Put Dark Marks On Pause: Here’s How to Spot Yours

Feel like uneven skin tone has ruined your glow long enough? Many (and we mean many) women feel that way. Studies report that 80% percent of us experience some kind of dark marks on our skin. But exactly what’s causing our complexion imperfection is, of course, varied. To properly treat pigmentation, you first have to understand it.

So, let’s get the introductions underway. Meet the main culprits: those common dark marks and the causes of blotchiness that mess with skin tone and clarity. They come in a few forms; some are hormone-linked, and others are due to sun exposure. And get this, sometimes it’s both. Yes, pigmentation is complex, but getting to know yours better means treatment is more effective.

How To Spot Yours: Identifying Dark Marks

First, it’s important to understand whether your pigmentation issue is a dynamic (meaning active) condition. Melasma falls into that category. It affects any person (women seem to get hit the most) and any skin tone. This means you must take control and manage it like any health condition.

Would you lie back and let your eyesight get worse without glasses? It’s the same with melasma. Not only is daily skincare necessary, but treatment needs to properly manage melasma as both a superficial and deep pigmentation condition. Hormonal flux and inflammation also need supervision. If you notice that yours looks worse during the summer months, the sun can trigger and worsen patches. So, it really is a condition that needs supervision and ongoing attention.

Another similar issue that can’t go without proper management is post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation (PIH). Think of this as a trauma response. But instead of banking on only big injuries causing pigmentation, think of what happens anytime there’s inflammation, like acne. That pimple that cropped up can cause enough injury to the skin that excess melanin is produced due to the trauma.

Similarly, insect bites, burns or, incorrect laser treatments and chemical peels can leave skin with PIH. More common for those with dark skin tones (Fitzpatrick skin types 3 to 6), the stress of “what’s going to happen next?“, means double the trouble to deal with.

Your Day Out Of The Sun: Put the Pause on Sun and Age Spots

Call them sun spots or age spots (also known as liver spots); these particular dark spots are simply due to too much sun exposure. However, if you want to get down to real nitty-gritty, sorting out your sun from your age spot goes something like this: sunspots are flat and brown and show up due to prolonged sun exposure. Age spots, however, appear as a natural part of ageing (you’ll see more of them as you get older) and also look flat, brown or even black in tone. And they also emerge in sun-exposed areas of skin.

So same same but a little different. They’re also a reminder of, you guessed it, your age. Appearing where the sun naturally hits (like your shoulders, face, neck and hands), how you deal with them is varied. Preventative and protective ways mean clothing and SPF (broad-spectrum) and always sticking to the age-old rule of staying out of the sun when it’s at its hottest. While genetic factors play a role in creating these babies, the number one enemy is the sun.

Now, do your son or daughter’s freckles mean they’ll develop sunspots? Those cute little spots on their noses and cheeks often fade without sun exposure (these are gene-based, too). But the best is to always keep babies and toddlers out of the sun as much as possible and slather children in appropriate SPF always and often.

So sun-safe it is!

Are you feeling more assured about putting a label on your pigmentation? Managing and treating it will undoubtedly be easier. For that, the options are effective (safe and painless) and incredibly innovative. Let modern tech help you zone in on your spot of bother. Pigmentation does induce big feelings, but with understanding and skin solutions, you can also get big results. Trust us.