Topical tretinoin, hydroquinone, and betamethasone valerate in the therapy of melasma.

Twenty adult female patients with melasma were followed over a ten week clinical trial in which a combination of depigmenting agents was used daily. Past clinical experience and objective assessment point to enhanced efficacy of this simple depigmenting combination. Certainly, most of depigmenting agents at our command to date have been relatively ineffective. Even this new combination is not the final answer. The purpose of this study is to provide the clinician with a simple yet effective and readily accessible combination of commercially-formulated and available depigmentary agents. A stable combination in a single vehicle with greater efficacy remains to be perfected.