Does Palomar 1540 fractional resurfacing help with pigmented lesions?

Actually, the Palomar 1540 fractionated laser may actually make your Melasma worse. There are several FDA-approved lasers for Melsasma, and this laser may be one of them. But what the manufacturer of the laser and the practices that use it fail to tell you is that the condition can actually worsen with laser treatment. In many cases, the problem gets better for 1-2 months and then comes back worse than it was before. For this reason, we do not use or recommend laser treatments to our patients, despite having fractional technology and Q-switched technology--the two types that are commonly suggested for Melasma treatment. As a side note, the FDA approval means very little in terms of results. It's more about the safety of the procedure and if the manufacturer can show that there is some potential for improvement. This sets the bar very low. Stick with hydroquinone or your condition could worsen.

Fractional can help with sun damage, but Q-switched lasers and even a good IPL are better.

Published on Jul 11, 2012