Photo by Robert Przybysz via ShutterstockDark spots. On your face.
Where did this come from and what can I do to immediately get it off my face?
Those frantic questions were once mine, when the dark spots on my face started to form. In my crazed search for solutions, I came across many options. From homemade recipes to laser treatments, I’m still trying to figure out what’s right for me.
The good thing is, when it comes down to it, there’s nothing wrong with keeping those dark spots or browsing the internet for a laser treatment to remove them.
Dark spots are very common and especially among women. So who cares what you decide to do? It’s your choice to make whether or not you want to remove them. And luckily, most of the treatments available are not harmful to your skin. Just consult a physician to be sure you choose the best option for you.
Dark spots can appear all over the body and for various reasons.
On the face, they can form after scars from acne and from hyperpigmentation. One form of hyperpigmenation of the skin is melasma, which can be caused by exposure to the sun and also by hormonal changes in the body.
You may be wondering, does that include the hormones in birth control? And when you get pregnant? Unfortunately, it does. Although there is no direct scientific evidence for the claims, the link to hormonal changes and melasma is so strong the skin condition has also been called “the pregnancy mask.”
We’ve never seen a more beautiful pregnancy mask.
Options for removing dark spots on your face go from the cheaper, homemade versions all the way to high-tech lasers that will cost you a little more.
If you want to make something at home, there are endless recipes that can be found online. Go to your nearest kitchen table or grocery store to put together your melasma-removing cocktail. Some include variations of brown sugar, lemon, coconut milk and essential oils. Be careful not to overdo it, though, because your skin might become irritated with the mixture of substances.
Additional treatments include creams that contain hydroquinone, azelaic acid, topical retinoids and facial peels. The facial peels entail the application of an acid solution that removes the surface layers of the skin. Intense.
Allure spoke with Jeffrey Dover, professor of dermatology at Yale School of Medicine, about laser technology used for erasing unwanted skin features. “Unlike the white light from a bulb that is a blend of all the colors of the rainbow, a laser is a focused beam of light that has just one color,” he explained. The laser can focus its powerful light on the chosen region and remove the pigmentation without harming the nearby skin.
The truth is that there’s not one treatment that specialists guarantee will completely remove dark spots on your face. Researchers are still trying to understand how dark spots occur and the best way to remove them.
One other thing I like to ask myself when I’m feeling down: Who said dark spots were unattractive? Maybe dark spots are the new stretch marks? Or the new tattooed freckles?
Start with eating lots of fruits and vegetables. Then, if you’re taking a hormone and start to notice the dark spots, consult a physician about possibly stopping the treatment. Finally, summer or not, you have to protect your skin from the sun. The sun’s rays can cause as much damage in the colder months as they do in the warmer months. Wear sunscreen or limit your time getting vitamin D.
Look at her. What a carefree soul. She’s obviously wearing sunscreen.
