Melasma Causes

The exact cause of melasma is unknown but there are a number of different factors that can trigger it. The 2 most common factors that can trigger melasma are sun exposure and hormonal changes, as they both can cause too much melanin (skin darkening pigment) to be produced.

Other factors that can trigger or worsen melasma include:

Medicines that can make your skin sensitive to the sun. For example: medications that treat thyroid problems.

Conditions that cause hormonal changes.

Hormone replacement therapy.

An allergic reaction or inflammation brought on by cosmetic products.

Hormonal Changes – Hormonal changes are one of the biggest factors that triggers melasma. Pregnancy and oral contraceptives are the most common causes of hormonal imbalances in women that lead to the development of melasma.

Xenoestrogens are another cause that can cause your hormone levels to go crazy. Xenohormones are a type of Endocrine Disrupting Compounds or EDC’s that are industrially created chemical compounds. They are everywhere in our environment and they have a negative estrogenic effect that disrupts the communication inside the bodies’ endocrine or hormone producing organs. If you don’t know what xenoestrogens are and want to learn more go here.

Menopause can also alter hormones and bring on melasma.

In order for your hormones to be in perfect harmony you need a healthy ratio of progesterone to estrogen. Things like stress can cause this skin hyperpigmentation because it causes your body to produce an excessive amount of cortisol to help you cope with the stressful situation.

However, excessive amounts of cortisol being produced will cause your body to get rid of other hormones like progesterone. This causes your estrogen levels to become abnormally high and make your hormones unbalanced. Other things that can cause hormonal imbalance include:

Drinking too much coffee and other drinks high in caffeine like sodas or energy drinks.

A deficiency in Magnesium or Vitamin B6.

Taking drugs that can affect your liver, which is the organ that is primarily responsible for breaking down estrogen.

Drinking alcoholic drinks can sometimes cause the levels of estrogen in your body to rise higher.

Soy products can cause hormonal imbalances if taken in big amounts. Soy products contain a high amount of phytoestrogens that can inhibit the activity of calcium, iron, zinc, copper, and magnesium – which are all needed to help keep your hormone levels healthy.

Sun Exposure – The other biggest factor that triggers melasma is too much exposure to sunlight. The ultraviolet or UV rays from sunlight triggers the melanocytes cells to produce more melanin, which leads to the appearance of dark patches on your face and other areas. This is why melasma often gets worse in the summer months when there’s a lot of sun.

Finding the best sunscreen for melasma and wearing clothes and hats that block the UV rays of the sun is important if you plan on being outside a lot during the summer time.

Diagnosis

Since there are other skin disorders that display the same characteristic appearance like melasma it is important to get an official diagnosis. If your melasma isn’t too severe the dermatologist should be able to diagnosis you by just look at your skin.

If your melasma is severe a wood’s light is usually used to determine how deep the melasma has penetrated the skin. To confirm the diagnosis of this chronic skin condition a dermatologist may perform a skin biopsy.

The Melasma Area and Severity Index or MASI is often used to determine the severity of this chronic skin condition. The characteristics of the pigmentation and how it is distributed around the facial area is what the dermatologist will be looking for.

Another thing your dermatologist may also look for is whether or not the melasma is just on the skin surface or if it is deeper, which will make it harder to treat.