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True Causes Behind Darkening Of The Skin
The skin color is the result of the amount of melanin – the protein that our cells produce to protect us from the sun ultraviolet rays – our cells produce. Melanin is dark in color therefore the more melanin is produced the higher chance of our skin developing dark spots.
The darkening of the skin caused by abundant production of melanin, and it can be widespread or specific only to certain areas, such as face.
There are several causes of skin darkening and I would like to focus on some of them.
Addison’s disease is a disorder in which the adrenal glands can’t produce enough steroid hormones. The most characteristic symptom of this disease is skin darkening and darkening of freckles, scars and nipples. There are also many other symptoms such as fatigue and hair loss. There is no cure for this disease, however the symptoms can be controlled with medication.
Another cause is, as mentioned above, excessive production of melanin. This is called hyperpigmentation and might be triggered by too much iron in the body. The skin becomes darker, and brown spots might appear. The hyperpigmentation dark spots appear mostly on face but other areas can also be affected.
You might also experience darkening of your facial skin when you take oral contraceptives. It is similar to darkening of skin that happens to women during pregnancy. Dark brown spots usually appear on face around upper lips, nose and forehead. Even skin that is already dark, such as nipples, freckles, scars, and the skin around genitals becomes even darker. The condition is very common and up to 70% of pregnant women develop dark spots. This skin darkening during pregnancy is nothing to be worry about and is caused by hormone changes in your body.
The most common cause of facial skin darkening and developing dark spots is excessive sun exposure. Our body when exposed to the sun, start producing melanin which protects us from ultraviolet rays. Even though it is considered fashionable and healthy to have suntan, especially for women, sunbathing might be very dangerous and potentially can cause diseases such as skin cancer and others. Please be aware that facial skin is very sensitive and you should consider it when sunbathing.
Other causes of skin darkening include diseases such as Lupus and Rosacea. In Lupus, the body attacks various organs and the most common symptom is facial skin darkening usually in a butterfly pattern.
Rosacea is a disease that affects mostly face skin and causes pimples and excessive reddening of the skin. In some cases the symptoms might appear on arms and legs.
Most of the darkening of the facial skin problems can be fixed with the use of creams and lotions specifically formulated for that purpose. If however the dark spots do not disappear and become larger in size you need to contact your doctor because medical treatment might be required.
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