Melasma serum in Pakistan: what helps, and what a serum cannot promise
Melasma is hormonal, heat-sensitive and recurring, which makes it the one pigmentation problem where gentleness is the clinical strategy rather than a preference. A serum is a reasonable format for it — lighter than a mix cream, easier to use consistently, and less likely to inflame skin that darkens when inflamed. What no serum can promise is a cure, because melasma comes back.
Reviewed
See the matching concern routineWhy melasma is treated differently
It sits partly deeper than post-acne marks, it is driven by hormones and heat as well as light, and it flares back. Aggressive treatment inflames the skin, and inflammation darkens melasma — so the approach that clears ordinary marks fastest is the approach that sets melasma back.
This is why a melasma routine is judged over six months rather than six weeks, and why the most important product in it is the one that costs the least and that we do not sell.
Actives with evidence in melasma
Azelaic acid, tranexamic acid, niacinamide, alpha arbutin, cysteamine and a retinoid all have support, used slowly and alongside strict light protection. Hydroquinone works but is a short, supervised course rather than a shelf product.
| Active | Evidence in melasma | Available here as |
|---|---|---|
| Alpha arbutin 2% | Good, slow, well tolerated | Hydra Glow Cream, Rs. 1,449 (cream, not serum) |
| Niacinamide | Moderate; also keeps the barrier intact | Hydra Glow Serum 10%, Rs. 1,149 |
| Vitamin C 10% | Supporting; antioxidant cover by day | Vitamin C Serum, Rs. 1,299 |
| Azelaic acid | Good, including in pregnancy | Not made by Elluvi |
| Tranexamic acid | Good, topical and oral | Not made by Elluvi |
| Retinol 0.3% | Supporting; not in pregnancy | Hydra Glow Cream, Age Defying Serum |
Serum or cream for melasma
The active decides the result; the format decides whether you keep using it. Serums suit oily skin and hot months, creams suit dry skin and winter. Elluvi's strongest melasma-relevant formula — alpha arbutin 2% with niacinamide 5% — is a night cream rather than a serum, and this page will not pretend otherwise.
If a serum is what you want and alpha arbutin is what you are after, buy an alpha arbutin serum from someone who makes one. A page that routes you to the wrong format because it is the one on our shelf costs you a season.
Sun and heat protection is the treatment
Broad-spectrum SPF 50 every morning, reapplied, ideally tinted with iron oxides because visible light drives melasma and clear filters do not block it. Heat counts too: a stove, a tandoor, a midday commute on a bike.
We make no sunscreen and this is not an argument to buy one from us. It is the part of the plan that decides whether the serum you buy does anything at all.
When to stop self-treating
See a dermatologist if the patches are spreading, if six consistent months have produced no change, if you are pregnant, or if a cream you used caused thinning, redness or visible vessels. Melasma is one of the genuinely appropriate reasons to be prescribed something.
