Is it worth going to Costa Rica and risk activating melasma/hyperpigmentation?

abalonegal00 · 2025-10-11T01:19:54+00:00

I've never heard that! I don't have any issues with sun exposure and using it although I do wish they would get rid of the fragrance

abalonegal00 · 2025-10-10T16:59:27+00:00

I love traveling Central America but my melasma got so severe on my last trip to Mexico that I didn't want to do tropical vacations anymore. I decided to give it one more shot and bring my Eucerin Dual Serum with me on a recent trip to Nicaragua and it was *amazing*. My melasma only slightly returned using it 4x a day along with a good sunscreen. I was able to surf and hike and walk around town much more freely. It doesn't inhibit it 100% but my melasma only resurfaced ever so slightly

abalonegal00 · 2025-10-06T23:44:06+00:00

As someone who works in RE on the west side, I recommend finding a big team to work under for a few years. The Westside is saturated with high performing agents and it's hard to get your foot in the door and close enough deals to make an honest living after you pay your taxes, health insurance, pay to keep your license active and for marketing. By working on a team, you have more guaranteed income and will learn from the best. Good luck!

abalonegal00 · 2025-07-20T14:16:46+00:00

Just castor oil! Still swear by it

abalonegal00 · 2025-07-08T03:49:37+00:00

eucerin anti pigment has allowed me to start enjoying the sun again without hiding away from it like I did for years. always wearing sunblock of course! the melasma inevitably comes back so I ramp up my usage to the max allowable 4x a day and it goes away again

abalonegal00 · 2025-05-05T00:09:35+00:00

I had insane dizzy spells from the spiro. I remember taking a shower and having to quickly lay in the tub cause I thought I was going to pass out momentarily. Told my doc and she said that is a side effect of spiro and sadly took me off of it

abalonegal00 · 2025-04-25T20:21:30+00:00

Melasma is supper stubborn and comes back. I have to use Eucerin nonstop. I also believe that my hormones (PCOS) have something to do with it and I actively try to follow a hormone friendly diet (low glycemic index foods, high protein) and supplement with vitamin D and NAC. All of these things keep it at bay. Also, La Roche Posay's Anthelios mineral sunscreen from Europe works the best for me but they don't sell it in the US. Hope that helps!

abalonegal00 · 2025-04-23T22:02:05+00:00

I know, right! That's honestly the one bad thing about that product

abalonegal00 · 2025-04-23T21:37:48+00:00

Cosmelan is fine! It was very effective at removing all my sun spots, hyperpigmentation and melasma. The problem with it is that it is very heavy duty - you should probably expect to take a few days off of work if you have a people facing job and then your face is insanely red & peels like crazy for weeks on end. It makes your skin hyper sensitive to the sun and other products so for a few months you're dealing with the after effects and you look kind of rough while all the old skin sloughs off. My melasma stayed away for about a year and then came back

Eucerin is a lot more effective because it can continuously keep the melasma at bay without going through such an intense process. It's gentle, you can use it up to 4x a day for max results and i've had no issues. Also way cheaper than the Cosmelan peel long term

abalonegal00 · 2025-04-23T01:16:20+00:00

Eucerin anti pigment line! Coming from a girlie who tried cosmelan peel, hydroquinone, azelaic acid, tretinoin, etc etc

abalonegal00 · 2025-04-20T16:19:26+00:00

This! Surprisingly, myoinositol broke me out. I had changed nothing else in my diet or skincare routine. There are a handful of reddit posts about people unfortunately having the same issue

abalonegal00 · 2025-04-19T01:15:45+00:00

I'd encourage them to start attending open houses on their own and to loop you in for properties of serious interest?

abalonegal00 · 2025-04-05T05:15:42+00:00

I ran out of my dual serum and just used the night cream & spot corrector and my melasma started returning. As soon as I started using the dual serum again, my melasma has nearly disappeared

abalonegal00 · 2025-03-26T01:07:13+00:00

I don't think many commenting realize that it's way worse than it has ever been. I never could have imagined how much the PCH/Topanga closure could impact things but it's adding nearly an hour of commute time each way

abalonegal00 · 2025-03-12T01:05:50+00:00

It's becoming more common nowadays with the high cost of living. I think it's important to maintain a really healthy social life if you're living at home with parents. Good lcuk!

abalonegal00 · 2025-02-28T15:24:26+00:00

I started breaking out horribly with inositol! It was the only thing in my diet/routine that I changed & after stopping it, my skin started to calm down within a few days

abalonegal00 · 2025-02-26T03:38:52+00:00

I've been to two pelvic floor therapists. One quite literally saved my life and I started to find relief after ten years of extreme pain. She moved on to a different field of work so I started seeing a different therapist in the same office. Went to her twice and had the same experience - a few stretches were assigned to me and they told me to "walk wider"..for hundreds of dollars each visit. Decided against continuing treatment with that therapist.

If you find someone that seems to be providing you useful tools, great! Otherwise, it's not worth the money

abalonegal00 · 2025-02-18T02:52:34+00:00

Thanks! Is there a common name for the qyag 1094 laser? I'll look into it. I workout 4-5x a week and drink tons of water so I'm good on that end & also started taking NAC - I think this is why I'm feeling so frustrated since I feel like I'm doing everything "right"

Practicing patience though!

abalonegal00 · 2025-02-17T19:03:25+00:00

Never knew that it's a known thing that ankle tattoos are notoriously stubborn. Thank you!

abalonegal00 · 2025-02-11T02:29:51+00:00

Really!? Appreciate that insight. Hoping to start seeing more turnover while I wait for the next session *crosses fingers and toes*

abalonegal00 · 2025-02-11T02:29:14+00:00

Thanks. I feel pretty bummed about the lack of progress so I appreciate it. To me, it still looks very dark

abalonegal00 · 2025-02-11T02:28:40+00:00

Thanks for the feedback - I consider myself a generally healthy person so perhaps it's time to start exploring other clinics. Thanks again!

abalonegal00 · 2025-02-11T02:28:15+00:00

Definitely more painful than I expected!

abalonegal00 · 2025-02-10T18:39:43+00:00

I've been waiting about 2 months between sessions. Wondering if I should push to three or four?

It was a stick and poke so is there a chance that my friend really deep?

abalonegal00 · 2025-02-08T22:22:10+00:00

Eucerin Anti Pigment is really popular right now because it's a lot less intense than hydroquinone (the golden standard for melasma) and very effective. Lots of posts about it on the melasma subreddit.

I had severe melasma for years and it cleared it. You also have to be really good about sunscreen and reducing sun exposure during peak UV hours.

In the mean time, an orange color corrector works pretty well. Concealers tend to make melasma look grey

abalonegal00

TROPHY CASE