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Vitiligo - Monobenzone Journey to depigmentation

36K views 44 replies 12 participants last post by  ANICOLE88 
#1 ·
My journey to depigmentation.
I have suffered from vitiligo for quite some time and have tried everything in the books to have my normal skin color back.
now i am tired of living with spots!!! tired of people asking so many questions, treating me like an untouchable!!!

Having vilitog over 50% of my body in spotty patchy form, i have decided to depigment completely!!! I understand this is permanent and have put in a lot of thought in to it.

I tried looking at alot of reviews for monobenzone from a patient that has used it to treat their vilitgo but found very less information, hence would like to start a thread where i can help people suffering from vilitgo that want to have or achieve one color in life.

My dermatologist prescribed Monobenzone 20% and asked me to apply it sparingly once a day. i started the application 5 days ago, and obviously like every person out there wanted quick results so started applying it twice a day and on my face as well.....
my face is super irritated now, the area around my eyes is swollen and red, so i am avoiding face for now and only applying on neck and arms. will apply to my torso, back and legs later when i have achieved good results on visible parts of body.

per my husband, my face is already showing little results, he states the white spots dont look AS WHITE, either maybe b/c they have settled down or the surrounding skin has brightened a little bit.

when i put the cream, the only place it irritates is my face and causes a little burning sensation, but that subsides fairly quickly and nothing unbearable.

i avoid touching anybody else or rub my skin for atleast the next hour or so and rinse it off after 2-3 hours.
i have not yet tried going out in the sun (i wait till its evening), but have bought heavy duty spf to use.

i will keep updating my results to achieve depigmentation completely, if there is anybody else in this journey, please stay in touch through this forum.

i am open to any suggestions/recommendations and need all the support.
thank you
 
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#2 ·
Hi,

I'm new as well. I understand what you are going through. Just know that sometimes when you put this cream on it will lighten other areas that you didn't put it on. Your husband may also end up with white spots even though you're not touching him right after your application. No need to hurry the process but I know its very depressing having to live this way especially for a woman. Just know that you will need to use extreme sun protection in the future. Hats, sunglasses, long sleeves, long pants, gloves and sunblock not just for the sun damage but you'll get brown spots from the sun that's harder to get rid of than your natural skin color. In any case, good luck on it. Be safe.
 
#5 ·
10th day using monobenzone 20% cream

today marks the 10th day using monobenzone 20% cream, i am only using it on my face, neck and arms....extremely dry skin but only on my face so far, im peeling and breaking out due to the dryness of my skin.

i get extreme burning when i apply the cream but the burning subsides after a few minutes. i only experience this burning on my face, not on my neck or upper body. (i guess face is more sensitive). i try to stay extremely away from my eyes now especially after the reaction i had with swelling around my eyes.
the white spots on my face are not as noticeable as they were before, unsure if its making the white marks darker or the rest of the face a little lighter, or maybe its just the dryness.

i started taking the monobenzone pills 9% formulation 4 days ago, unsure of the authenticity of the pills but at this point, im willing to try anything!!! also i have not recieved the monobenzone soaps in mail yet, will keep updated about that as well.
 
#9 ·
a little update from my side....

So I tried the "monobenzone pills", i ordered from ebay and that guy said he was gonna formulate pills with extra strength monobenzone in it, even though i didn't wanna believe him, i was desperate, so ordered it. im not sure if it worked or not....im on week 3, just really BIG PILLS.

i also started using the monobenzone soap a few days ago - the soap does not bother me when i apply it onmy hands and feet but burns with a similar sensation as putting on the monobenzone ream when i apply it on my face - i think it might be helping speed up the process.

overall, im not sure if my vitiligo it self is spreading or the cream and soap is helping as well. my face is ligtening up just a bit, kind of still hard to say.
will keep updated.

if you are in this journey - i would recommend adding the soap with the cream - monobenzone.
i got the monobenzone soap from ioffer.com
 
#12 ·
I agree with "Cloud" that the soap and the pills are a waste of time. Think of the logic of a pill. It cannot differentiate what tissues to depigment and what tissues not to depigment. That would mean it would be dangerous for you if it was really and truly effective. It would cause ocular retinal depigmentation and put you at risk for blindness.
 
#14 ·
Update Day 32
Been using the cream for a little over the month mark. using the cream twice a day 20% monobenzone, not sure if noticing any difference.
skin does not get irritated any longer.
wasted money on the pills....learnt a lesson, not to trust just about everything on the internet!! lol

anyways, maybe i have noticed some lightening but not sure how significant. i had some white spots on the side of my eyes, can't really notice them anymore.
i have not had to cover up much white spots on the face using make up lately, instead i can just put my foundation and the face is starting to look even.

my hands have lightened minimally in patches but its just lightening, not the white spots like i have.

i know this is an extremely slow and irreversible journey, but its hard to stay away from my baby when i apply this cream.

i have spoke to my dermatologist about my progress and he said if no significant effects in the next few weeks, we will consider going up to 40% strength of monobenzone but it will be more irritating to the skin.

my derm has used up to 60% of strength in the past to treat his vitligo patients in a 6 month time frame.

will keep updated.

any opinions, experiences, suggestions appreciated.
thank you all.
 
#16 ·
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3533321/
my doctor referred me this case report of a man that used monobenzone 20% two times a day for 3.5 months and achieved total depigmentation - he has vitiligo.
mine is not as extensive as his, but still have spots. i been using monobenzone for almost 6 weeks now and i have ligthened just a little bit, now i have 3 shades - one dark (my natural color), one super white (vitiligo color) and one in the middle - almost looks like i have dirt on my skin and i need to wash it off but nothing comes off :(
I also started using retinol facewash and moisturizer but my doctor said that can take 6 months to see any results.
hopefully plans are to increase my monobenzone to 40% sometime in the next month if i am not showing aggressive results.
i no longer get any burning sensation when i apply the cream on my skin, my doctor also mentioned that was normal since now i am getting used to the cream.
i have ordered the prosonic exfoliator for exfoliation before i can apply the cream to open up the pores, although this was not recommended by my physician, i read about it online and it kinda makes sense.
 
#17 ·
From where you bought it. is fairnglow monobenzone or Benoquik. All doctors are saying Benoquik is better than benoquin and advised not use Benoquin. But Benoquik is very costly. Is fairnglow monobenzone is ok????
in USA, benoquin is not available readily. my doctor wrote me a prescription of monobenzone 20% and i have it compounded at a pharmacy here in town.

i have heard about benoquin or albaquin creams that has monobenzone 20% - the way my doctor explained to me is that they all have monobenzone chemical but the base cream is different - some use cheap base cream which makes skin very irritated and dry b/c of the chemical burn - some have expensive moisturizer/emollient based cream which prevents any skin irritation.

again buy from a good reviewed source cuz you want the product to be legit and real.

do you have vitligo? or are you doing this for skin lightening?
 
#18 ·
Update from my side.
Almost end of 2 months using monobenzone.
currently using 20% monobenzone about 2 times a day....no more irritation of the skin. my skin has started developing patches but im still not evening out.
my doctor has decided to go up to 40% monobenzone cream now, will start using it tomorrow. will update with results soon.
thank you
 
#19 ·
Hey Anisha,congrats hun.Nice to know that your skin is used to monobenzone now and thanks for the update.
Is it possible if you could upload a pic of your patches.Because this will help people with vitiligo and those who don't have vitiligo and are thinking about using mono.
Many people with vitiligo suffer in silence and their doctors don't help them with depigmentation treatment.Some don't even know about this treatment.
 
#20 ·
Update monobenzone - im approaching my 3 month line of using the monobenzone cream ( i started april 2, 2015).
currently using 40% monobenzone, only on my face, arms, neck. the progress is really noticeable.
The spots on my face and neck are almost disappeared and one color since the surrounding skin has lightened quite a bit.
my arms are coming along nice as well.
seems like the skin is gradually lightening all together instead of spotty patches which is making the course very smooth.
my neck have also evened out pretty nicely.
will post pictures. thank you
 
#24 ·
@anisha2939 congrats hun!
Your patches look few shades lighter than your original skin color. I have used monobenzone in past and I also have light spots on the places where I used mono.But I got spots from 20% mono.
I thought that monobenzone give white spots or patches.But your patches also look similar to my spots.So does this mean that if one wants to go completely white,he/she has to keep applying it till the skin get really white?
But then this also means that some places will be more light than others....correct me if I am wrong pls :)
 
#25 ·
well i had vitiligo, so i do have really pale white spots, the first picture is of me with patches. i think applying the cream is giving me an even brightening instead of patches....but i think everybody is different.

initially i was lightening at some spots faster then others so i did have some patchiness areas of different colors rather then just pale white ones.

i can't wait till im all one color. although my skin has lightened quite a bit, its not completely pale or depigmented yet. my doctor said it will take 2-4 more months to completely depigment.
 
#26 ·
@anisha2939 so you started lightening when you went from 20% to 40% monobenzone...right?
It's really nice to hear that you are lightening evenly and not in patches.I think this is due to the formulation of your cream because I read that patches and spots occur due to other things added in monobenzone.
I also read that uneven lightening can also occur due to uneven application of cream.

Anyway,do you apply it all over your body including face?

What will be your life like after total depigmentation.I mean to say did your doctor tell you about maintenance?
What will be repigmnetation like?
I read that repigmentation is very difficult to treat and it can even fail even with 40% monobenzone and thats why doctors don't go higher than 20% in depigmentation treatment.Because you need higher % of mono for treating repigmnetation and you can't go higher than 40%.
I hope you don't mind my questions.I am trying to educate myself about depigmentation treatment so that I can prepare myself for this treatment.

Take care and have a safe lightening journey :)
 
#27 ·
i did notice a big difference when i jumped to 40% of monobenzone.
i do apply the cream evenly and rub it in on my entire face (except around my eyes), neck and arms.
my dermatologist did not recommend any maintainence application, he said he has not needed to do this for his previous patients. so once im done with depgiemenatation, i am done.
he has used up to 60% monobenzone in his practicde and the pharmacy that i get my monobenzone has formulated that percentage for him.
he said it is unlikely that i will repigment but if i do, it will be the color form the hair cells which monobenzone does not penetrate through and hence it is so difficult to treat.
hope this helps
 
#29 ·
Hi i,m grayeys and i have had melasma on my face now over 5yrs i have tried just everything on the planet and nothing i mean nothing has works do you know of any product that has shown any hope of lightening dark areas on the dace i,ve even gone to dernatolgist and paid lots of money for expensive creams taht dont lighten at all
 
#30 ·
Hello do you know if this product can also be used for helping with melasma this is a facial condition sometime caused my pregancy and hormones but i have tried so many different products on the planet and i can,t find anything to even lighten theses dark areas on my face sign HELP!!!!!!!!!
 
#33 ·
I haven't been able to put the cream on much lately since im home more now and I have a baby around me all the time....when I go out, I ran around my natural skin a lot, and it's more prominent since I don't tan at all around my white skin....hopefully will start being more aggressive with applying the cream and see results....once I have achieved depigmentatkon on arms and neck, will move to doing my legs next...
 
#34 ·
@anisha2939 Hey Hun, How are you? Since you are using Monobenzone and have started getting results,I just want to know when monobenzone starts working does this mean that skin will get lighter and lighter every month or it will happen after 2-3 months? The reason to ask this is that,I have used monobenzone in past and got lighter spots so if I start monobenzone again,will my skin start getting lighter or do I have to wait 2-3 months for monobenzone to respond? I hope you got my point :)
 
#35 ·
I havnt updated anything in a long time, just staying busy.
so i have been using monobenzone for about 7 months now....still only applying on my neck and arms. my face depigmented with in 2 months of use. i am now using 40% monobenzone cream about once a day, atleast 4 times a week due to my schedule. i dont risk applying the cream when i am home with my baby.
my arms are coming along well. still not completely, but 70% done. my doctor said few more months.
i am planning on starting to applying the cream on my legs now as well.

my insurance will no longer cover the monobenzone cream :( so i have to start paying out of pocket. i am thinking about buying the powder online and getting it compounded at the pharmacy.
has anybody bought the powder online?
 
#37 ·
Good luck with your journey. What are you using?
I have not used Monobenzone in over 9 months now because I'm pregnant and due in a few weeks.
Because vitiligo is worse in pregnancy, my torso and legs automatically turned white but I have a lot of dark skin on back and now getting have repigmentation on face and neck but I think it might be pregnancy induced melasma, which I am hoping will clear after pregnancy.
I was using up to 50% monobenzone at the end last year, worked very well. I'm very happy with the results.
Please keep me updated on your results too blue bird
 
#39 ·
@anisha2939 .... Thanks for doing this thread. I have a friend with vitiligo and I'll refer her here. Btw congrats on your new baby (guess he/she has already arrived). Please tag me whenever you are ready to continue with your journey.
 
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