Melasma

DESCRIPTION AND SYMPTOMS

Melasma is a skin condition characterized by brown or blue-gray patches or freckle-like spots. It’s often called the “mask of pregnancy.” Melasma happens because of overproduction of the cells that make the color of your skin. It is common, harmless and some treatments may help. Melasma usually fades after a few months Your skin is made up of three layers. The outer layer is the epidermis, the middle is the dermis, and the deepest layer is the subcutis. It’s an organ – the largest organ – and it makes up about one-seventh of your body weight. Your skin is your barricade. It protects your bones, muscles, organs and everything else from the cold, from germs, sunshine, moisture, toxic substances, injury and more. It also helps regulate your body temperature, prevent hydration and feel sensations like the warmth of the stove, the fur on your dog’s belly and the pressure of someone else’s hand holding yours.

METHODS/SOLUTIONS

If you have melasma, be sure to avoid:

Hormone treatments, specifically ones that involve estrogen.
Birth control, specifically oral contraceptive pills that contain estrogen and progesterone.
LED light from your television, laptop, cell phone and tablet.
Makeup you find irritating to your skin.
Medications that may cause or worsen melasma.
Scented soaps.
Skin care products that irritate your skin.
Tanning beds.
Waxing, which can aggravate the melasma.

EFFECTS/ CAUSES

There are two main causes of melasma: radiation, whether ultraviolet, visible light, or infrared (heat) light; and hormones.

Ultraviolet and infrared radiation from the sun are key in making melasma worse. Other possible causes of melasma include:

Antiseizure medications: Drugs that prevent you from having seizures may be a cause of melasma. An example of an antiseizure medication is Clobazam (Onfi®).
Contraceptive therapy (birth control): Melasma has been observed in individuals who use oral contraceptive pills that contain estrogen and progesterone.
Estrogen/Diethylstilbestrol: Diethylstilbestrol is a synthetic (man-made) form of the hormone estrogen. It’s often used in treatments for prostate cancer. Again, there’s a pattern between increased estrogen and melasma.
Genetics: About 33% to 50% of people with melasma have reported that someone else in the family has it. The majority of identical twins both have melasma.
Hypothyroidism: A condition where your thyroid is underactive.
LED Screens: Melasma may be caused by the LED lights from your television, laptop, cell phone and tablet.