What if you could make sure you have a flawless skin without any dark spots or lines?

Wouldn’t it boost your confidence and self-esteem whether in a rendezvous or a job interview?

It surely would! And it is indeed vital, as your skin is the very first thing someone will notice when they first meet you. So, if you want to have a skin free from any excessive color, you must first understand what the main causes of skin darkening are.

What may threaten and darken my skin?

No matter what the color of your skin is or where you live, you are sure to be facing some challenges and conditions that can affect the way your skin looks. To properly address these challenges and maintain a healthy-looking body, it is vital to understand the factors that might alter the color or even the texture of your skin:

• The sun. Yes, that crazy guy in the sky sending his UVA and UVB rays
• Hormonal imbalances that may occur in your body for a series of reasons
• Age. Hmmm! Not actually an ally of your skin
• Skin injuries such as bruises, wounds, acne and rashes
• Your DNA!

Now let’s try to be a bit more specific about the factors mentioned above

1)   The Sun

Oh, you really love staying out in the sun, walking, running, playing or even flirting. It makes you happy and keeps you energized. We all love it, don’t we? There are, however, some limitations for you, should you want to have a healthy looking skin.

 

When your skin meets the sunlight, a state of emergency occurs for it. Your skin has to raise its shields to protect itself, as well as the inner parts of your body, from the dangerous effect that the sun rays might have on them. This is accomplished through the production of melanin. This substance, apart from being responsible for the color of your skin, is the primary defense against the penetrating and dangerous UVA and UVB rays. So, to keep it simple:

MORE SUN=MORE MELANIN=MORE COLOR=GREATER RISK OF DARK SPOTS

 

Where is  the risk of having hyperpigmentation greater than normal?

I think the answer is obvious. The areas of your skin that you expose more to the sunlight are more prone to developing dark spots and patches. These include your face, shoulder, upper arms, your back, and the chest.

How to protect your skin from the dangerous UV rays?

Please be sure you protect yourself by using a high-SPF sunscreen, as well as wearing protective clothing, when you want to stay outdoors for long, during a sunny day, even a winter day.

Our top recommendations on sunscreens are

• EltaMD UV Clear Broad-Spectrum SPF 46 which has more than 2K reviews on Amazon currently speaking. In fact it’s more than a typical UVA, UVB-ray blocking high-spf sunscreen. Thanks to its innovational formula containing niacin amide and hyaluronic acid it can promote healthy-looking skin and provide anti-aging and anti-skin-cancer aid.
• Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Dry-Touch Sunscreen, Broad Spectrum Spf 100 . If your skin is very sensitive to sun rays or if you just want to go crazy about the protection of your skin from the harmful UVA and UVB surnays, you can pick the SPF 100 sunscreen (more of a sun blocker we would say) from Neutrogena. This little devil is one of the highest rated sunscreens on Amazon as of october 2017 and clearly one of the best sellers out there. What do you thing? 🙂

2)   Hormonal Imbalances and Changes

 

Many women, and especially pregnant women, face hormonal imbalances over frequent periods in their lives. Estrogen and progesterone might trigger melanin production, thus leading to topical skin darkening, known as chloasma, Linea Negra (which means black line), and mask of pregnancy. This is 100% natural and must not scare you at all. It is entirely treatable too! You can read our article about skin lightening during pregnancy if you wish to know more.

 

 

 

3)   Your age?

No, no, no! I don’t want you to reveal it, darling. It would be rude of me! However, unfortunately, time is relentless! Apart from leaving its mark on the texture of our skin, it might also be guilty for the development of brown spots and darker patches on your skin.

I’ve personally known people who had had a flawless skin for 60 years, or so. Yet, all of a sudden, they developed skin hyperpigmentation after the age of 60.

 

4)   Skin Injuries

“How many times will you pick at this pimple?”.

“Uh, Oh! These acne scars seem to be staying forever”.

If any of the above, is a thought of yours then you must know that skin injuries such as acne, wounds, pimples or bruises might leave their (dark or brown) mark on your skin if not healed completely.

Especially you, acne-sufferers, stop picking your pimples and blackheads immediately! Acne is enemy No1 for the appearance of your skin. But you are guilty too if you mess with your pimples all the time. So please, stop and pay a visit to your Dermatologist’s office ASAP to get an efficient treatment.

 

5)Your DNA

 

Heredity is also responsible for our dark spots, and I can assure you on that judging by my experience. So, if a parent or grandparent of yours has developed dark spots, you must take a Doctor’s consultation on how you can prevent them from happening to you too.

 

Conclusion

This sums up the main causes of hyperpigmentation. I have omitted to refer to any special causes such as antibiotics, hormone treatments or anti-seizure drugs that might cause hyperpigmentation issues too. I did this on purpose, for the sake of simplicity.

If you, however, want to expand your knowledge on how to keep dark spots away I would suggest that you read Eden Diaz’s publication – Skin Whitening Forever!. In her book, Eden addresses the matter of hyperpigmentation in full detail. Homemade skin whitening treatments and diets are included, too.

 

My wishes for a perfect skin!