How to Choose a Melasma Doctor in London: A Dermatologist's 100-Point Checklist
By Dr Hasan Benar, dermatologist, 54 Harley Street, London
The best melasma doctor is not the most famous one, or the one with the most powerful laser. It is the doctor most likely to diagnose your pigmentation correctly and manage it over the long term without making it worse. After 15 years and more than 10,000 patients with pigmentation, this is the 100-point checklist I would use to choose a melasma doctor in London.
Four criteria carry 74 of the 100 points: a real focus on pigmentation, accurate diagnosis, experience with skin of colour and knowledge of medical treatment. Laser experience carries only 7.
1. Melasma and pigmentation are a real specialist focus (22 points)
A website that says "melasma treatment" is not enough. Your doctor should see melasma, post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation, mixed epidermal and dermal pigmentation and pigmentation in skin of colour every week. Melasma care is more specific than general aesthetic dermatology: an excellent injector or general dermatologist is not automatically an excellent melasma doctor.
Ask: How many patients with melasma do you see each month?
2. Dermatological diagnosis (16 points)
The right treatment for the wrong diagnosis still fails. Before treatment, your doctor should be able to tell melasma apart from conditions that look similar:
post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation
sun spots (solar lentigines)
lichen planus pigmentosus
ochronosis
medication-induced pigmentation
naevus of Ota and Hori's naevus
seborrhoeic keratoses and other pigmented lesions
This is why full dermatology training scores highly.
Ask: How do you confirm that my pigmentation is melasma?
3. Experience with skin of colour (14 points)
Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, South Asian, East Asian and Black skin (Fitzpatrick types IV to VI) is more prone to dark marks after treatment. In darker skin, the real skill is often knowing which laser or peel not to use.
Ask: How many patients with my skin type have you treated for melasma?
4. Treating melasma as a chronic condition (12 points)
Melasma is chronic and often comes back. It can be triggered by UV light, visible light, heat and hormones. A good melasma doctor plans in three stages: control, clearance or improvement, then maintenance. A promise to remove melasma for good in one laser session is a warning sign.
Ask: What is my maintenance plan once my skin is clear?
5. Knowledge of medical treatments (10 points)
In melasma, medical treatment comes before devices. Your doctor should be able to plan prescription-strength creams, combination creams, non-prescription actives such as azelaic acid, cysteamine and kojic acid, an oral treatment for suitable patients after a risk assessment, and long-term maintenance regimens. Combination treatment is supported by research: in a 2022 randomised trial, adding an oral treatment to a prescription cream reduced melasma severity by 76.5% at 8 weeks, compared with 45.9% for the cream alone (Perveen et al., J Drugs Dermatol 2022). A clinic that only offers lasers loses points here.
Ask: Which medical treatments will you use before considering a laser?
6. Sun and visible-light protection (7 points)
"Use SPF 50" is not enough. Your doctor should understand UVA, UVB and visible light, tinted sunscreens with iron oxides, reapplication, and heat and sun exposure. Randomised trials have shown that sunscreens which also block visible light help control melasma better than UV-only sunscreens (Castanedo-Cazares et al., 2014). Visible-light protection matters most in darker skin.
Ask: Which sunscreen should I use, and why?
7. Careful, selective use of lasers (7 points)
More technology does not mean better results. Your doctor should understand low-fluence approaches, fractional technologies, the benefits and risks of Q-switched and picosecond lasers, and complications such as rebound pigmentation, patchy pale spots and new dark marks. Above all, they should be willing to say: "I will not use a laser on you."
Ask: When would you not use a laser for my melasma?
8. Chemical peels and combination treatment (4 points)
Superficial peels such as glycolic, salicylic, Jessner-type or combination peels can help some patients. The wrong patient or a peel that is too strong can cause new pigmentation, so peel experience is a plus but not enough on its own.
9. Number of similar patients treated (3 points)
A doctor who sees melasma every week learns to predict response, has seen complications and knows which patient will benefit from which treatment.
10. Standardised before and after photos, with long-term follow-up (2 points)
Before and after photos are easy to flatter, so look for the same light, camera and angle, no make-up, a similar skin type, and follow-up at 6 to 12 months. A good photo at four weeks is easy. The real question is: did the melasma come back six months later?
11. Academic work and teaching (2 points)
Publications, lectures, research and teaching on pigmentation are a plus, but an academic CV does not come before clinical results.
12. Patient reviews (1 point)
Google and Doctify reviews tell you about communication, waiting times and kindness. They are a poor measure of technical skill in melasma, so they carry the least weight.
The checklist at a glance
Melasma and pigmentation as a real specialist focus: 22
Dermatological diagnosis: 16
Experience with skin of colour: 14
Treating melasma as a chronic condition: 12
Knowledge of medical treatments: 10
Sun and visible-light protection: 7
Careful, selective use of lasers: 7
Chemical peels and combination treatment: 4
Number of similar patients treated: 3
Standardised photos and long-term follow-up: 2
Academic work and teaching: 2
Patient reviews: 1
Total: 100 points
How I apply this checklist
I am a dermatologist at Dr Elif Clinic, 54 Harley Street, London. I have treated melasma and other pigmentation for 15 years and seen more than 10,000 patients with pigmentation, many with darker skin. I use the Benar Pigment Protocol™: a personalised prescription skincare plan, a prescribed oral treatment where suitable and in-clinic chemical peels, with Q-switched Nd:YAG laser, Tixel, Fotona or medical mesotherapy only for stubborn melasma. Every patient is followed up every three months with a maintenance plan and advice on UV and visible-light protection.
Your first consultation is free and online. Read more about melasma treatment and start your free online consultation.
Frequently asked questions
Who is the best doctor for melasma in London? Choose a dermatologist for whom melasma is a real focus, who confirms the diagnosis first, has experience with your skin type, treats melasma medically before using lasers and follows you up long term.
Should I see a dermatologist or a laser clinic for melasma? A dermatologist, because diagnosis and medical treatment come first. Lasers are only for selected, stubborn cases.
Can melasma be cured? It can be cleared or greatly improved, but it is a long-term condition and can return, which is why maintenance and follow-up matter.
Written by Dr Hasan Benar, dermatologist, Dr Elif Clinic, 54 Harley Street, London. This article is for general information and is not a substitute for a medical consultation.
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