Melasma is a specific, hormonal kind of pigmentation. Hormones prime the pigment cells, then light and heat set them off. And here is what most people are never told: it is not only UV. Visible light from a window or a screen, the warmth of a hot kitchen or a hard workout, all feed it. Push it with a harsh treatment and it rebounds darker. So we go the other way.
In melasma the pigment-making cells are hypersensitive. Hormones prime them, think pregnancy or the pill, and then light and heat set them off, so they overproduce melanin in patches, often across the cheeks, forehead and upper lip.
Because those cells are so reactive, anything harsh, a strong peel, heat, an aggressive treatment, provokes them to make more, and the patch comes back darker than before. London adds its own heat: the tube, a steamy shower, a hot workout.
None of this is your fault. It is how these cells are wired, and once you understand it you stop fighting it and start managing it, which is exactly what melasma needs.
“A strong, aggressive treatment or a deep peel will blast melasma away for good.”
Aggressive treatment and heat usually make melasma worse. The real winners are unglamorous: strict daily protection against light and heat, and gentle, consistent skincare kept up over time.
The Observ skin scan shows how deep the pigment sits and how reactive your pattern looks. The more reactive it is, the gentler and slower we go, because provoking it sets us back.
Deeper melasma is more stubborn and asks for more patience. This shapes every choice we make.
How hormonal and how easily triggered your pattern looks.
A calm, intact barrier lets us treat gently without irritation. Irritation feeds melasma.
Where the skin is inflamed it makes more pigment, so we settle this before anything else.
This is your treatment, not an extra. A tinted mineral SPF shields against visible light as well as UV. Reapply through the day.
Heat alone can flare melasma. Go easy on hot showers, saunas, steamy cooking and very hot workouts on your face.
No scrubs, no strong acids, no aggressive treatments. Melasma reacts to trauma by making more pigment.
Windows, screens and car glass all let light through. Keep your protection topped up indoors too.
Protection is the treatment, and gentle beats aggressive, always. With melasma we live at the top of this ladder and we are cautious with everything below it.
This is where melasma is actually managed. A gentle vitamin A step, a calming step to even the tone, a brightening step used in careful cycles and then rested, and a tinted SPF treated as step one, not an add-on.
If and only if your skin is settled, a very soft, melasma-safe peel can nudge pigment along. This is a maybe, never a must. LED is used with care, to calm and support the skin, never as the treatment for the pigment itself.
Melasma is one of the most easily provoked things we treat, so we are very cautious about going further, and we will refer you to someone we trust rather than risk a rebound. Once it has faded, the work becomes keeping it there. Melasma likes to creep back, so maintenance is how we win.
Your personal plan and prices are built for you at your consultation. This is the toolkit, not the bill. Treatment prices are on each treatment page and on Prices.
We are in this together for the long run, and that is genuinely okay once you understand it. Sun and heat discipline is everything. There are no quick fixes and no aggressive treatments, because with melasma those are what set it off.
Kept up, it fades and it stays faded, and that is a very good place to be.
Three PCA Sensi Peels, two KB Bespoke MediFacials, twelve heat-free Dermalux LED sessions, one medical-grade active chosen for your skin, plus KB VIP, 10% off further treatments and in-clinic skincare. Yours is built for you at your consultation, and a membership is only ever suggested if it is the sensible way to pay for the plan you already have.
No, and anyone who promises otherwise is selling something. It can be faded, calmed and held there with protection and gentle, consistent care.
Heat and aggression are exactly what melasma cells react to. The patch comes back darker. We treat softly on purpose.
Yes. Visible light feeds melasma and a clear SPF does not block it. A tinted mineral SPF does, so for melasma it is treatment, not aftercare.
Yes, gently. Some ingredients are paused in pregnancy and breastfeeding, and we build a safe routine around that. Ask us.
Observ skin scan, an honest conversation, and a written plan within days. £50 with an advanced skin therapist, £95 with Kelsey, our nurse prescriber.
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