sews

Hi,

Is it "simply natural" or "simple natural" I googled this and could not find anything. What is the company name?

nyc1458

Thanks Karen. I'll give it a try.

Karenvenice

It is indeed simple natural. I will try again to give an address by writing it out in segments: simple hyphen natural dot net slash index dot php question mark cosmetic equal sign 253. I hope this works.

hzqh7p

Your experience sounds like mine. I went to gynecologist, she's great, but looked at me like "you have to live with this, nothing I can do" and I was like, not good enough. I went to the dermatologist, suggested the IPL (Intense Pulse Light treatment) Believe me, I still have the dark spots and thanks to the IPL (darker and covers more of my face)and now a nice Zig zag on my face from the laser. I am not even close to exaggerating. I went through 4 treatments, spent hundreds of dollars, it made it 100% worse! I was so bitter and angry, but have to let it go. I DO NOT ever recommend IPL's for Melasma of any kind, don't chance it, it's not worth it. My melasma was very minor and I mean very minor...and I believe it was epidermal, and the lasers caused it to be dermal (which is much harder to treat).
Then I tried Melanage peel, it worked great, but only temporary. I was so hopeful, but months after what I thought was the end all be all. It's back, just like before, it's little lighter, but still not gone.

I have read other forums and they each recommend GSE or grapefruit seed extract (not grapeseed) although it's great for your skin too, it was the grapefruit seed extract that is supposed to work for melasma from the inside out. Copper is linked to melasma from everything I have read. I was on the pill for 10 years, so I am convinced, it is from that. They also link it to some kind of internal fungus (nice I know). But the GSE is supposed to help with the fungus, which in turns the melasma. I am now using MSM cream during the day, mandelic acid at night/rotating that with Retin A I just started, so I can let other know how that works out.
I just got the GSE, it tastes awful, mix it with juice if you can.
I have read online 15-20 drops 5 times a day, but these people swear it's cured their melasma and they used the word cure. It's all natural and can't see any side effects, so that is a good thing for me.
I know I will find the answer, but I wanted to share the information that I have found thus far. GSE is fairly inexpensive and really supposed to work. Aside from that, I am praying for a miracle, LOL God is the ultimate healer and believe that he will help me, because Melasma is robbing me of my self esteem and once great skin, as I think it is for many other women. I've even written to Dr. Oz to help women with this condition. Anything I find, I will report back, just wanted to share that information about the GSE, MSM and Mandelic Acid. All natural and the only products that seem to give me improvements and I just started using them. Aside the from the mandelic acid, MSM and GSE are fairly inexpensive too and can be found at Whole foods or other health food stores. Mandelic acid can be found online. I used Vivant or Nucelle. Good luck Ladies and know you are not alone.

nyc1458

That is so interesting...I just wrote a letter to Dr. Oz too. Isn't that something. Who knows maybe he'll get enough letters regarding this issue to devote a segment to the problem. Thanks for sharing your experience with the laser treatment...I had the very same results. I had a mild case of melasma and the laser treatments just did me in totally...I hate going out, going to work, even to the supermarket...it's a chore just to put on enough makeup to cover the brown patches and the one across my upper lip is the worst. Anyway, like you I continue to hope and keep trying different treatments until I find something that works.

nyc1458

I found the web site, however, I can't read it...I think it's in Hebrew. The portion of the site in English didn't list the citron. Is there a way I can order the product?
Thanks.

Karenvenice

There is a number that you can call so why don't you call and see whether they would ship the citron to you. I do have to remind you that I am not too sure about sending creams etc via mail--it could be confiscated here in the US...I don't know all the rules. Also remember that if you do use the citron treatment your skin will improve, as mine has, but it certainly did not get rid of my melasma--mine is very dark as I have mentioned before and pretty much spread everywhere. I am however content with my skin at the moment, my stains are much much brighter and some have disappeared from my nose and cheeks! And since I have been vigilant about staying away from the sun, I'm in pretty good shape right now...Also I am about to try another treatment, just because I have the stage three melasma meaning my skin has the potential of getting the darkest stains after just a little bit of exposure to the sun,(stage one means that you get stains but they are light etc...) and I realize that I need something extra strong to help me combat it, I have been told that boiling fig leaves with something else that I can't remember right now, well that concoction is supposed to help too, so I'm going to get my hands on some fig leaves, follow the recipe and give it a try. I promise that if this completely gets rid of all my stains I will send each and every one of you a fig leaf (if the tree owner lets me)! So try the telephone number, see what they say, and also find out in the post office whether you can have creams and oils mailed to you from a foreign country. I'll keep you posted on the fig treatment...Just a thought, at this time of the year you will be able to find the citron fruit sold in Jewish markets, it's the fruit that is used for the holiday of Sukkot. Maybe it's worth buying one of those (looks like a huge lemon or a lemon on steroids)and then grinding it and putting on the face? The kibbutz made an oil and a cream out of it, which obviously I don't know how to do, I'm no chemist but now that I'm writing all of this down I think that I will get a hold of a citron myself and see what I can do with it---anything is worth a try especially when I know that it has already improved my skin ten fold better than what it used to look like. For those of you who think that this is ignorant, just remember that there are tons of natural treatments out there that do work for the overall look of your skin; I mash up papaya on a regular basis and spread it on my face, my skin looks radiant after I keep it on for 20 minutes! I also blend cold cucumbers (drips everywhere) and leave those on my face for 15 minutes, that too makes my skin look great. I have also used avocado mixed with milk, I have also scrubbed my skin with brown sugar and honey---all amazing treatments for skin---nothing to do with improving melasma, but for radiant and nice skin these are all great.

CinAZ

Hello All,

I have read all the comments on this site and find myself grinning at all of our similarities. Here's a little about me and how I ended up on this site. I am 40 yrs. old, white of English/Irish decent and was originally from England and moved to the U.S. (Arizona) in '79 at age 10. I have very fair skin with freckles and NEVER had an issue with my skin or breaking out. I got on BC pills (ortho-novum) and was on those until I had my first child in '93. While on the pill I never had any complications...NONE! I got pregnant because I forgot to take my pill and vuala (sp).. a baby. During the pregnancy I started to develope Melasma by my temples and upper cheaks. I was told it would fade after pregnancy. Then when my son was 4 months old I was preggers again... hence, Melasma didn't have a chance to fade. After the birth of my 2nd child I had a tubal (therefore, no BC pills). I had hoped that the Melasma would fade but it didn't, it got worse. I went to see a dermo who did a test area with a laser and it didn't work. He couldn't believe what a "perfect" mask I had (temples, full cheaks, chin). I went to see a Homeopathic Dr. who put me on fish oil, vitamins, etc. ... didn't work. Over the years I just decided to deal with it and cake on the makeup due to not being able to afford experiments. During this time I also started to break out... a lot! I had never had a problem with acne so this added to my self-esteem issues.... especially when you have strangers telling you that you have dirt on your face. Last year I decided to see a Dermo about glycolic peals, I did 2 rounds and he prescribed Tri-Luma ($160.00). I had read the blogs about the negative effects but dismissed them because that is not what I wanted to hear. I was desperate! The peals did nothing and the Tri-Luma made my patches darker (I have dermal type - very dark) and not to mention my face was constantly pealing due to it. So, since we all cake on the makeup it looks even worse when it is resting on top of a pealing face.

After all of this I turned to the internet. Like another post on here I feel that Melasma has to be a product of something going on on the inside of my body. I went to a whole foods store and purchased a detox kit. Not something that was going to make me live in the bathroom, generally something to cleanse my liver, kidneys, stomach, etc. It did wonders for my acne. I very rarely breakout anymore. Also, for my makeup to control the oilyness and the cakey look I read about using Monestats Chaffing Gel as a makeup primer. I had never used a primer before and have found that using this creates a nice, matte base for my makeup and I am not noticing the makeup settling in the fine lines as much. This is made by Monestat but has nothing to do with yeast infections. If you don't use makeup this is fantastic at giving the matte look and makes your skin so smooth.

Lastly, I found this site upon searching "natural" skin bleaching remedies. I have read a lot about using raw pototo on the face as a natural skin lightner and am going to try it tomorrow.

So, here's what I've tried:

Glycolic peal - didn't work
Tri-Luma - DON'T waste you money, it didn't work for me and constantly makes your face peal
Grape seed pills - didn't work
Endocrinologist - did A LOT of tests... nothing wrong w/me
Dermo - band-aid answers with band-aid treatments

Here's my skin regimine:

Wash face with Cetaphyl
Use Cetaphyl SPF 50 face moisturizer
Monestat Chaffing Gel for makeup primer
Loreal TruMatch foundation
Loreal TruMatch powder

I live in a very hot state (100 plus degrees for 5 months of year) and avoiding the sun here is simply impossible. At this point in my life I am only going to try the natural remedies and better my diet. Speaking of diet, my gut (no pun intended) I firmly believe that this has to be an ingredient in our food products or insecticides that goes on them that may be causing all of this. Why is it that all of sudden in the last 15-20 years that women are getting this? It's because we've become such a busy society and buy the quick fix meals or take-out which has tons of preservatives in it. Just a thought... sorry for rambling

anneusman

those who have fitzpatrick skin scale of I-IV (white to light tan) should try fotofacials or intense pulsed light (IPL) treatments, followed by a few microderm or chem. peels (usually 3-4 weeks later) Those have been most effective on my melasma as well a lot of other peoples skin. i am an esthetician and work in a plastic surgeons office. you will see results within 2-3 treatments (depending on your natural skin tone/color) These treatments are as "instant" as you will get. by the way 2-3 treatments equates to approx 1-2 months.

Karenvenice

I find the last post to be a bit on the misleading side. As someone who has done the chemical peel and microdermabrasion treatments, I was quick to learn that those can hinder the situation and actually make the melasma worse...A friend of mine who recently did the new chemical peel, the VI peel, ended up getting more stains than she had before...I also did it and I still have the melasma. True, my skin did look fantastic for five minutes and true that it did get rid of any other non melasma related blemishes, but then it all came back within two weeks. So I spent 300 bucks to look good for two weeks. Not a viable solution for this type of battle. Would I do the peel again, not sure because of the actual risk of spreading the melasma, did I feel great a few days later? Sure, but the end result is that I still have my melasma. Also, I think that the micodermabrasion that I used to do years ago,when I didn't know better, has also contributed to the spreading of my stains---anyone who has battled melasma for years now knows the risks involved with abrasive procedures to the skin...
Meanwhile, remember I told you about using fig leaves, well I made the tea out of one cup of boiling water, a fig leaf and juice from half a lemon. I've been rubbing it on my face twice a day---it makes my skin look nice when it dries up but still I cannot report any improvement with the melasma. I will continue doing this for one month and see what happens.

nyc1458

Yep...been there, done all of that and beyond. Nothing has worked at all...still trying to find the solution to the melasma problem. I have recently added a daily vitamin regimen to my diet. I take vitamins C, E, & A. All antioxidants which are suppose to work from the inside; if nothing else at least I will be prepared for the flu season. All joking aside, I am still looking for, not a cure, but a better way to manage the problem, lighten the patches a bit, and cover them better. I'm open to all recommendations but I am trying to keep it as natural as possible.

hzqh7p

I have posted several times about IPL treatments. Intense Pulse Light treatments. First my skin looked like crap for 10 days and it never actually made my skin better and now over a year later, there is absolutely NO doubt 100% that my Melasma is WORSE!!!!!!! I had mild melasma, I went to a dermatologist on a totally unrelated issue, I allowed them to talk me into these stupid treatments thinking it would be a simple way to stop having to "cover up" these very light brown spots and to go without any makeup. After spending hundreds of dollars I have bigger, darker spots along with a lovely freaking zig zag on my face. I think the dermatologist that recommended this to me was extremely irresponsible. He never actually diagnosed me with Melasma. Even during the treatments it didn't make sense to me, how can light
make the melasma better? Especially when heat and sun make it worse? No offense against those who had good results, but frankly I don't know of anyone. I'm still so upset about it, I am actually thinking about taking legal action against either the dermatologist or the laser company or both. These people are just trying to make money and they are preying on vulnerable people who just want this crap to go away. They need to properly diagnose people in the first place (Woods Lamp test) to determine the Melasma that you have. In my case conservative treatment would have been the best for me. I didn't have that severe of a case and I believe (no one can tell me otherwise) that IPL's made my situation and many others like mine, worse!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I had a Melanage peel and that also made things better, but it only last for about a month, but I spend hundreds of dollars. We don't want to spend all this money, time and pain in some cases to look better for a week or a month. I've written to Oprah and Dr. Oz and I want to expose irresponsible people who are just trying to make a buck off of someone else. As you can see, I'm passionate about it and bitter, because it made something so minor for me so much worse. I hate to look at myself in the mirror without makeup. I've spent hundreds more dollars to try to undo the damage that this idiot did to me. Once I get my records, I will find a way to post them (showing before and after) but I'm not sure if I'm brave enough. LOL It would make more sense to me to try to find a way to freeze the skin cells instead of heat. I will find a treatment if not a cure for this and I will plan to share it when I do.
One more thing I wanted to add that I really think has helped my melasma tremendously (besides all the others that I have found is) Super Antioxidant Green Tea (it has licorice, dandelion root, grapeseed extract and other excellent antioxidants). I drink this tea several times a day and I swear it makes my skin look better. Yogi is the brand I use and you can find it in just about any grocery store. If you like green tea, it's great!!
One more thing...check google for Healing Today by David Cordeau, it's just an audio (DVD)
I guess I'm just to that point that I will do anything to get this to go away for good and help others along the way if I can.

Take care and keep the faith, we'll find something that really works and cures this condition. Albeit, not a deadly condition, it still robs you of self esteem and confidence, we need it to be GONE!

Gigi

I know exactly how you feel...I have been suffering from melasma for about 5 years as well. Like you, I have tried IPL, Fraxel laser, and melanage peel.
You are so right about the results. IPL also made my melasma spread to a larger area of my face (initially a very small area on my forehead). I had the melanage peel three times as I was told I may need more than one treatment to see results. I have spent over $10,000.00 on treatments!
I then started searching the web, and came across an amazing product, which can be purchased from a health food store for under $30! It is GRAPEFRUIT SEED EXTRACT! It is amazing! I drink about 20 drops in a large glass of water 3 times a day, and my melasma has nearly all cleared up, with about 3+ weeks! The brand I use is Nutribiotic. Try this as well, but be aware that if you have a citrus allergy, don't use this product. After so many, many years of suffering with melasma, I have finally found the answer, in a small bottle. In addition to this I am doing a herbal liver cleanse, at separate time to taking the GRAPEFRUIT SEED EXTRACT, which I also purchased from the health food store.
Also, please make sure when you purchase this product that it is GRAPEFRUIT SEED EXTRACT, and not GRAPESEED EXTRACT, as they are completely different products (i have read some posts where people have claimed that grapeseed extract did not work for them). Try this combination in addition to what you are already doing (the green tea), and let me know how it works for you.
Take care,
Gigi