5 Causes of Hyperpigmentation
Suffering from hyperpigmentation can be embarrassing, especially if you’re dark-skinned and dark spots are visible on your face and neck. Luckily, understanding the causes of hyperpigmentation can help you identify effective treatments to get rid of these unattractive patches once and for all. Here are some of the most common causes of hyperpigmentation that you should know about.
What is Melasma?
If you’re concerned about pigmentation, one of your biggest concerns is likely melasma. Commonly referred to as the mask of pregnancy or chloasma, melasma occurs when melanocytes produce too much pigment in your skin. Melasma affects roughly 20 percent of pregnant women and nearly 80 percent of women taking birth control pills. According to Harvard Medical School, doctors have also linked melasma to sun exposure and certain skin creams. It may be possible to avoid hyperpigmentation by avoiding known triggers and protecting your skin from harmful UV rays. If you already have hyperpigmentation, however, there are many natural remedies for removing it from your face and body—some that work better than others!
What Causes Melasma?5 Causes of Hyperpigmentation
Melasma is a common skin condition that often appears as dark brown or black patches on a person’s face. It also goes by other names, including chloasma and pregnancy mask. Melasma can occur in anyone, but it’s most common in women who are pregnant or taking birth control pills or hormone replacement therapy. Melasma causes hyperpigmentation by blocking your body’s ability to make pigment, which gives your skin its natural color. That makes melanin accumulate faster than normal in certain areas of your skin, creating those telltale dark patches. Tanning (whether from sun exposure or tanning beds) may make melasma worse by further darkening already-affected areas, but it can’t cause melasma on its own.
Why does my skin discolor?5 Causes of Hyperpigmentation
Melasma is a condition that makes people appear to have darkened patches on their face. These patches are known as hyperpigmented macules, and they form when skin produces too much melanin or your cells aren’t able to break down melanin effectively. (1) Because there isn’t a cure for melasma, proper prevention is crucial for stopping it from recurring. Fortunately, there are several things you can do to help prevent melasma from returning after it has cleared up—or keep it from ever appearing in the first place.
How to prevent melasma from recurring
While melasma can affect anyone, it is most common in women and has a number of causes. The most common cause, however, is exposure to ultraviolet light from sun exposure or sun lamps. To prevent melasma from recurring, limit your exposure to sunlight or artificial UV light sources as much as possible. It’s also important to protect your skin with SPF 30 or higher sunscreen every day. In addition, if you are using a product with hydroquinone (HQ), be sure that you are doing so exactly as instructed by your doctor and don’t overuse HQ-containing products; overuse will cause additional pigmentation changes without actually treating existing conditions like melasma.
Treatments for Melasma
While melasma does not usually require medical intervention, there are treatments available that can lessen or eliminate hyperpigmentation. Your dermatologist can prescribe skin-bleaching creams and gels that contain ingredients such as hydroquinone. Hydroquinone is a bleaching agent that works by inhibiting melanin production and has been used in lightening products for many years. However, because it also inhibits other processes in skin cells, prolonged use can result in damage to skin tissues, leaving them more susceptible to sunburns and free radical damage. Because of these potential side effects, many patients stop using hydroquinone after achieving their desired results.