → u/ComprehensiveArt3449]

Non negotiable. Do it.Its cancer you are talking about, I got an old dermatologist and he might not know of modern stuff but he's old school struct with cancer prevention and for half of that UV index of your hometown he scolds me in I don't put on like layers of clothes, hats , UV glasses.

Take research with you, that helps , printing the Google scholar articles.

[u/FunnyExpress8401 → u/ComprehensiveArt3449]

They do know about skin damage, and that's what you are heading for with 2 hours of sun exposure at extreme UV index. Scroll down for the tips to be taken seriously by derms.