Face discoloration facts

Introduction to face discoloration

Face discoloration is a condition in which a person develops dark and irregular patches of skin on their face.

It is medically referred to as melasma, which is essentially the formation of dark spots on the skin.

It is very common for pregnant women to experience this, and can also be seen in women who are taking oral contraceptives or have gone through hormone replacement therapy.

Causes

These spots on the skin are caused by hyperactive melanin producing cells, which are called melanocytes.

The darks spots are usually located on the cheeks, chin and forehead, but sometimes also by the upper lip and on other parts of the face as well.

Photo-toxic substances can trigger these spots, usually by sun triggering allergic reactions.

A hair dye is a photo-toxic substance, for example, but if a person stays out of the sun, there should be no problems.

Treatment

There are thankfully a number of great home remedies for getting rid of these facial spots and patches.

One good one consists of a mixture of a gram of flour, turmeric powder, lemon juice and milk cream.

These ingredients should be made into a paste and then applied to the face and left to dry fully before being removed.

Another good remedy is a paste made of soaked and ground almonds that is mixed with honey. The same procedure should be used for this paste as well – allow it to dry, and then clean it off the face with lukewarm water.

There is a great facial scrub that a person can make out of oats. Take two teaspoons of ground oatmeal, one teaspoon of baking soda, and some water.

This should be made into a paste applied to the face and then washed off as well.

Who can make a fantastic facial mask out of fruits and vegetables as well. Take some strawberries, apricots and cucumbers and make them into a pulp, and apply that to the face. Some orange peels can be thrown into the mix as well.

There are a bunch of creams that can be used to get rid of facial spots as well, and most of them are so-called hydroquinone (HQ) creams.

HQ is a drug that stops the production of melanin and you can usually find such creams in any drug store. When sold over-the-counter, they are usually labeled as “bleaching creams,” so keep your eyes open for them the next time you are at the pharmacy.

However, we recommend that a person visits their doctor to ask about these creams before buying and using them.

There are other creams that are safer and can be used without consulting a doctor, but they work much more slowly.

One of these is called tretinoin cream, which also helps to stop hyper-pigmentation.