1. How can I talk to my doctor about melasma?  Watch this video. 
2. How long will it take to lighten my melasma?
3. How does Tri-Luma® Cream lighten?
4. Where can I get Tri-Luma® Cream?
5. Why does the sun make my melasma worse?
6. If I have melasma, do I have to avoid the sun?
7. Will my melasma just fade away?
8. How should I use Tri-Luma® Cream?  Watch this video. 
9. What should I avoid while using Tri-Luma® Cream?
10. What are the possible side effects of Tri-Luma® Cream?

 
How can I talk to my doctor about melasma?
If you think you might have melasma, you're not alone. Millions of people have this condition. And you don't need to be embarrassed or nervous to talk with your doctor. Treatment is available. Make an appointment with a dermatologist (a doctor who specializes in skin care).

 
How long will it take to lighten my melasma?
Tri-Luma® Cream has been clinically proven — in three studies — to improve and frequently clear melasma after 8 weeks of treatment. If melasma has not cleared in 8 weeks, the latest long-term safety studies confirm that Tri-Luma® Cream is safe to use until melasma is resolved. It is also safe to use again whenever the condition reappears.

But, remember that everyone's skin is different. Tri-Luma® Cream may improve your melasma, but it is NOT a cure. So, allow your dermatologist to determine if Tri-Luma® Cream is right for you and what you can expect during treatment.

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How does Tri-Luma® Cream lighten?
Tri-Luma® Cream is a unique medicine because it combines three effective ingredients into a single tube...giving you a single, once-a-day product to put on your face at bedtime.

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Where can I get Tri-Luma® Cream?
Ask your dermatologist if Tri-Luma® Cream is right for you. If your dermatologist decides that Tri-Luma® Cream can help your melasma, you will get a prescription that can be filled at your local drugstore. (If you are pregnant or nursing, asthmatic or over the age of 65, be sure to let your dermatologist know.)

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Why does the sun make my melasma worse?
Melasma may become darker when your skin is exposed to the sun. This happens because the skin's pigment, melanin, absorbs the energy of the sun's harmful ultraviolet rays in order to protect the skin from overexposure. Skin tanning occurs as a result of this same process. Similarly, cold, wind and heat — even from ovens, saunas and facials — can trigger melasma or make it worse.

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If I have melasma, do I have to avoid the sun?
Exposure to the sun is a definite trigger for melasma, so you should practice a Sun Avoidance Program. Every day, you need to apply a broad-spectrum sunscreen with SPF 30 or higher to protect your face from the harmful rays of the sun...even a few minutes in the sun without protection are enough to make your melasma worse.

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Will my melasma just fade away?
Sometimes it does. If your melasma does fade without treatment, the dark patches can take a long time to lighten. Even if melasma fades after the delivery of a baby, it can return with each future pregnancy. If you are taking birth control pills and then stop, the discoloration on your face may start to clear gradually.

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How should I use Tri-Luma® Cream?
Tri-Luma® Cream should be used as instructed by your doctor. Tri-Luma® Cream should be used once daily, at night, just after cleaning your face. Read how to incorporate Tri-Luma® Cream into your skin care regimen.

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What should I avoid while using Tri-Luma® Cream?

Sunlight or ultraviolet light. Too much natural sunlight or artificial sunlight from a sunlamp can cause sunburn. Dark skin patches may become darker when the skin is exposed to sunlight. You don't have to have a sunburn to make your melasma worse.

Tri-Luma® Cream can make your skin more likely to get sunburn or develop other unwanted effects from the sun. Protect your skin from natural sunlight as much as possible to help prevent further darkening of existing dark patches and formation of new ones. Staying out of the sun is especially important for women who take birth control pills or hormone replacement therapy and for people who have had dark patches in the past.

Use an effective sunscreen any time you are outside, even on hazy days. The sunscreen should have SPF (sun protection factor) of 30 or more. Use sunscreen year-round on areas of the skin that are regularly exposed to sunlight, such as your face and hands. If possible, protect the treated area from sunlight exposure. If you spend a lot of time outside, be especially careful of sunlight. Ask your doctor what SPF level will give you the needed high level of protection. If you will be outside, wear protective clothing, including a hat. Do not use sunlamps while you use Tri-Luma® Cream.

Heat, wind and cold. Heat and cold tend to dry or irritate normal skin. Skin treated with Tri-Luma® Cream may be more likely to react to heat and cold. Your doctor can recommend ways to manage your melasma under these conditions.

Other skin products and medicines. Avoid products that may dry or irritate your skin. These may include soaps and cleansers that are rough or cause drying; certain astringents, such as alcohol-containing products, soaps and toiletries containing alcohol, spices or lime; or certain medicated soaps, shampoos and hair permanents or dyes. Do not use any other medicines with Tri-Luma® Cream unless you have consulted your doctor. The medicines and products you have used in the past may cause redness or peeling when used with Tri-Luma® Cream.

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What are the possible side effects of Tri-Luma® Cream?

A very few patients may get severe allergic reactions from Tri-Luma® Cream. This includes people allergic to sulfites. They may have trouble breathing or severe asthma attacks, which can be life-threatening.

While you use Tri-Luma® Cream, your skin may develop mild-to-moderate redness, peeling, burning, dryness or itching.

Tri-Luma® Cream contains a low potency corticosteroid medicine as one of its active components. The following side effects have been reported with application of corticosteroid medicines to the skin: itching, irritation, dryness, infection of the hair follicle, acne, change in skin color, inflammation around the mouth, allergic skin reaction, skin infection, skin thinning, stretch marks and sweat problems.

Stop using Tri-Luma® Cream and contact your doctor if you have

• severe or continued irritation, blistering, oozing, scaling or crusting
• severe burning or swelling of your skin
• irritation of your eyes, nose and mouth

Tri-Luma® Cream is contraindicated in individuals with a hypersensitivity, allergy or intolerance to fluocinolone acetonide, hydroquinone or tretinoin. In clinical trials, the most frequently reported side effects were erythema, desquamation, burning, dryness and pruritus.

Mild to moderate redness, peeling, burning, dryness or itching may be experienced. This product contains sulfites that may cause severe allergic reactions including anaphylactic symptoms and life-threatening asthma attacks. Exposure to sunlight, sunlamps or UV light and extreme heat, wind or cold should be avoided. Use of sunscreen with appropriate SPF of 30 or higher is required. Wear protective clothing and change to nonhormonal forms of birth control, if hormonal methods are used.

Tri-Luma® Cream contains hydroquinone, which may produce exogenous ochronosis, a gradual blue-black darkening of the skin, whose occurrence should prompt discontinuation of therapy. Tri-Luma® Cream contains the corticosteroid fluocinolone acetonide. Systemic absorption of topical corticosteroids can produce reversible hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis suppression with the potential for corticosteroid insufficiency after withdrawal of treatment.