Cosmelan Peel for Melasma pigmentation Singapore: a doctor’s review

Dr Bernard Tan, Medical Director & Founder of Bay Aesthetics Clinic, tries out the Cosmelan system for pigmentation and melasma

“Wow your skin looks amazing!!!” I exclaimed when I met my patient who I hadn’t seen for 6 months. “what have you been up to? Tell me your secret!”

My Indian patient with stubborn, difficult-to-treat melasma smiled and replied “Nothing much! I just did the Cosmelan Peel back home in India. Don’t you guys have it in Singapore?”

Cosmelan Peel… I’ve heard about it somewhere but have never seen it in use locally, much less seen a success story from this treatment. Melasma treatment in Singapore typically revolves around lasers, with our clinic using PicoSure Laser and MOXI Laser to treat our melasma cases, with generally positive results.

Impressed by her results and rave reviews about the Cosmelan Peel, I decided to do some research and with some difficulty managed to track down the local distributor of this product. Turns out there had been a change of distributorship in Singapore, which is why there was not much marketing and awareness for this treatment that has a cult-like following worldwide. As a melasma and pigmentation myself, I decided to test out the Cosmelan treatment myself to see if it lives up to the hype.

How the Cosmelan system works

In clinic (day 1)

A single in-clinic session where the medical professional applies the Cosmelan 1 peel which is left on for 6-8 hours. The Cosmelan 1 Peel involves 7-14 days of recovery time

At home (day 2 to 6 months)

Cosmelan 2 facial cream, melan recovery balm and melan 130 pigment control sunblock are applied daily

Day 1: Cosmelan Peel Step 1 involves the application of a mask for 6-8 hours, during which I continued to work in the clinic while covering my face with a surgical mask

Days 2-4: the first 2-3 days after Cosmelan 1 were fairly intense, my skin turned red and swelled up significantly, like a bad sunburn. It also was slightly itchy and dry. The Melan recovery balm helped a lot.

Days 5-7: My skin started to peel off and you could see the new skin coming to the surface
Days 8-14: mostly back to normal, just mild redness and sensitivity to sunlight

Days 14 onwards: my pigmentation and melasma were significantly (~50%) lighter and my skin was smooth and luminous, received numerous compliments from friends and patients who remarked my skin was glowing.

***Due to MOH regulations on healthcare advertising we are unable to publicly display AFTER photos of the treatment (i.e. treatment results and outcomes). Please contact us via email and WhatsApp so we to share with you our portfolio of cases privately.

So what goes into the Cosmelan System, anyway?

Developed by Mesoesthetics (Spain), the Cosmelan Peel is well known worldwide. However, the company remains fairly tight-lipped about the exact contents, classifying most ingredients as “proprietary”. Here’s what we know the Cosmelan peel contains

1) Depigmenting agents and antioxidants: Ascorbic acid, phytic acid, kojic acid and other proprietary ingredients that suppress melanin production and melanin transfer

2) Exfoliating agents: Retinol, salicylic acid to speed up skin turnover to remove accumulated pigment in the skin

Step 1 in clinic contains a high concentration of these ingredients to kick off the process, Step 2 home use facial cream contains a lower concentration of ingredients to maintain the results.

Due to the presence of retinol, the Cosmelan system cannot be used in pregnancy
Cosmelan does not contain hydroquinone, while Cosmelan MD (not available in Singapore) contains 8% hydroquinone.

Cosmelan or Laser treatment for pigmentation?

Cosmelan

Pros

• Results in a single treatment, visible within 2-3 week
• cheap (~$1K)

Cons

• Time-consuming, 1 full day of having the mask applied + recovery time of ~7-14 days is probably not for everybody, working professionals may not have the time
• The recovery period was tough, skin was itchy swollen red and peeling.

Laser

Pros:

• Fast (~30-45min), “lunch hour treatment” for working professionals
• Quick recovery times, able to apply makeup and return to work immediately
• Minimal discomfort during recovery

Cons:

• Need 2-3 treatments to see visible results
• Higher cost ~$2-3K
  

So who should be getting a Cosmelan treatment?

The ideal patient for the Cosmelan system is a patient with melasma and hyperpigmentation who can take 7-14 days of downtime and can adhere to the home treatment.

Final Thoughts

I now understand the popularity of the Cosmelan Peel in developing countries such as India, where access to laser treatment may be limited. However, in the local context, I would still recommend laser treatments to my melasma and pigmentation patients given the lower downtime, reserving the Cosmelan peel as a second line for cases who may not have experienced a good result from laser treatment.