Dark Spots and Melasma: Plan Your Visits to Korea

I recommend planning laser treatment for dark spots or melasma around the number of trips to Korea you may need, not just the number of sessions. Sun-related dark spots (solar lentigines) and melasma require different treatment approaches. If sessions need to be spaced beyond your stay, treatment may require another trip. For melasma, research supports considering laser treatment alongside sun protection and topical medication, rather than laser treatment alone, although the certainty of some evidence is very low.

Hello, I'm Dr. KIM YEONJIN, lead physician at UH CELL Clinic's Gangnam branch. For someone traveling from the United States, “How many sessions will I need?” also means “How many times will I need to visit Seoul?” I will explain why the type of pigmentation and the interval between sessions matter to that decision.

Sun-related dark spots: check the session interval

Solar lentigines can respond relatively quickly to laser treatment because the pigment is relatively close to the skin's surface. However, the number of sessions and the time between them depend on the depth and extent of the pigmentation.

If your skin needs time to recover between sessions, a second treatment may fall outside your current trip. I would not treat a session count as a travel plan without also considering the required spacing. An individual treatment plan needs to follow a skin assessment.

Melasma: plan beyond laser treatment alone

Ingyu Lee and colleagues published a meta-analysis in the Journal of Cosmetic Medicine in 2024 that examined 15 randomized controlled trials comparing chemical peels and laser treatment. They reported a greater reduction in melasma severity with lasers, with standardized mean differences of 0.82 for lasers and 0.65 for peels. These figures are measures of treatment effect, not percentages of improvement.

The same analysis reported a higher risk of post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation (PIH), or darkening after inflammation, with laser treatment in darker skin types. It also described combination treatment and maintenance strategies as approaches that may improve long-term results.

A systematic review published in Cureus in 2026 analyzed 52 randomized controlled trials involving 1,058 participants. It found that low-fluence Q-switched Nd:YAG laser treatment significantly reduced melasma severity, but recurrence was high. The review recommended including this laser approach within combination treatment that also uses rigorous sun protection and topical medication. Importantly, it rated the overall certainty of the evidence as very low.

I would not use these findings to promise a particular result or prescribe a device or session count for an individual. For melasma, sun protection and topical treatment belong in the planning discussion alongside any laser treatment.

Compare the total cost, not just the session price

Before arranging treatment, I recommend asking about three things together:

• The price per session.
• The recommended number of sessions.
• The interval required between sessions.

If that interval is longer than your stay, the next session may mean another trip to Korea. Include airfare and accommodation when comparing the total cost, rather than multiplying the treatment price alone.

For melasma, ongoing care after returning home also matters. Sun protection remains part of the plan to help reduce recurrence.

Preparing for a first visit to our Gangnam branch

Our Gangnam branch is inside the UH FLAT SIGNATURE Gangnam hotel. We design treatment after a skin assessment rather than applying a uniform package, and our Gangnam team includes Japanese-, Chinese-, and English-speaking interpretation staff.

UHC hotel guests may choose one complimentary benefit: a 30-minute oxygen chamber session or a vitamin IV drip. If both are used, the vitamin IV drip costs KRW 55,000. These benefits apply to UHC hotel guests, not hotel guests generally.

I explain the hotel-based layout further in Gangnam Lifting and Anti-Aging: Planning Treatment and Recovery Logistics, available in Korean.

Before your visit, I recommend bringing your travel dates into the treatment discussion. The useful question is not simply how many sessions are suggested, but whether their spacing fits your stay and what ongoing care you will need after returning home.