Melasma case study with MaryKathryn Campbell

Maedeh: Hi, MaryKathryn, welcome to the show!

MaryKathryn: Thank you for having me. I'm so excited to be here.

Maedeh: I am so excited to talk about your beautiful skin. Tell us about your journey with melasma. How long ago did it appear? When did you notice it?

MaryKathryn: Yeah, so when I was 26 years old, I had a full complete hysterectomy. And after that, it started on my upper lip. It kind of looked like a mustache.

It was embarrassing. I will never forget the day that I was running late to work and I didn't have time to put makeup on. One of my co-workers said “Oh my gosh, what is on your lip? Did you eat something?” I was mortified. It was embarrassing.

Right then in there, I was like “this is terrible”. As time went on, I started noticing it on my left cheek, which is the cheek that the sun hits when you're driving. I started noticing it on my forehead and then on my right cheek. I just kind of felt there wasn't really anything you could do.

Then, I finally went to a dermatologist to kind of see what my options were.  This dermatologist recommended a $400 lightening cream that was just a trial someone in New York was doing. I was like “that's way too much money for something that I don't even know is going to work”. He also said “Whatever you do, don't do laser treatments.”

I decided to get a second opinion and the second dermatologist said “Oh yeah, we can do this and that treatment.” I was just getting mixed signals and didn't know what to do.

Last summer, things were getting worse and worse. I started seeing it through makeup. I used to be able to cover it up, but then I was getting to a point where I could not cover it up with makeup and I knew I had to do something!

Maedeh: What made you give Urban Skin Care Clinic a try?

MaryKathryn: I really wanted a skincare routine. And so you know, of course you look on social media, everybody was loving all this other stuff and so I was like, “Okay, maybe I'll give it a try”. You get online and you don't know what you need for your skin. It's like you're going into a gym, and you know you need to tone your arms, but you don't know how.

So the girl that cuts my hair was just raving about Urban Skin Care Clinic and her skin was glowing. I thought “THAT is what I want”. I reached out to you and I said I need a consultation. I looked at your website which is a wealth of knowledge, I was like, “Okay, that is going to be my personal trainer or my skincare”.

Sure enough, when I came in to see you, I was a little reluctant because I've never done this before. I've been to several people that have given me mixed signals. And I've also had facials where it's been those cookie-cutter facials. It's not been for MY skin.

I'll never forget, during the consultation, you said “what do you want to accomplish?” And there were a couple of things I wanted to accomplish with my skin: melasma, but also just the hydration and things like that. You told me “I'm not here for relaxation, I'm here for results! We’ll relax you, of course, but I'm here for results!”

Maedeh: Wonderful. And how has your experience been so far? Now we do have before and after pictures of your beautiful skin, which I like to call progress photos. Do you recall how far apart those pictures are? And how is it going now?

MaryKathryn: Yes, oh my gosh, I cannot even tell you how much my skin has changed.

So the pictures we took were six months apart. When I started with the skincare routine, I didn't even know the difference between physical and chemical sunscreen.

I just thought that if you're going to lay out in the sun, you need to put on sunscreen, but I didn't wear it on a daily basis. I wear my sunscreen every single day now. If I'm just gonna be laying around the house, I've got my sunscreen on because you never know when you may go run errands. 

When I started my skincare routine, the things that I loved were that I had a clear routine in the morning and in the evening. I remember you wrote out a list for me just like a personal trainer would and you told me “it's gonna take some time, this is not an overnight process, you're gonna have to give it some time. Just stick with it.”

And so every night and every morning, I have a routine. I just love the product because they're so lightweight and silky. They make my skin feel fantastic.

And then not to mention, you know, just when I go to bed, my husband's like, “oh my gosh, you smell great”. I will tell you, I travel for work and there are nights when I get home at 12 o'clock, you know. Still, as tired as I am, I wash my face and I put my products on because I can’t stand going to bed without doing it.

So I will tell anyone out there who is struggling with melasma to at least give it six months. It’s not something that’s going to change overnight but when you get to that six-month timeframe, you’ll start to notice improvements, even the tightening in your skin.  My skin has lifted and feels so good, fresh, glowing, and amazing.

Maedeh: I was just about to ask you. How do you feel about your skin now?

MaryKathryn: Oh my gosh, I love it. I could have never thought this day would come but a couple of weeks ago, I actually posted a picture on Instagram without makeup. I never thought I would post a picture without makeup on.

Everybody was just like “your skin looks amazing”. It just makes you feel good because, for years and years, I was embarrassed.

I was embarrassed about not only my lip with a mustache, but you know, around the slides of my face because you wonder “are people looking at me thinking what's wrong with your face?” It's embarrassing, you just don't feel good about yourself.

I look forward to coming to see you every month because we do our chemical peel treatments, and I just feel so refreshed. I can't tell you how much confidence I have in myself now.

One other thing is my husband, who does not notice anything, I mean, nothing—I can go and get my hair chopped off, and he would not even notice it—but right before we took those after pictures, he told me "you look like you did in your 20s, your skin looks great". And that's coming from someone who notices nothing.

Maedeh: Wonderful. I am so glad that you're feeling good about your skin, and that your husband notices it. I'm sure he notices your confidence as well.

Is there anything else you want to tell people out there who are struggling with a skin condition?

MaryKathryn: Yes, what I would say to anyone struggling with melasma is: find someone that you can trust. Find that person you can go to who is going to give you the best products for your skin and who is going to listen to your needs.

Maedeh: You took the words out of my brain, literally. I always say find someone you like and trust and someone that you can ask questions. Oftentimes, you have questions, you're not 100% sure on how to use a specific product or whatever the case is. I believe in a personal touch.

Thank you MaryKathryn for coming on to the show. I look forward to seeing you next time.