I thought I'd share some pics for anyone else dealing with melasma and/or sun damage.

These are pix of my forehead. The top one was taken July 31st and the bottom was taken on Oct 7th.



Left was July 31st ---- Right was Oct 7th



These below (red shirts) are to give an idea what happens when I neglect to do any sort of sun protection or intentional exfoliation. I was basically washing & moisturizing only. The photo on the left is not my darkest tan. Apologies for the quality. These are photo of framed photos. I hope it's enough to give you an idea of how dark (and uneven) I can get.



On a good summer, I could approximate Kelly R.'s (left) color (not as red though) here



the problem is that my untanned parts were closer to Sanaa L.'s color in this photo




I'd love to hear from anyone who has maintained an even complexion for years. What is your regimen? Have you found any nutritional, dietary elements that help?

I've been reading all sorts of things from taking gluthathione and vit-c to avoiding caffeine & aspartame.

I'm currently using sunscreen faithfully, sometimes hats.. Products are:

Fair and Flawless Parfait
Fair and Flawless Resurfacing Cleanser (it's like a gentle scrub)
Dove Soap
Likas Papaya Soap (when i remember to use it)
Othine HQ cream
Belo Whitening Lotion on my arms and knees (just started with this week)

My goal is to have an even color all over. My forehead, back of neck, forearms, knees, and back of hands are the most out of whack.

It's crazy, I used to lay out try to even my skin shades! It looked good for a while but got gross again when the dark tan faded became got patchy. Lots of sun was also a problem depending on what sort of clothes I wore..some times I'd get an awful farmer's tan...or chocolate head, caramel boobs, you name it. arrgh.

Of course I thought the answer was even more sun or foundation. sigh.

Anywho, Thank you in advance for any help or experiences you can share.

EggoMini

OMG, Yes. As soon as the changes became noticeable, he gave me the major side-eye & asked what I was "doing now". He also got nervous about the glycolic peels ..I guess I didn't help when I said "Don't touch me, I've got acid on my skin!" One night I rinsed it off in the shower, then afterwards was messing around with my hair & listening to the radio...basically taking forever.

He knocked on the door and said "Are you still alive in there?!!" " When I answered he said he thought I'd dissolved or something.

I did go to the archives & pull out some childhood photos to remind him of my real color (he'd seen these photos already but i guess they hadn't registered before). I also had to compare the different existing tones on my body. I was like "hello?!"(showing my chest,boob, & stomach areas against my forearms & hands)

He countered by pointing out his own assortment of colors. ...I said that it's fine for him if he likes it... He can cover up in a dinner jacket...BUT How many women do you see in formals (esp strapless) with farmer's tans or with heads, necks, and decolletages badly mismatched?

He calmed down a ton after that. When we met and married I was pretty dark & still tanning, so I sort of understood his disorientation but OTOH it's not that super drastic. I'm still brown. I was lighter during the winters in Europe, also sick a lot. So he says I now look like I did when I was down with a winter flu.

The other day I told my husband and my mom that they both need to use some of my products themselves. My dh laughed & my mom gave me the once-over & said 'Nooo thanks, i'll keep my tan!'

They do need it tho'.

Itss A New Day

Eggo I just ordered a 50% gly peel for my arms, knees, and elbows to start. Hopefully that lets my cream penetrate better as my hq cream is very greasy and I'm worried it may not absorb. This a such a high percentage for a 1st time peeler like myself but I plan to use it on the tougher areas 1st and only keep it on for like 2-3 min. the 1st week then see how that goes, and I'll play it by ear from there. I'll surely keep you posted. I'm getting ready to take before pics =-)

EggoMini

50% GLY is no joke for me... maybe try it on your knees or elbows (if they're rough like min..lol) only first. ...just to get a feel for it.

Then do a very small test patch first on any other areas you plan to apply on.

I don't want to seem like a bossyboots know-it-all but i feel it's better to be sure how your skin reacts before applying over a larger area.

I still want to try the lactic..what percentage have you been using & where? TIA

Itss A New Day

You know what Eggo you're right, definitely best to try the elbows and knees first before going for the gutso and doing large areas, thanks for the suggestion, since this will be my very first ever peel. Oh sorry if I confused you I have never used a lactic acid peel I just read that it is better for darker skin tones, so if all goes well with the gly and I need some brightening I'll surely dip into some lactic acid. Will keep you posted, thanks for the advice.

Golden_Girl

"Don't touch me, I've got acid on my skin!"...lol that's funny, it must have really startled him. I wonder how much the lactic acids can lighten brown skin, since it is more gentle?

EggoMini

Oh okay IAND, Best of luck with the glys! I've had great exp wit them.

GG, yes dh was .. guess he thought I'd lost it & was trying to burn the black off or something..lol

I'm not clear on the lactic vs. gly thing. I need to go back over to SCT and re-read the posts about lactic's better brightening aspects.

I bought gly simply because that what I remembered from the spa.<shrug>

fairr

ah eggo can you post exactly where you got your peels from?! sorry im looking for a really good one and your results amaze me! lol

MAHARANI

fairr,

This is what EggoMini posted


QUOTE

I've been using & will stay with for face

http://www.amazon.com/Glycolic-Acid-.../dp/B000PNXBVW



I'm ordering for bod

http://www.amazon.com/Glycolic-Acid-.../dp/B000YOKZLG



and this for knees

http://www.amazon.com/Chemical-Peel-.../dp/B001E983BO




QUOTE

fairr

ah thankyouuuuuuuuuuuu!