Skin Discoloration and Pigmentation
Many factors play into why skin discoloration and pigmentation may occur. What needs to be understood is, people may be genetically prone to pigmentation or they are not. The best one can do is become knowledgeable on how to prevent such occurrences. Having to try and catch these defects earlier, rather than later in order to guarantee the best outcome.
During summer, UV sun exposure is one of the main reasons for this deficit, because the sun triggers the production of melanin. Heat does as well too. With the combination of the sun and this summer heat, inflammation is triggered and that sets off a response to increasing melanin activity. With proper skin care and treatments the spot(s) will get lighter but as long as summer is around it’s hard to say that the discoloration and/or pigmentation will not return no matter how much you try to stay out of the sun’s reach.
Some are really adamant about getting rid of this insecurity and will try everything in their power to do so, but they sometimes over doing it without knowing the consequences. An overuse of face treatments such as microdermabrasion, chemical peels, face exfoliating scrubs etc. can lead to post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation. What this entails is an excessive amount of exfoliation in any form. This also includes continuously picking at blemishes. Just because the eye cannot depict the skin as being highly inflamed does not mean it will not result in pigmentation. It is better to be less aggressive because the less likely you will be to get pigmentation and/or skin discoloration.
For women, this is the most common reason for skin discoloration and/or pigmentation, hormones. Anything that may alter your hormone level is a red flag that pigmentation and/or discoloration may occur. A more precedent example would be a pregnant woman. When a woman is pregnant her hormonal activity increases and it may lead to pigmentation development, also known as “melasma” or “pregnancy mask”. After pregnancy, most report that it gradually gets lighter and fades but some will need treatments to help the discoloration lighten up. It is also common for women to be on birth control and that as well can alter your hormonal activity. Treatments can be done but not guaranteed because as long as you are on birth control it would be tough to get real improvement. Aging is naturally combined with hormone changes and that too can increase the development of skin discoloration and/or pigmentation.
There are also many things you can do to prevent skin pigmentation, it just depends on the case. The main goal is to exfoliate to break up and remove the pigmented cells. No matter the season, it is always advised to use sun block to protect your skin from the UV rays. Staying moisturized and hydrated may seem minute for such a deficit but it can make that much more of a difference. It’ll give you one less thing to worry about. Better to keep your skin glowing and healthy than to add more to your worries.