frequently asked questions
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 for your melasma; make an appointment with your doctor.
Back to top
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. But, remember that everyone's skin is different so your individual results may vary. Tri-Luma® Cream may improve your melasma, but it is NOT a cure. So, allow your doctor to determine if Tri-Luma® Cream is right for you and what you can expect during treatment.
Back to top
How does Tri-Luma® Cream lighten?
Tri-Luma® Cream is a unique medicine because it combines three effective ingredients -hydroquinone, fluocinolone acetonide, and tretinoin - into a single tube, giving you a single, once-a-day product to put on your face at bedtime.
Back to top
Where can I get Tri-Luma® Cream?
Ask your doctor if Tri-Luma® Cream is available through the office. If it is, he or she can fill your prescription for you and you can leave the office with Tri-Luma® Cream. If not, you can get your prescription filled at your local pharmacy. If your doctor decides that Tri-Luma® Cream can help your melasma, he or she will write a prescription for you. (If you are pregnant or nursing, asthmatic, or are over the age of 65, be sure to let your doctor know.)
Back to top
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 can trigger melasma or make it worse.
Back to top
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.
Back to top
Will my melasma just fade away?
Sometimes it does. Even if melasma fades after the delivery of a baby or hormone therapy, it can return. If you are taking birth control pills and then stop, the discoloration on your face may start to clear gradually.
Back to top
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.
Back to top
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.
Back to top
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
If you are concerned about how your skin is reacting to the medicine, call your doctor.
Tri-Luma® Cream should be used with measures for sun avoidance, like using strong sunscreens. People allergic to sulfites should not use Tri-Luma® Cream. Tri-Luma® contains hydroquinone, which may cause a gradual blue-black darkening of the skin. Safety and efficacy have not been established in pregnant or nursing women, or individuals with darker skin. HPA axis (adrenal function) suppression may result from exposure to the topical corticosteroid, fluocinolone acetonide. Redness, peeling, burning, dryness and itching may occur. Exposure to sunlight, sunlamps, or UV light and extreme heat, wind, or cold should be avoided.
For more information about Tri-Luma® Cream, see Full Prescribing Information.
You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.fda.gov/Medwatch, or call 1-800-FDA-1088.
1. How can I talk to my doctor about melasma?
Watch this video2. 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 for your melasma; make an appointment with your doctor.
Back to top
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. But, remember that everyone's skin is different so your individual results may vary. Tri-Luma® Cream may improve your melasma, but it is NOT a cure. So, allow your doctor to determine if Tri-Luma® Cream is right for you and what you can expect during treatment.
Back to top
How does Tri-Luma® Cream lighten?
Tri-Luma® Cream is a unique medicine because it combines three effective ingredients -hydroquinone, fluocinolone acetonide, and tretinoin - into a single tube, giving you a single, once-a-day product to put on your face at bedtime.
Back to top
Where can I get Tri-Luma® Cream?
Ask your doctor if Tri-Luma® Cream is available through the office. If it is, he or she can fill your prescription for you and you can leave the office with Tri-Luma® Cream. If not, you can get your prescription filled at your local pharmacy. If your doctor decides that Tri-Luma® Cream can help your melasma, he or she will write a prescription for you. (If you are pregnant or nursing, asthmatic, or are over the age of 65, be sure to let your doctor know.)
Back to top
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 can trigger melasma or make it worse.
Back to top
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.
Back to top
Will my melasma just fade away?
Sometimes it does. Even if melasma fades after the delivery of a baby or hormone therapy, it can return. If you are taking birth control pills and then stop, the discoloration on your face may start to clear gradually.
Back to top
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.
Back to top
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.
Back to top
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
If you are concerned about how your skin is reacting to the medicine, call your doctor.
Tri-Luma® Cream should be used with measures for sun avoidance, like using strong sunscreens. People allergic to sulfites should not use Tri-Luma® Cream. Tri-Luma® contains hydroquinone, which may cause a gradual blue-black darkening of the skin. Safety and efficacy have not been established in pregnant or nursing women, or individuals with darker skin. HPA axis (adrenal function) suppression may result from exposure to the topical corticosteroid, fluocinolone acetonide. Redness, peeling, burning, dryness and itching may occur. Exposure to sunlight, sunlamps, or UV light and extreme heat, wind, or cold should be avoided.
For more information about Tri-Luma® Cream, see Full Prescribing Information.
You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.fda.gov/Medwatch, or call 1-800-FDA-1088.
