What Are Those Brown Spots On Your Skin?
Have you ever noticed little brown spots left after a break-out or the spots that start showing through as the years begin to pass?
Maybe it’s the dark patch that appears when you’re pregnant or when you begin taking certain medication.
Can you relate to any of these?
Have you found yourself frustated at what seems like the sudden appearance of these darker spots or patches?
Any visible change in the skin pigmentation results from internal or external factors.
Let me give you a better idea of what we mean…
Examples of internal factors are:
- Hormonal changes
- Certain medications. More specifically:
- Diuretics
- Antibiotics
- Vitamin B Complex
- St. John’s Wort, to name a few.
Some examples of external factors are:
- UV Radiation
- Chemicals
- Infections
Here is a list of the most common color changes in the skin:
- Hypopigmentation or lack of pigment in the skin.
- Vitiligo— In many cases, vitiligo is genetic. The lesions can appear after a trauma and is related to several auto-immune diseases.
- Albinism— The total absence of pigment in the skin.
- Pityriasis Versicolor— Although less common, is a superficial infection on the outer layer of the skin. It is caused by yeast (dandruff scales.)
- Hyperpigmentation or excess pigmentation in the skin. Symptoms of hyperpigmentation are
- Freckles– These are stains of a light-brown color without defined borders appearing in areas exposed to UV radiation.
- Solar Lentigo— This is a brown pigmentation mark of 1cm in diameter due to chronic sun exposure. It is mostly seen in the elderly, mainly appearing on the face and back of hands.
- Melasma or Chloasma Stains— Are an undefined shape and varies in color from light to dark brown, typically on the cheeks, nose, forehead, upper lips, chin and sometimes neck. It is due to sun exposure and hormonal factors.
- This condition can develop during pregnancy or after the use of birth control pills.
- Melasma can also occur in men.
- Post-Inflammatory Hyperpigmentation— Is any inflammation process of the skin that can cause the pigmentation to occur, due to the heat that inflammation produced.
- This tends to occur after a breakout heals.
- Berloque Pigmentation— A type of pigmentation due to the exposure to the sun followed by the use of perfumes, especially ones that contain bergamot.
Since a large part of the hyperpigmentation disorders are either caused or increased by sun exposure, we of course recommend using a full-spectrum (UVA and UVB) sunblock on a daily basis.
As we have taught you, the majority of sun damage happens while doing everyday activities, even though you’re not deliberately laying out in the sun.
UVA, or what we know as daylight, will be enough to do the damage.
(Click here to learn more on how you can effectively protect your skin.)
We also have recommended products you will find on our blog.
After reading and learning all the disorders and causes of sun damage, isn’t it worth wearing SPF EVERY DAY?
A small price for a big payoff!
Besides protecting your skin, there are products to help correct the pigmentation that has come through (stay tuned for this information!)
As always, we’d love to hear from you, so don’t be shy and let us know your thoughts or concerns.
To your skin’s health!
The Derma Divas.
P.S. If you want to learn more about Post-Inflammatory Hyperpigmentation, check this out.
