ABSTRACT
Preparing the skin It is not usually necessary to prepare the skin, but with long-standing or resistant melasma or with a skin phototype higher than Fitzpatrick IV, preparing the skin can be worthwhile and can improve results:
Blending Bleaching® cream (see Chapter 3): applied twice a day on the melasma itself and once a day on the rest of the face
Melablock HSP® 50+ (see Chapter 3): applied all over the face in the morning and then reapplied every 3 hours on the melasma itself
Applying the peel solution A first coat of ETCA solution is applied to the melasma and left to dry completely (Figure 16.6). The desired endpoint is cloudy pink-white frosting that is exactly the same shape as the melasma plus 1 cm. If there is no frosting after the first coat, more coats of ETCA solution must be applied until cloudy pink-white frosting occurs. There is no set number of coats required, and there is no way of knowing in advance; each coat of ETCA solution must be left to dry completely before applying the next coat if the skin has not frosted sufficiently. More resistant skins only show cloudy pink-white frosting after three or four coats.
