Melasma is notoriously difficult to eliminate, but adding cosmeceuticals to the treatment can improve chemical peel results, according to Cherie M. Ditre, MD.
"I use a combination of retinols, combinations of antioxidants such as green tea, along with hydroquinones," Ditre says in an interview at a cosmetic dermatology seminar sponsored by Skin Disease Education Foundation (SDEF).
"Those three together are a powerhouse. And, occasionally, I’ll add in alpha-hydroxy acids to actually help increase permeation through the skin."
The exact combinations depend on the procedure planned, she says. Ditre is director of the University of Pennsylvania Health System’s Skin Enhancement Center in Radnor, PA.
If she is planning a chemical peel, for example, she has the patients "prepped first in the morning with an alpha-hydroxy acid cleanser starting at 10% and moving up. And then I also have them use hydroquinone at 4%. I can also titrate that in office to 6% or 8% depending on what they need. And then I go with an antioxidant such as green tea and a sunscreen."
She prefers sunscreens containing titanium dioxide and zinc oxide, and recommends Anthelios, which contains Mexoryl, and is an FDA-approved sun filter.
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[Source: Skin and Allergy News]
