What causes Dark Spots on face?

There are various types of spots that are known to appear on the skin especially the face. But for the purpose of this write up, I will be dealing with the Dark spots or Black spots which commonly stubbornly affect the beauty of the face. Most of the times, Dark spots are usually a form of hyper-pigmentation. 

 Melanin is the pigment produced by skin cells that gives color (pigment) to hair, skin and the iris of the eye. It is actually needed for the skin to function properly. When the Melanin produced is too much, the skin becomes too darkened or too brown in that region hence forming the dark, black or brown spot. It is more often common and noticeable in light-skinned people whose skin do not produce much melanin!. 

Over secretion of Melanin is not the only cause of dark spot, it is therefore necessary to identify your own cause so that you can know how to deal with it.

Exposure to Sun

 The body generates Vitamin D when exposed to the sun, but overexposure to the sun can

cause sunburn and result in dark spots. Health experts have established that the body needs like 5 to 30 minutes exposure to the sun twice a week for the body to generate enough Vitamin D it needs. Not many foods contain Vitamin D and it is not gotten from any plant-based foods unless it's added to them. Vitamin D is naturally found in oily fish like tuna and salmon, but most of the time its added hence, the need to expose the body to Sun. Also except you don't live on planet earth, you hardly survive without been exposed to the Sun. It is worthy of note though that you can help prevent them by using a sun block daily.

Pharmaceutical products

Dark spots can also be caused by pharmaceutical products that sensitize some users to UV radiation. Certain antibiotics, oral contraceptives and tranquilizers equally have this effect. In general, people with fair hair and or freckles have a greater risk of dark spot than others because of their lighter skin tone.

Acne Spots

Acne scars are different from Acne spots. Acne spots results when a pimple heals, leaving behind a dark spot where it was. Although this happens when you pick at the blemish and cause a scab.  It’s also seen more often in people with medium or darker skin tones than in fair skin.  Some people think of these spots as acne scars, but they aren’t really scars. Acne scars on the other hand are the result of inflammation within the dermis brought on by acne. The scar is created by the wound trying to heal itself resulting in too much collagen in one spot.

Diseases

Some diseases are also known to cause dark spot. Diseases like Measles and Chicken pox may leave indelible marks on the skin of its victims.

Age Spots

Age spots are otherwise known as liver spots and sun spots.  They actually don’t appear because of age and can occur on younger individuals. Age spots are a form of hyper-pigmentation caused by sun damage. They often show up on aged skin because it has been exposed to the sun for a long time. This type of sun damage is very common in people with fair skin.

Hormonal changes (Pregnancy)

During pregnancy, there are often surges in the hormone levels due to pregnancy, oral contraceptives use or hormonal replacement therapy (HRT) during menopause, and this can result in a particular type of hyper-pigmentation called Melasma. It is however important to note that such spots are normal and they often fade away after birth.

Melasma

Melasma causes dark irregular patches to form on the skin. The patches are larger than sun spots. It is often seen on the face, but can also occur on the hands and forearms. They are caused by Hormones, particularly estrogen and progestrone, by stimulating melanocytes to produce too much melanin. It's common in pregnant women and its sometimes called the mask of pregnancy. They are worsened by sun exposure and more common in people with olive skin tones.