Melasma or Mask Of Pregnancy

Melasma, commonly known as the mask of pregnancy affects women of child bearing age. Common factors that can trigger melasma in women include puberty, use of contraceptive pills or other hormonal birth control methods and of course, pregnancy. This type of pigmentation typically only affects the face and sometimes, the neck. Dark pigment appears in patches all over the face or over the eyes and cheeks giving a characteristic mask like appearance.



Melasma does not cause any health problems but can be very distressing to the women suffering from it. A number of treatments exist, however, care must be taken to treat skin gently, as melasma hyperpigmentation can be very reactive and can quickly worsen or spread. Use of chemical lighteners should also be avoided to prevent other skin complications. The best bet would be a long term treatment plan consisting of all natural lightening agents and the careful use of a sun block.

Refer to the Skin Lightening Report for step-by-step plans to get rid of melasma.

Hormonal Pigmentation

Hormonal pigmentation can come on quite suddenly. Most people suffering from this condition will suddenly notice patches that are darker than the surrounding skin. The most common type of hormonal pigmentation is Melasma. I will describe this in more detail in another post. The second most common type of hormonal pigmentation is the kind induced by conditions like PCOS (Poly Cystic Ovary Syndrome) and Diabetes Mellitus. Also, some men and women will notice hormonal pigmentation after puberty. This type of pigmentation usually manifests on the back of legs and/or underarms. This is more common in some races and quite unusual in others. Other rarer forms of hormonal pigmentation includes those found in people suffering from Addison's disease and Acanthosis Nigricans. Sudden darkening could also be caused by Arsenic poisoning.

Hormonal pigmentation requires constant lightening and simultaneous treatment of internal conditions if there are any present. With persistance and a disciplined regimen, it is possible to even out even the toughest areas of pigmentation.

Freckles

Freckles are little localized spots of melanin or skin pigment. To better understand freckles, let me explain a little about melanin. Human melanin or pigment cell, is of two variety. Eumelanin gives skin a brown hue. It is found in great abundance on the skin of dark people and allows them to get darker when they tan. Lighter skin tones have more Pheomelanin. This type of melanin imparts a reddish - yellow hue to skin.

Freckles typically occur on lighter skin. When fair skin is exposed to sunlight, it develops localised lesions or spots of pheomelanin. These reddish brown spots are called freckles. The lighter the skin one has, the more likely is one prone to freckles. Freckles are harmless and are not unattractive per se. But a lot of people with freckles want to reduce or even eliminate them.

A good way to start is to use a good quality sunblock. Sun blocks can protect the skin from the damaging UVA and UVB rays of the sun and prevent the bio-chemical reactions on the skin that leads to the formation of freckles. It is necessary to find the right kind of sunblock so as to not irritate sensitive, light skin.

For more tips and solutions to lighten freckles without damaging your skin go to: Skin Lightening Report

Introduction

The topic of skin lightening automatically has negative connotations and brings up issues related to racial pride and identity. In the Far East and in Africa, women continue to ruin their skins with toxic preparations in an effort to become lighter and hence more accepted in society. The media naturally focuses on the horrors of skin lightening and condemns these practices, it unfortunately also devalues the information that can help people lighten their pigmentation problems.

The truth is, the topic of skin lightening and knowledge on what works for pigmentation problems, is a necessity. A large number of people of all colors suffer from areas of skin that are blemished by pigment spots. Most people would love to have perfectly even-toned skin and DO NOT want to lighten their natural skin tone. They are merely looking to lighten their blemishes. These folks often run into very few and very confusing choices when it comes to lightening their dark spots and scars, due to the current dearth of information on the topic of skin lightening. Many of them use dubious creams in an effort to lighten these dark spots and end up ruining their skins or making the pigmentation come back in a more aggressive form, especially after sun exposure. There is really a sad lack of knowledge about what works with pigment problems and what actually makes it worse.

There are various reasons for these blemishes and a number of causes. Some of these are hormonal, others are caused by some sort of trauma to the skin such as insect bites, ingrown hairs, skin wounds etc. Whatever the cause, there are a number of ways to get rid of these spots and blemishes. In the next few posts, I will be writing about the most common pigment conditions, their causes and possible ways to prevent them. Stay Tuned!