One of the greatest perks of my job is having access to all of you guys’ knowledge! Anytime I have a question I share it on stories and always get tons of helpful responses! I am honestly so thankful for this community!! Most recently, I asked if you guys had any tips for dealing with pregnancy mask (also known as melasma), which is facial hyperpigmentation that some people experience while they are pregnant. I had tons of answers and also a lot of people DM me asking what the recommendations were, so I wanted to compile a list of the most common answers! Also want to add a lot of the people who responded were dermatologists or worked at med spas – obviously always check with your doctor if you have questions. Below is a picture of my skin before pregnancy and what it’s like now. I had no spots at all before pregnancy – now they kind of cover my cheekbones, and across my lips, I know they seem kind of light in the photo but I feel like you can see them better in real life.

With that, here’s some suggestions and tips I got that I’m going to start doing:

Avoid heat

First of all, a few of you mentioned that anything heat related can make the hyperpigmentation worse which actually makes sense because after I had a Hydrafacial the other day (which involves hot steam) Cody said my hyperpigmentation spots were more noticeable, so if you are dealing with pregnancy mask, of course try to avoid the sun, but try to avoid heat and warm steam too.

Use SPF 50

A dermatologist told me that I need to be using at least SPF 50 on my face. A lot of times I just rely on the SPF in my tinted moisturizer, but tons of you recommended this one and it’s been working really well since I started trying it. I have super sensitive skin and no break outs so far!

Vitamin C

This is another product that helps to brighten and even out skin tone, and a lot of you have said it will help with hyperpigmentation too. Tons of you recommended this one. I have actually used it off and on for a couple years (in general I test so many products out, but this one always comes back in rotation). Here’s a more budget friendly Vitamin C serum that works well too. I’ve used both of these and they are both great.

Misc Serums

I started using this serum recently and it’s helped with evening my skin tone. I was posting about how much I liked their serum and became friends with the Algenist team, and asked if they could help recommend anything for pregnancy mask –  this one (use on clean skin) along with their vitamin C serum followed by a moisturizer. I just got it in the mail – so I will keep you posted on my how they work 🙂

Give it time

A lot of you also said that pregnancy mask is something that just goes away with time (3-6 months post pregnancy) and other said that you can’t really start using effective treatment until after the pregnancy and after you are done breastfeeding, like microneedling, AHA/BHAs, (can’t wait to be able to use this one again!) a retinol (another Sunday Riley favorite), etc. So if you are first time mama, or first time getting pregnancy mask – it may just go away with time!

Proper Nutrients

Apparently low levels of folic acid in your diet can also lead to pregnancy mask, so eating things like oranges, whole grain bread, and leafy greens can help too. You can also take vitamin supplements to increase your folic acid levels (but always consult a doctor first :).

Peels/Treatments

I had hyperpigmentation spots a few years ago (2015) from a different treatment that went bad (more to come on that in a later post!) I got hyperpigmentation spots all over after and looked everywhere to find a good doctor to get rid of it. I found Dr. Taylor at Gateway Laser, he is amazing, I  did the pico laser that specializes in hyperpigmentation. It’s definitely more of an investment, its expensive (around $500 per treatment), so I would say try the other stuff first. I had AMAZING results so I wanted to share for those of you who might not be able to get rid of the symptoms with these other recommendations. A lot of you said not to try lasers after pregnancy mask because it will make it worse, but the doctor that I went to to for my hyperpigmentation told me there’s so many different types of  lasers, and the one he used is specifically for hyperpigmentation and it completely fixed it so I plan on going back for my pregnancy mask. This is definitely one of those times you want to make sure you don’t skimp on a dermatologist or just get the cheapest one you can find – lasers can do a LOT OF GOOD but also a LOT OF DAMAGE. Please please please make sure you are going to someone who knows what they are doing, ask around, read reviews and make sure they are a reputable company! I went to Gateway Laser – and saw Dr. Taylor. He specializes in lasers and has been doing it for like 20-30 years. He trains people around the world on lasers and I always appreciate how conservative he is – I’ve asked him about having other things done and he will tell me you don’t need it, or it wouldn’t help with that. He’s so smart and educated in what he does I won’t go to anyone else for laser treatment on my face. When I did my hyper pigmentation treatment 4 years ago I paid for it, so this isn’t sponsored, but I reached out to them about offering a discount when I talk about it on my blog and they said you can get 20% off your first treatment if you mention my blog (Hello Fashion) which will save you like $100. I’ll post more when I get mine done for my pregnancy mask 🙂

Here’s a quick snapshot of all the products I mentioned above – a couple are post pregnancy so make sure you reference below and above before using 🙂

DETAILS: 1. SKINCEUTICALS SPF 50 | 2. SUNDAY RILEY BABYFACIAL (POST PREGNANCY) | 3. SKINCEUTICALS C E FERULIC ACID | 4. SUNDAY RILEY RETINOL OIL (POST PREGNANCY) | 5. ALGENIST LIQUID COLLAGEN | 6. ALGENIST VITAMIN C SERUM | 7. VICHY VITAMIN C SKIN CORRECTOR | 8. ALGENIST BARRIER SERUM | 9. FOLIC ACID VITAMINS.

If any of you guys have suffered with hyperpigmentation or any of these fixes have worked for you, let me know below in the comments!

XX, Christine