Anyone notice dark skin on upper lip after laser?

[Jennygirl]

I'm not sure if it's normal or if I should try a skin lightening package of some sort, but I think I might be getting a little bit of hyperpigmentation (darkening) on my upper lip- more noticeably at the bottom part right above my mouth where I had the thickest hair and the sun catches a lot. It's nothing major and nothing that my concealer doesn't easily cover up, but after 8 pro laser sessions and some Tria touches spaced well in between I'm basically clear hair wise now except for a few. The fact that my upper lip still looks ever so slightly darker than the rest of my face (in a tan brown sort of way / not blue) is the only thing keeping me wearing concealer there at all, and the goal was to go sans cover makeup altogether so I'm hoping it's fixable.

Hyperpigmentation is a risk of laser and it goes hand in hand with sun damage. I was wondering if any ladies have experienced it or if I am worried about nothing (if it is part of the skin's natural healing from laser / will just go away on its own)?

I'm going to try to get ahold of my skin/laser doctor on Tuesday when he is in the office again, but I'm the first trans woman he's treated for facial hair removal so I definitely wanted to ask y'all about it, too.

[Jenny07]

Jen

No issues here after my many laser sessions.
Mind you it does sting on the upper lip and I still have some dark hair left after 11 sessions.
I don't spend much time out in the sun these days, too busy for that.

Probably best to ask for peace of mind sake for you.

PS looking great as ever.
Jen

[Skittles]

Hey Jennygirl, Maybe try Palmer's Cocoa Butter Formula Skin Therapy Oil. It also has vitamin E, claims to help improve Scars, Stretch Marks, Dry Damaged Skin, Uneven Skin Tone, Aging Skin. Sorry can't lend you my bottle, I don't remember where I got this, so I am hanging on tight to it. Hug. Joann

[Jennygirl]

Thanks Jenny!

Maybe I am just imagining things and I have some dark hair left underneath the surface. Going to ask my doctor about it tomorrow

[Jennygirl]

Well I called today to make an appointment and got one for Thursday, but the receptionist said something interesting to me.. She said I should see my endo about melasma because it is so common in women having hormonal fluctuations. Melasma is characterized by blotchy skin pigmentation (light/dark/or both) and the upper lip is one of the most common areas.

Since my endo has a flexible schedule, I was able to go right in and talk with him about it. I didn't wear any makeup so he could see it, and he said no way it looked like melasma. If it was, it is way too early to tell because it would be much more obvious (he could barely see it). In all of his years treating patients, he said the only one he's had develop melasma was an african american woman who was at higher risk anyway having dark type skin.

Skittles- Thanks for the suggestions. I will ask my derma and see what he says. Hopefully it's just my idiocy with not wearing a strong SPF everyday while undergoing LHR. The realization just came to me that the whole time I was at burning man I didn't wear SPF once.. DUMB ME. I'm sure that something like the therapy oil you use would help. At this point I would probably do about anything to nip it in the bud before it gets any worse. Something tells me that early detection with this thing is key, so I'm jumping on it now (starting with being religious about SPF).

[Terracotta]

Perhaps you could find a place which can do a retinol skin peel? Assuming the hyper-pigmentation is caused by a reaction to the sun. It's a good option as a 'reset' button for skin issues it's just not ideal to have it done too many times.

[Jennygirl]

Oh yeah sorry I forgot to update on this.

Basically it is my fault for not obeying the rules with wearing SPF during laser. I live in a sunny climate so that affects it, and the week I was at burning man in the high desert not wearing any at all was a major mistake

He is going to start me on a cream that contains several things including hydroquinone, retin-a, and some other things to make the hydroquinone work more effectively. I'm not sure how it will time out for finishing laser, but he said it's nothing to be worried about because it can be fixed.

I've already added SPF to my daily regimen so at least it will stop getting any worse until I start treatment for it.

The lesson here is... don't forget to wear SPF if you're getting laser! Adding high amounts of estrogen into the mix only makes you more susceptible- definitely something to watch out for all you other ladies

Sofia- I did ask about peels but he said it wasn't necessary because it's not severe enough. But it sounds like the retinol stuff (or retin-a?) is part of the solution just not in peel form. Thanks for the suggestion btw

[Thylacin]

When I have my laser treatments, my freckles (even the very faint and light ones) get super dark and noticable. It goes away after a few days. Is this similar to what you're experiencing?

[Jennygirl]

Maybe, it's possible too that its just a few remaining hairs under the surface. But when I shine a bright light on the point where my actual upper lip transitions to the skin above my lip, it goes from pink (lip) to white (ridge between) to a brown darker than the rest of my skin tone.

I've been wearing SPF all day in the form of a really good BB cream, but I'm also going to start hydroquinone treatment this coming week.

I will know at my next laser session if it's just some leftover hair based on the amount of pain. I'm guessing it will still be pretty painful- or at least that is what I'm hoping... because that means that some of it is just hair still needing to be removed.

[Jennygirl]

Just started the treatment. It's a blend of hydroquinone, kojic acid, retin-a, and hydrocortisone. Applied to a dry face every other night for one week and every night after that for two months.

Stuff was not cheap... $120 for a little tiny thing. I hope it works!

Also my laser doc is the same one that made the cream blend, so at least I know it's not going to affect my LHR treatments.

[Jennygirl]

I've used it three times spaced out every other day, and my lip has peeled twice every day after.. It seems like the dark spots are definitely close to the surface. It's already to the point where cover makeup is not necessary besides a little powder foundation which goes on looking like nothing at all in these cold days. FREEDOM! 

I don't think I'm going to need to do the full 2 month treatment. If it keeps correcting at this rate I'll be back to normal in a week.

It works!! I think the retin-a is making my skin a lot softer there too.. A lot of the enlarged pores around the corners of my mouth seem to have completely disappeared = major bonus!

[Thylacin]

I've used it three times spaced out every other day, and my lip has peeled twice every day after.. It seems like the dark spots are definitely close to the surface. It's already to the point where cover makeup is not necessary besides a little powder foundation which goes on looking like nothing at all in these cold days. FREEDOM! 

I don't think I'm going to need to do the full 2 month treatment. If it keeps correcting at this rate I'll be back to normal in a week.

It works!! I think the retin-a is making my skin a lot softer there too.. A lot of the enlarged pores around the corners of my mouth seem to have completely disappeared = major bonus!

Thanks for your posts. It made me think to talk to my doctor about retin-A as part of my treatment plan for my transition. He said it could be helpful and prescribed it for me (along with my first month of E/spiro! ).
I wasn't sure the retin-A would be covered by insurance, but it was!

[Missy~rmdlm]

Yes most unfortunately I picked up extra pigmentation from early treatments to my upper lip...just what I needed .
Fortunately it's faded from my first upper lip treatment a couple years ago. Eventually it appears I will have a truly clear whisker free upper lip, maybe another year of monthly clearings with electrolysis.

[Tessa James]

I did get a tiny spot of hyper-pigmentation on my face and likely from also not keeping the sunscreen on, dang me!

Thanks for the treatment tips girls.

[Jennygirl]

Yep my hyperpigmentation is 100% gonners. I am now living beard cover makeup-free and I just want to jump for joy about it!

I've been using 46 SPF that also contains niacinamide which does good stuff too. I stopped using the bleach cream and my skin looks better every day, I think maybe the good SPF is making a huge difference.

When I do FFS I'm going to see about a heavy retin-a regimen while I'm all bloody. Might as well be peeling too