Skin pigmentation, or melanin, the natural pigment that gives your hair and eyes their distinct colors, is what gives your skin its color. Melanin is created by certain skin cells. The generation of melanin is affected when these cells are harmed or unwell. Changes in your body’s melanin production could cause your skin to get darker or lighter.
Your skin darkens if your body produces an excessive amount of melanin. Your skin can become darker due to things like illness, sun exposure, and pregnancy. Skin lightens if too little melanin is produced by the body. This could be brought on by several things, including your inherited genes and skin damage from sun exposure or acne.
Discolored patches are a symptom of melasma. The patches are darker in color than your normal skin. It frequently affects the face and is symmetrical, with identical marks on both sides. Melasma can also appear on other parts of your body that are frequently exposed to the sun.
Typically, brownish patches can be seen on the chin, cheeks, forehead, and bridge of the nose. Additionally, the neck and forearms may be affected. Although the skin darkening poses no health risks, you could experience self-consciousness due to how it appears.
Consult a medical practitioner if you have any of these melasma symptoms. They might suggest that you visit a dermatologist, a medical professional who focuses on treating skin conditions.
In general, exposure to sunlight can result in melasma because UV rays harm the cells that regulate pigment (melanocytes).
Due to its widespread occurrence in pregnant ladies, chloasma is frequently called the “mask of pregnancy.” Though the cause of chloasma during pregnancy is not entirely understood, it is believed to be a result of the hormonal changes involving progesterone and estrogen that occur throughout pregnancy.
It manifests as reticulate, or net-like, areas of irregularly formed skin that are darker in color than the surrounding skin. The color of the lesions can range from light to dark brown and, on rare occasions, ash-blue, depending on where melanin is deposited within the layers of the skin.
A positive family history of chloasma, unprotected sun exposure, hormonal changes involving estrogen and progesterone, such as those caused by pregnancy, the use of oral contraceptives, or hormone replacement therapy, medications that make the skin more sensitive to sunlight (such as thyroid medications), and having a darker complexion are some of these risk factors.
