Issue 04 · Monsoon · Treatment file
Can laser get rid of melasma for good?
The single most over-promised treatment in aesthetics, and what a careful doctor does instead.
5 min readPigmentation & Melasma
No: and any clinic promising permanence is selling you a rebound. Melasma is a chronic, hormone- and heat-driven condition. Laser can clear a great deal of visible pigment, but the pigment cells stay primed; without sun discipline and a maintenance topical, it returns, often darker than before treatment.
Why aggressive settings backfire
Heat is itself a melasma trigger. High-energy passes clear pigment in the short term and provoke the exact inflammatory response that drives it, which is how a patient ends up worse eight weeks after a good-looking result at two.
The conservative protocol
Low-fluence, high-frequency sessions alongside a topical that suppresses pigment production, and sun protection treated as part of the treatment rather than advice. Slower, less dramatic between sessions, and far more likely to still look good next summer.
General information, not medical advice. What applies to your skin is decided by a doctor after an assessment.
