Melasma Treatment At Home: Best Natural Remedies That Work

What are the melasma home remedies that work?

Natural Remedies

If you’re interested in melasma treatments that don’t involve traditional medicine or the risk of side effects like peeling and irritation, these popular "natural cures" for melasma could be of interest to you. However, please be aware that while these are popularly referred to as “natural cures” or “natural remedies”, there is no actual natural cure that can permanently get rid of your melasma. These home remedies are used to diminish the appearance of the melasma.

Many people sing the praises of ingredients like turmeric for at home treatment of melasma and dark spots because it has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties that can block melanin production, which contributes to melasma, however, there are no clinical studies that support these claims, so it’s not clear if or how turmeric really works.

Aloe vera is also a popular "natural cure" for melasma and hyperpigmentation. Aloe vera has been shown to lighten melasma with only mild side effects. A recent study showed that pregnant patients’ melasma, measured by their Melasma Area Severity Index (MASI) scores, decreased by 32% with use of aloe vera leaf gel extract enhanced by liposomes, which are tiny chemical delivery carriers for drugs or nutrients. This is very promising for pregnant patients in particular, as pregnancy means staying away from strong prescription ingredients that can impact both mother and baby.

Another study revealed that other natural ingredients such as soy, arbutin, licorice extracts, and mulberry show promising results for treating melasma, however researchers aren’t able to make specific claims about how effective these ingredients are without more thorough studies. It could be interesting to see over time if these natural ingredients hold up as melasma home remedies. Tackling melasma with home treatments involving natural extracts is generally low risk if you want to try it out, however the benefits are still largely unknown.

OTC Products for Hyperpigmentation

Aside from prescription treatments and natural extracts, over-the-counter, or OTC, products can also help to keep melasma at bay. These products are favored because they aren’t as expensive as prescription treatments or procedures and are more proven than using natural extracts, however they do lack a lot of the strength and effectiveness of treatments like prescription hydroquinone or laser.

One potential option is treatment or serum with alpha hydroxy acids or AHAs, which are naturally occurring acids that exfoliate the skin and allow a newer, brighter layer of skin without spots to shine through.

Glycolic acid is one of many AHAs. It is typically utilized as an anti-aging treatment rather than as a dark spot corrector, but it can also get rid of sun damage because it increases skin cell turnover rate. It does this by breaking down the bonds that hold dead skin cells to the skin’s surface, allowing the dead skin to shed more easily. This exfoliation helps new, spotless skin to develop in its place more rapidly, so it’s a great product for hyperpigmentation.

Mandelic acid is another AHA option more suited towards a wide variety of skin types. Because it’s molecules are much bigger than glycolic acid, it penetrates the skin more slowly. This makes it the gentlest AHA and means that it is least likely to irritate sensitive skin. Like glycolic acid, mandelic acid also exfoliates the skin by breaking down the bonds of dead skin cells, helping to brighten and refine the complexion.

Topical vitamin C serums are also very popular OTC melasma treatments. Vitamin C is another naturally occurring substance that you may be more familiar with as a dietary nutrient than a topical element of your skincare routine. Rather than speeding up the skin cell turnover process, Vitamin C actually stops the skin from producing too much melanin (which causes hyperpigmentation or melasma) by regulating the enzymes in the skin that produce the melanin.

These OTC products are a fairly direct way to treat hyperpigmentation and melasma with minimal risk of irritation, however they aren’t as strong as prescription treatments or procedures, and they typically require more time to minimal results.

Importance of Sun Protection

Whether it’s with a prescription cream or a home treatment for melasma, getting rid of melasma, hyperpigmentation, and sun spots/age spots without protecting your skin from sun damage can be more hurtful than it is helpful. You don’t want to expose your new, healthy skin cells to harmful UV rays that can cause more dark spots!

Using a mineral sunscreen that contains zinc oxide and/or titanium dioxide to physically block the sun’s rays is another great way to keep your melasma at bay from home. The best treatment for melasma also involves protecting against the cause.

One effective mineral sunscreen option is The Day Cream from Musely. This moisturizing sunscreen of SPF 50 has 5% titanium dioxide and 7% zinc oxide, creating a strong and effective clinical-grade barrier against both UVA and UVB rays. (According to the American Academy of Dermatology Association, your daily sunscreen should be SPF 30 or higher in order to be effective!) Be sure to apply it to your face every morning, and re-apply after every 2 hours of sun exposure.

This way, while treating your skin, you can also prevent sun damage to help stop the melasma and hyperpigmentation from appearing all over again. There are many other physiological and environmental factors that can cause melasma, such as hormonal imbalance, but sun damage remains one very wide-spread cause, so sunscreen is one of the most important ways to prevent melasma flare-ups regardless of these other factors.

What NOT To Do

Those are all great home treatments for melasma, but what are the myths that you should avoid? Sometimes, skincare trends are actually harmful irritants to your melasma skincare routine.

Many melasma upper lip home remedies might include the use of ingredients like apple cider vinegar and lemon juice, but these ingredients are very acidic and have the potential to irritate your skin and make it even more susceptible to hyperpigmentation and melasma.

There’s a place for lemon juice in natural products, but it’s definitely not on the face. There is a lack of scientific studies concerning the benefits and drawbacks of using apple cider vinegar on your face, but some early studies have reported that use can lead to skin damage, so it’s probably best to stay away.

And remember, everyone’s skincare journey is unique, so even if someone else swears by these ingredients as natural cures for melasma, they may not be right for you and could still irritate your skin.