Cosmelan®

What is Cosmelan®?

Cosmelan® is a clinical treatment designed to address all types of pigmentation concerns including melasma. It is suitable for all skin types and apart from reducing pigment, will also equalises skin tone and increase skin luminosity.

Cosmelan® is one of the best products on the market to treat pigmentation concerns such as extensive sun damage and melasma. After using it for more than 12 months now, we are confident in saying that the outcomes we have achieved using Cosmelan® are incredible. Look at our before and afters! They speak for themselves (no filters/or touchups- just real people!)

What is Hyperpigmentation?

Hyperpigmentation is a common skin disorder which presents as brown skin patches, often found on the hands and face, leaving the skin blotchy and uneven.

Factors contributing to pigmentation changes include sun exposure, genetic predisposition (more common in darker skin types and Asian /Mediterranean skin), inflammation (e.g. eczema and waxing) and hormonal influences such as pregnancy, the oral contraceptive pill, excessive oestrogen, thyroid conditions and high blood sugar. Often it is a combination of factors, but in our clinic sun exposure is a common driving force.

Some women suffer from melasma, which is a chronic skin condition that can be managed, but has no cure.

Inappropriate heat treatments such as laser and IPL treatments can also cause hyperpigmentation and exacerbate melasma, We see a lot of this and are the main referral centre in the Illawarra and surrounds for clients with intractable pigment disorders! If you are predisposed to get pigment changes, be very careful with any laser or IPL treatments and choose your provider wisely!

How does Cosmelan® Work?

Cosmelan® works by decreasing the production of melanin from melanocytes (the pigment producing cells of our skin). The predominant action of the peel is inhibition of tyrosinase, an enzyme which controls melanin synthesis. The peel works to stop pigment production and hence reduce discolouration.

Unfortunately, it is not curative, so after the initial treatment, the tyrosinase function will slowly start again and melanin will start to be produced, particularly if there is sun exposure. Due to this, application of home care products must be used to maintain results and sun avoidance is crucial. For those with melasma, it would be expected that your condition will recur at some stage, even with scrupulous care, and another course will be required.

Advantages over other depigmentation treatments

Pigmentation is often a difficult dermatological condition to manage and in some cases, there is no cure. Clients often struggle with this for their whole adult lives and feel frustrated and disempowered at the lack of progress and effective treatment options. We can be confident in recommending Cosemelan as the most effective pigmentation treatment we have seen in our collective years of medical/dermal therapy (over 75 years and counting).

Advantages include:

• Only one treatment required

• It works quickly, with limited downtime

• It is effective for ALL skin types and pigment, especially for those with melasma where we have limited options.

• It is well tolerated

• It can be used any time of the year - YAY!

• It is effective at managing iatrogenic pigmentation such as hyperpigmentation caused from IPL, lasers, waxing and chemical peels

• As an added benefit, it gives the skin a beautiful glow and induces collagen, improving skin firmness and texture.

We understand the impact that pigmentation can have on your life and we can’t wait to take the journey with you to finally removing it!

Booking

An initial consultation with our doctor may be required to exclude any underlying medical issues that may have resulted in pigmentation and to discuss issues such as contraception. If you would like to arrange this, or our staff think it is required, please do this prior to your treatment.

Procedure Time
30 minutes. Ongoing home care which is provided as part of the package. You will be booked in for a followup session a few weeks later. Please send up pics as we love to share the journey!

Recommended Plan

The Cosmelan® treatment is a 2 step programme: a medical peel and home treatment programme.

• Phase 1 involves an in-clinic treatment which takes about an 30 minutes and involves the application of the Cosmelan® mask. Once the mask is applied, you will be taken through the protocol carefully and you will be able to go home with the mask on. You will be instructed to remove the mask after a specified period of time, depending on your skin type. It is better to book in the morning or lunch as the peel may bed to be left on for several hours.

• Phase 2 consists of a 4 month home care maintenance programme, which is critical to the success of the treatment. You will be given careful instructions to follow to best maintain your result. It is vital to avoid sun exposure and skin inflammation (e.g. managing acne and avoid waxing in the treatment area.)

If you have melasma, you must understand that this is often a chronic condition, the peel will not “treat” your condition and most clients return for a repeat treatment over time.

Planning
Depending on your work, it may be necessary to take time off and we do not recommend planning any social events in the few weeks following your treatment.

You can expect the vast majority of pigmentation to be erased, however deep dermal pigmentation may be inaccessible to the treatment. In this instance, we advise regular Q switch facials and a medicated cream (Dr Grant can supply) which together may be able to target deep, dermal pigmentatation.

Downtime / Aftercare

• Day 1-4: Your skin will be red, hot and a bit swollen. It may feel quite tight and dry.

Day 4-5: Peeling will generally start around this time, depending on your skin type and may last 7-10 days. It is very important NOT to pick or rub/ exfoliate the skin. Allow it to shed naturally. If you pick the skin, you will increase the risk of infection and scarring. Generally, the most shedding occurs on days 1 -2. Many clients have this treatment on a Thursday or a Friday so downtime can occur on the weekend.

If your work or personal life prevents you from taking time off, we strongly recommend that you consider alternative treatment options in the meantime to further prepare your skin, such as medical skin care, suncream, Q switch facials and regular less intensive peels.

Pricing

$1, 200 - This includes initial application of the Cosmelan® peel and medicated home treatment kit, which will last around 4 months.

Results

Results will be noticeable 2-3 weeks post treatment, after the peeling as stopped. Initially, you will notice reduced pigmentation as well as clearer, brighter skin.

This should continue to slowly improve over time as long as you adhere to home care and reduce any triggers such as sun exposure and hormonal influences.

Special considerations

• Not suitable if pregnant or breast feeding, or planning a pregnancy in the next 6 months.

• Not suitable for those with poorly controlled rosacea

• If you have been using oral tretinoin (Roaccutane) in the last 12 months , please speak with Dr Grant first