What Are The Side Effects Of Melasma Creams?
It is a common concern for the melasma patient that what might be the side effects from the use of melasma creams. There are certain active ingredients in most of the topical creams for treating melasma, which may pose side effects for the person using them. Following is the description of some well known active ingredients of melasma creams and their possible side effects in the patients:
Azelaic acid:
Azelaic acid is also a key ingredient in brightening the skin suffering from dark patches of melasma. The azelaic acid present in most of the melasma treating creams acts as an inhibitor of tyrosine and brightens the skin over time. Azelaic acid is also very popular among the cosmetic industry because of the anti-inflammatory properties of azelaic acid and constitutes almost every other cosmetic product in the market. The popularity of azelaic acid is also due to its ability to fade away the darker pigmentation and brightens the skin surface. Although azelaic acid is very popular for its brightening properties, there are some side effects of azelaic acid too, and one of the prominent side effects is drying of the skin surface and mild irritability.
Hence azelaic acid works as an anti-tyrosinase mechanism to lighten the dark patches of the skin, so it is not surprising that it would pose any side effects. There is a possibility that in some people, azelaic acid constituting products or medications prompt the concern of the patients when irritation starts getting severe. In addition to severe irritation, there is peeling off the outermost layer of skin too, and in some cases, people also experience chronic burning sensations. While the mild irritation resulting from azelaic acid treatment creams often goes away with time because the skin adapts to the formula of the medication. The side effects are mostly on the label of the medications, and there are often recommendations of using a good quality moisturizer to minimize the irritation from the treatment cream.