Melasma treatment for darker skin tones
PicoWay Resolve can be used on lighter and darker skin. It breaks up pigment with pressure waves and less heat than many older lasers, lowering the risk of new dark marks (post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation) on brown and darker skin. At Neoderma in Anaheim, settings are tailored to your skin type; pigment-prone patients may prep with a topical pigment inhibitor first.
- Tens of thousands of laser treatments performed
- 4.9 on Google (650+ reviews)
- Serving Anaheim since 2001
$50 consultation at Neoderma in Anaheim, CA, credited toward treatment if you proceed within two weeks · Open Mon–Sat
A licensed medical provider confirms whether PicoWay Resolve suits you, and you get a transparent estimate before any treatment.
Booking opens Neoderma's short request form (name, phone, email); their team contacts you to confirm the time and the $50 consultation.
Why can melasma treatment go wrong on brown and darker skin?
If you have brown or darker skin and have lived with melasma for years, you have probably been warned off lasers at some point. You may even have tried something that left the patches darker than when you started. That fear is reasonable, and Neoderma's own published guidance agrees with the heart of it: the wrong treatment can make melasma worse.
The reason lies in what melasma is. It isn't a single stray patch of pigment. It comes from pigment-making cells that stay switched on, pushed along by hormones, sunlight and heat. Irritate those cells, with heat or with a harsh treatment, and they answer by producing even more pigment.
That is why high-heat treatments are a particular risk. Neoderma's melasma laser article warns that they can trigger rebound darkening, and that medium and darker skin tones are the most exposed.
Many lasers are photothermal, meaning they work through light and heat. Neoderma's PicoWay Resolve page notes that this raises the chance of burns and downtime, again most of all on darker skin. And the device is only half of it. The same page says the wrong laser or the wrong settings can push melasma deeper or leave hyperpigmentation behind, with deeper skin the most vulnerable.
So for brown and darker skin, the useful question is less "laser or no laser?" and more: which laser, at what settings, after what preparation, and with what care around the sun. The rest of this page takes those one at a time.
Can PicoWay be used on dark skin?
Yes, with care. Neoderma's PicoWay Resolve page says the laser can be used on lighter and darker skin types, and the reason is minimal heat. The energy is photoacoustic, not photothermal, so far less heat builds up in the skin than with many older lasers.
In plain terms, PicoWay Resolve is a picosecond laser. Its pulses set up pressure waves that break pigment into tiny fragments for the body to carry away. The Resolve handpiece divides the beam into 100 evenly spaced micro-beams, which reach pigment below the surface and leave the outer layer of skin intact. The untouched skin in between helps it heal faster.
"Yes" has limits, though. It doesn't mean any laser will do, and it doesn't mean one setting fits everyone: Neoderma tailors the settings to your skin type each time. Nor is it a promise about your own result, because individual results vary. How sessions run, what aftercare involves and Neoderma's 29-second before-and-after video are all on the page about laser treatment for melasma.
What is post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation?
Post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation, usually shortened to PIH, is the brown discoloration this page keeps returning to. Neoderma describes it as stubborn and slow to go: it can linger for months before it fades.
It matters here because it is one of the specific ways a laser can backfire. Neoderma's laser-season guide lists it with burns and blistering as the risks that climb when laser energy lands on the wrong pigment, such as a tan, instead of the pigment it was aimed at. The melasma laser article names it as the complication that makes many older lasers a hazard for brown and darker skin (Fitzpatrick IV–VI).
For someone who came in to fade melasma, leaving with a different brown mark would be the most discouraging setback of all. That is why the heat, settings, prep and tan questions on this page are not fine print. They are the whole point.
Not sure whether a patch is melasma or something else? How melasma differs from other dark marks is covered under melasma vs. sun spots.
How is that risk managed at Neoderma?
Put together from Neoderma's published pages, its approach to skin that darkens easily has four parts.
A consultation comes first
Treatment starts with a consultation, where a licensed medical provider confirms whether you are a good candidate before any laser is used. It helps to bring a list of what you have already tried, including anything that made the patches darker. Neoderma's stated rule: never a treatment you don't need.
Settings matched to your skin
Both the melasma laser article and the PicoWay Resolve page say the same thing: every treatment is tailored to your skin type. The settings are chosen for your skin, not set once for everyone.
Prep for pigment-prone skin
If you are prone to hyperpigmentation, your provider may have you use a topical pigment inhibitor before treatment to lower the risk further. Whether you need it is decided at the consultation, and which product you would use is one of the questions we answer in person.
Medical supervision throughout
Every treatment at Neoderma is carried out by a licensed medical provider, and PicoWay Resolve sessions are medically supervised.
Notice what that list leaves to the consultation: whether you are a candidate, and whether you need prep first. Those are decided for your skin, in person, not in advance on a web page.
$50 consultation at Neoderma in Anaheim, CA, credited toward treatment if you proceed within two weeks · Open Mon–Sat
Why does a tan matter before treatment?
This is a general rule for lasers that target pigment, and Neoderma's laser-season guide spells it out. A laser works by sending energy into a target that absorbs it; when the goal is pigment, the target is unwanted melanin in the skin. A tan puts extra pigment in the way, and even a light one counts.
Tanned skin soaks up energy that was meant for the target, which raises the risk of burns, blistering and PIH. So when you arrive with a tan, a responsible provider has two honest choices: turn the settings down, which weakens the result, or move the appointment until the tan has faded.
Neoderma is plain that postponing is not a sales tactic. It is how burns, blistering and lasting discoloration are avoided. A rescheduled appointment can feel like one more delay. It is the delay that protects your skin.
The full reasoning, including why newly treated skin needs covering up, is in Neoderma's laser-season guide.
How do I protect results after treatment?
Sun protection is the part of the plan that is entirely in your hands, and it starts before the first session. Neoderma's rule is daily SPF 30 or higher before, during and after a laser series:
- Before the series, so there is no tan in the way and your provider can use effective settings.
- Between sessions, so pigment doesn't edge back while the series is under way.
- After the series, because treated skin stays more sensitive to sun for a while, and that window is when rebound pigment tends to surface.
Right after each session the aftercare list is short: stay out of the sun and away from tanning beds, put SPF 30+ on any skin the sun can reach, use cold compresses if the area needs soothing, and apply any ointment your provider recommends.
There is no off-season for this in Orange County. The county gets usable UV all year, and Neoderma names sun on newly treated skin as a leading source of complications and rebound pigment.
Then there is the long game. Melasma is chronic and can return with sun, heat or hormonal shifts, so the work carries on after the series: daily SPF 30+, a pigment-regulating home regimen, and a touch-up session when one is needed. Neoderma builds that regimen from ZO Skin Health and SkinBetter Science after a 3D skin analysis, and says the daily routine between sessions does as much work as the laser. Melasma is managed, not cured, and keeping it faded is a shared job. For what that looks like over the years, see can you get rid of melasma?
Talk through your skin type with a Neoderma provider
Bring your history: what you have tried, what made the patches darker, how your skin reacts to sun. Your provider tailors the settings to your skin type and tells you at the consultation whether a pigment-inhibitor prep should come first.
Tens of thousands of laser treatments performed · 4.9 on Google (650+ reviews) · Serving Anaheim since 2001
$50 consultation at Neoderma in Anaheim, CA, credited toward treatment if you proceed within two weeks · Open Mon–Sat
A licensed medical provider confirms whether PicoWay Resolve suits you, and you get a transparent estimate before any treatment.
Booking opens Neoderma's short request form (name, phone, email); their team contacts you to confirm the time and the $50 consultation.