Melasma is the appearance of dark spots on the skin, especially on the face, in places such as the forehead, cheekbones, lips or chin, although it is more common in women, due to hormonal changes, this problem can also affect some men, mainly due to excessive sun exposure.
Although no specific treatment is required, these spots do not cause any symptoms or health problems, treatment may need to be initiated to improve skin aesthetics.
See that other causes, besides melasma, can cause brown spots on the skin.
Treatment should always be guided by a dermatologist, as it is necessary to adapt treatment techniques to each skin type and stain intensity, however, general guidelines include certain precautions to be followed in all cases, such as:
In some cases these precautions are sufficient to reduce the intensity of spots on the skin, however, when the stain persists, your doctor may recommend treatment with specific substances, such as hypopigmentant agents including hydroquinone, kojic acid, mequinol or tretinoin, for example.
When stains are permanent and do not disappear with any of the substances listed above, the dermatologist may suggest chemical peeling or laser treatment, which should be done in the office.
Understand how chemical peels work to remove skin imperfections
There is not yet a specific cause for the onset of melasma in humans, but the factors that appear to be related to an increased risk of this problem are excessive exposure to the sun and darker skin.
In addition, there is also a relationship between the onset of melasma and decreased amounts of testosterone in the blood and an increase in luteinizing hormone, so it is possible to take blood samples, requested by the dermatologist, to know if it exists is a risk of developing melasma, especially if there are other cases in the family.