Brown spots are known as Melasma in medical terms. It appears as small patches on parts like nose, cheeks, face, forehead and upper lip. Women have more chance for getting brown spots during their menstrual cycle. Women who are in the reproductive cycle, belonging to age group of 20-50 years will have brown spots often. The main cause for getting these patches is exposure to sun, though sometimes it is triggered when using contraceptive pills. Statistics say that around 6 million women are said to have brown spots in the USA alone and around 47-50 million women around the world suffer from this dark spots.
Brown Spots on Face Causes :
Though it is difficult to pinpoint the exact cause of brown spots, still there are certain factors that induce the formation of Melasma. Women using birth control pills, pregnancy and those who undergo hormone treatment are prone to get brown spots. Women who have family history of having brown spots and who are undertaking medicines for epilepsy and those who are overly exposed to UV light have more chance to get brown spots than others.
Studies reveal that prolonged exposure to sunlight is sure to increase Melasma on your face. Again there are factors to prove that brown spots appear dark and visible during summer months and less in number during winter, when sunlight is not very intense. Increased estrogen production also cause brown spots and this happens commonly during pregnancy. It is described as “mask of pregnancy” when pregnant women have large number of brown spots.
Where Do Brown Spots Occur ?
Generally brown spots occur prominently on your face, due to hyper-pigmentation process. It may occur on the center of the face, on your cheeks and on the jawbone. Very often it is seen on the cheeks, upper lip, nose and forehead. It is very rare to see brown spots on other parts of your body.