Clare Louise April 12, 2022

Having smooth and unified skin is ideal for keeping you young and healthy. However, the marks and blemishes on your face that your skin accumulates are undeniable proof of the passage of time and of the wisdom you are acquiring!

Dermatologists refer to these darker spots that appear on the skin as localized hyperpigmentation. It seeps in due to a wide range of internal and external factors: pollution, too much sun exposure, age, pregnancy, hormonal changes, scarring as a result of acne, hormonal imbalances, or a genetic predisposition.

The cause and all the shared factors are disorders in the production of melanin, which is responsible for having blemished skin.

Melanin is one of the causes of spots on the skin.

Melanin plays a vital role in determining skin color, from white to pink and olive to dark brown. 

As you bask in the warmth, UV rays penetrate deep into the skin, activating melanin to the surface during a four-step process called melanogenesis.

UV rays, and UVB in particular, penetrate the epidermis and stimulate tyrosinase and its mediators. The melanin-filled cells color the outer layer and gradually disappear during average skin cell turnover.

Melanin gives you a tan in the summer, making everyone enjoy a healthy color for a few months. 

Sometimes, however, some melanocytes never turn off and continually produce large amounts of melanin. As a result, abnormally high amounts of melanin are unevenly distributed on the skin’s surface, accumulating in scattered, darker patches of hyperpigmentation, thus creating different types of blemishes.

Melasma

Melasma is also called chloasma but is more commonly known as the “mask of pregnancy”  Symmetrical markings with an irregular but defined outline resemble a mask placed on the sun-exposed parts of the face and neck. 

The discoloration is always more visible during or immediately after sun exposure, and its persistence, often lasting for years, is a real problem.

Factors that increase the chance of developing melasma include genetic history.

In Post Inflammatory Hyperpigmentation (shortened by the acronym PIH), hyperpigmentation has vague and irregular contours that appear after injuries and skin irritations.

  • PIH is the second reason among African-Americans to see a dermatologist.
  • 65% of African Americans, 53% of Hispanics, and 47% of Asians see a dermatologist for IPH resulting from acne.

Lentigines are known as “lentigo” in the singular, but we are all more familiar with sunspots” (solar lentigines) and “age spots” (senile lentigines). These spots on the skin appear on parts of the body exposed to the sun, such as hands, shoulders, chest, face, and arms that increase in size and quantity with age.

Friction and delicate areas

The mechanical friction of the skin against the fabric triggers hyperpigmentation, which is aggravated by the continuous and routine conflict of daily life.

To treat these skin problems, an anti-stain depigmenting treatment is necessary. A depigmenting cream can be the best ally for daily use included in the beauty and care routine to combat and eliminate the spots caused by the excess production of melanin.