Sunscreen with protection against UV, short visible light reduces melasma severity

Sunscreen with both UV and short visible light protection reduces melasma severity in patients with dark skin, according to a poster presented at the American Academy of Dermatology virtual meeting.

Melasma, a hyperpigmentation of the skin, occurs on sun-exposed areas. The study evaluated 55 patients with moderate to severe melasma who used a high UVA and UVB protection sunscreen over 8 weeks. The product included mineral pigments against visible light, the study said.

A mean improvement of 5.4% in Melasma Area and Severity Index (MASI) was recorded after 4 weeks, with that improvement increasing to 13.4% after 8 weeks.

For patients with moderate melasma, a mean MASI of 11 was recorded after 8 weeks, an improvement of 17.6% compared with the day 0 mean MASI sore of 13.3. Patients with severe melasma had an improvement of 3.4% at week 8 with a mean MASI score of 21.7 compared with a mean score of 23 at day 0.

“The use of a sunscreen product with high protection against UV radiation and short visible light can offer a good protection and reduce the melasma intensity in real sun exposure conditions in patients with dark skin and having moderate to severe melasma,” the study authors wrote.