Shay Mitchell just tried a treatment to tackle her melasma and here's her verdict

Everyone has a beauty vlogger whose content they live for. For some it's James Charles, for others it's Chloe Morello; for us, however, it's a beauty guru a little out of the box: Pretty Little Liars star and selfie queen Shay Mitchell. Her reviews may be rare (what with the whole having a thriving acting career and being a mum thing), but when she blesses us with them, they’re always stellar.

Documenting her visit to renowned L.A. clinic The Diamond Face Institute, Mitchell spilled the tea on the treatment she was trying and the post-pregnancy skin concern that prompted her to book in after welcoming daughter Atlas back in 2019.

Shay’s guide to melasma:

"It’s a common skin problem that causes brown to grey-brown patches on the face. Common triggers include sun exposure, pregnancy, birth control pills, and cosmetics," she explained via her video.

Shay’s guide to IPL:

"IPL stands for intense pulsed light. It’s a type of light therapy used to treat wrinkles, spots, and unwanted hair. You can use IPL to minimise or remove [skin features such as] age spots, sun damage, freckles, birthmarks, varicose veins, broken blood vessels on your face and rosacea."

Shay’s guide to post-treatment downtime

"You should be able to go right back to your regular activities. The treated area of skin will be red and sensitive for a few hours, as if you got sunburn. Your skin may be slightly swollen, too. Your skin will continue to be sensitive for a couple of days after the procedure. You may need to avoid using hot water on it until your skin heals."

Step 1: Prep

Once she was all robed up with a top knot and headband in tow, Mitchell made sure to start the treatment off right, with a hefty coat of numbing cream. IPL isn’t particularly painful in the scheme of things, but if your skin runs sensitive or your discomfort threshold is on the lower side, it’s definitely a good precaution to take.

Step 2: Analysis

"We’re just taking off the numbing cream, but I wanted to show you guys without a filter, this is my little melasma spot, [and I also have them] around the upper lip. Those are kind of the common areas where you get melasma, but especially for new mums who go out in the sun, this is what happens," she shared during her pre-treatment analysis with her technician.

Step 3: Laser

"[The treatment] I'm going to be trying [is called the] Flash Photo Intense Pulsed Light Facial. After maybe three sessions, hopefully these little guys get lighter, [because] they’re kind of hard to cover with makeup," she says.

“Wow my face is numb,” she laughs following the laser, explaining that she was too nervous to film during the actual process. “That felt like a million little elastic bands hitting all over, especially on these [spots near my eye], these guys are a little angry [and red], but we definitely hit all those little spots."

Step 4: Mask

Any redness or discomfort should luckily be short-lived, but there's still no harm in throwing on a soothing mask to help the process along. “Next up, Dr Diamond’s Collagen Mask, which feels incredible, especially since the skin feels a little sting-y," Mitchell explains of her strategy. "This is nice and cool. It’s got real collagen, so it’s anti-ageing and healing. [As for results], I’ll show you guys an update in a bit; it [usually] takes a couple of weeks.”

Step 5: Results

Her next check-in was all about documenting the progress. “It’s been about a week and this is the progression. As you can see, it’s definitely lightened up a little bit. They still recommend you do another one to two treatments after but I’d say for a week after, we’re on track to lightening these little guys up.”

Image credits: @shaymitchell

Treatments aren't the only option, though... Hilary Duff says this toner worked wonders for her melasma.