Out, Out, Damn Spot!

Not to get all Lady MacBeth on you, but summer does drive me a little crazy. Why? Because while I love, love, love the sun, I hate hate, hate my melasma. For those of you who don't know, melasma (from melani, the Greek word for ink--now go impress your friends with that tidbit!) is a big brown spot of sun damage that is caused by hormonal-induced sensitivity to the sun; women often get it when they're pregnant or on the pill.

But the thing is, I bet most of you do know what it is because so many women have it. Mine looked like a world map on my forehead (see photo, above; it's particularly visible here because I was in the sunlight). I had it lasered off (thank you, Fraxel laser!) but now I have white spots in its place, and they show up even more in the sunlight. As a result, I live in fear of the sun, even though I slather myself with mexoryl, helioplex, titanium dioxide–any UVA and UVB blocking ingredient they've come up with, I've slapped on my face. And most women I know in their late 20s/early 30s suffer from some form of it, although I didn't really notice adults having it when I was a kid.

Is there a melasma epidemic? Al Gore, is this global warming thinking globally but acting locally, all over my forehead? Do any of you out there suffer from it, and if so, have you found any solutions? If so, PLEASE, I beg of you, write in and let me know what they are. And if you have a happy ending, send in a photo–I've shown you mine now you show me yours...