Suggest Remedy For Black Patches On Cheeks
My husband has black patches on both of his cheeks
It gets darker sometimes but never disappear.Can you please suggest remedy for the same
my intution is it gets darker when he work in office for log hours(maybe due to stress)
Melasma; A broad spectrum sunscreen + pigment reducing cream
Detailed Answer:
Hello. Thank you for writing to us
He seems to have Melasma.
Melasma presents as patches of pigmentation on face, particularly malar area/cheeks, dorum of nose.
Sunprotection with a sunscreen is an essential part of treatment in melasma.
I suggest him to use a broad sunscreen throughout the day. It should be reapplied every 2-3 hours. A sunscreen that protects against both UV B and UV A is considered to be broad spectrum. A sunscreen with spf 30 or more would be suitable for this purpose.
Sebamed sunscreen Or Neutrogena Ultrasheer dry touch sunblock has an spf of 50 and can be obtained OTC from a nearby drug store.
At night he may use a pigment reducing cream containing one or more of the following active ingredients like kojic acid, hydroquinone, glycolic acid, arbutin etc e.g Kojic cream (contains 2% kojic acid), Aziderm 20% gel (contains Azaleic acid 20%) etc. The mechanism of action of these active ingredients is either inhibition of synthesis of new pigment Or exfoliation of existing pigment and/Or both.
These are prescription products and should be used under supervision of a dermatologist. I suggest that he visits a dermatologist in vicinity for the needful.
Apart from the topical treatment he may also opt for a few sessions of glycolic peeling from a dermatologist.
regards