When Hydroquinone Doesn't Work. . .

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epu

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Okay - I've hit the four month mark with using these hydroquinone creams (Glades and Tri-Luma) on the dark spots left by my acne and I've seen NO improvement. What's next? I'm I just left with these horrible brown spot/scars on my nose for life? Is laser surgery the last resort?

I used Tri-Luma once a night for 8 weeks and used Glades Hydroquinone twice a day before then. NO RESULTS for me, and these creams used to work. What do I do now? I've already seem my dermatologist three times over the past four months!
 
It takes patience waiting for scares to heal. Are they fresh scars or have you had them for 6 + months? If they've been around for a LONG time, you could either get a chemical peel or microdermabrasion (which should be done ONLY at a doctor's office)... neither of which are as appealing to me as waiting it out. Of course, if a year from now I have the exact same scars, I'll probably resort to that.
 
Well, they've been around since late Feburary. Tri-Luma made my skin really red and the marks appeared to have gotten darker. Interestingly enough, after months of using these products, I started to use vitamin E (400 IU) cap (puncturing them open and spreading them on the affected areas) and I noticed the red spots (maybe it was blood underneath the skin?) and dark spots (which I believe were over the blood spots, if they were infact blood spots) started to disappear faster.

I still have the dreaded brown spots, but they now actually seem to be going away. My skin is peeling faster (and I'm letting it peel on it's own, not forcing it off), and they seem to be fading. I'm still using the Tri-Luma nightly and the Glades Hydroquinone twice a day, but perhaps the Vitamin E and Fish Oil, in corabination with the above mentioned products, are giving me faster results.

By the way, the spots looked the same as they have since Feb up until Sunday. It wasn't until THIS past Sunday that I started using the Vitamin E that I've been noticing results. If I'm lucky, maybe these stupid spots will clear up before Summer hits. I'm still going to see my Dermatologist on Sunday to get some more supervision and monitoring.
 
Thanks for posting this. I too have tried the hydroquinone cream 4% for the past 3 days and have noticed that my initial little brown mole has gotten reddish brown and larger than before. I assumed it was my fault for forgetting to place sunscreen over the cream, but it hasn't been going away. My skin burns each time I put it on, and I don't see any improvement. In fact, it is worse than before. My dermotologist recommended me to stop using the cream, and apply hydrocortisone until the color fades or stops irritating me. Then I could continue using it. She said this type of break out is not normal for most patients. Well, I'm Asian and have very light sensitive skin, so I don't know if that may be the reason. I also did some research and found that Asia has banned this cream, as a result of skin cancer which really freaks me out.

I was wondering if I should continue using it because my mom said she used some type of bleaching cream in the past and it worked for her, but definitely not worth it if it causes skin cancer. She said she went through a period of redness and enlarged pigmentation, but over a course of 2-3 months, it gradually faded away. I'm hoping that's the case for me. Any feedback or experiences from any of you would be greatly appreciated! :confused:
 
Have you considered microdermabrasion treatments? I believe they are less expensive than any sort of laser facials or treatments. I have also learned to wear sunscreen!! I wear it year around so that any scars I have dont get darker. I went off of birth control pills and saw that the areas of hyperpigmentation have disappeared or faded a lot! I have used fade creams and Tri-luma as well. The creams do work but only so much. I keep the hope that new products and treatments will continue to be discovered.
 
No, I have not done microdermabrasion treatments, but I'm considering it if the spots don't go away within the next month. My dermatologist recommended it, but also mentioned that in order for it to be fully effective, I must come in for multiple treatments (about $150/treatment) which is considered a cosmetic procedure and will not be covered with my insurance. I have discontinued the hydroquinone 4% glade cream, and as of now, my spots are scabby, red, and dry, so hopefully the next step will be for it to peel away. After that, I will either consider the microdermabrasion treatment, or just find some alternative treatment to make it go away. BTW, do birth control pills cause hyperpigmentation? I have used the patch in the past, and noticed it appear shortly after being on it, but never thought it to be the cause.
 
Just a quick update, which I think may benefit some of you who have tried the Hydroquinone 4% cream...After about a week of applying the cream and having a reddish brown scabby hardened surface, the scab eventually fell off, and has now been replaced with thin pinkish skin. My mom said this pink scar should go away within weeks, so I'm crossing my fingers. I'll let you know if anything new comes up.
 
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