These get grouped together because they present as discoloration, but they are different conditions and they do not respond to the same treatment. Sun-induced brown spots often respond well to light and laser treatment. Rosacea's redness and visible vessels are usually approached with vascular targeted devices alongside medical management of the underlying condition.
Melasma is the one that deserves particular caution. It is driven partly by hormones and it is provoked by heat as well as by light, which means some laser and light treatments can make it worse rather than better, and it tends to recur even after successful clearing. A provider who treats melasma the way they treat sun spots is not distinguishing between two things that look similar and behave nothing alike.
Because the causes differ, getting a diagnosis before buying a treatment package is the step that saves the most money and disappointment here.
How it gets treated
These are the approaches used locally. A provider may offer one of them or several, which is why the same name appears under more than one heading on this site.
- IPL and BBL, mainly for brown spots and redness
- Lasers, including pigment-specific and vascular wavelengths
- Chemical peels, at varying depths
- Prescription topicals such as hydroquinone, tretinoin and azelaic acid
- Daily sun protection, which every approach depends on
What to ask a provider
- Which of these do I actually have, and how are you distinguishing them?
- If this is melasma, how do you avoid making it worse?
- What is the maintenance plan once it clears?
Who offers this near Boulder
143 of the providers in our directory treat this, detected from their own published service pages. Scores are our 0 to 100 rating of the business, not of this treatment specifically, and they are never for sale. How we score.
Related: Laser Resurfacing and IPLChemical PeelsFacials
This page is information, not medical advice. Annette Thompson is a medical technologist writing from public data and firsthand visits, not your clinician. Decisions about any of this belong in a conversation with a qualified clinician who knows your history.