Natural Treatments For Melasma

Melasma means the presence of dark spots on the facial skin. It is a fairly common skin condition that mainly affects young women with lighter or olive skin. In this article, you will learn more about the characteristics, causes, and natural treatments for melasma.

Causes of Melasma

This skin condition is often linked to imbalances related to the female hormones progesterone and estrogen. That is why the symptoms often occur with:

• Pregnant women.
• Women taking contraceptives.
• Those undergoing hormonal therapy during menopause.

This condition mainly arises with excessive sun exposure. This is why melasma is often found in women in tropical climates or during the summer period. Other cases can be caused by, for example:

• A high level of stress.
• Side effects of cosmetics.
• Medicines.
• Heredity.
• Malfunction of the thyroid hormone.

Features of melasma

There is only one obvious symptom of melasma: a gradual change in the color of the facial skin. As a result, you may begin to worry about the physical appearance of your skin.

Such spots are almost always an even brown color. These spots appear alternately on the forehead, cheeks, nose and upper lip. They are usually symmetrical; the spots appear the same on both sides of the face.

Treatments

Medical treatments can include, for example:

• Creams containing kojic acid and azelaic acid or hydroquinone and tretinoin.
• Peeling off the spots with steroids or chemical creams.
• Laser treatments that exist in severe cases.

Often, hormonal treatments that are causing the problem are also stopped. You can also wait until the end of the pregnancy to see if the symptoms persist or not.

With adequate treatment, melasma usually resolves after a few months in most cases. However, the problem can reappear if a woman becomes pregnant again or starts a new hormone treatment.

Doctors also recommend using a good sunscreen in connection with these spots. This can help protect you from the sun, so that you also enjoy protection against cancer and wrinkled skin at the same time.

Home remedies to fight dark spots or melasma

With just a few ingredients that you have at home, you can develop good natural treatments that will remove the brown spots on your face that appeared during pregnancy, birth control or any drug during menopause.

You should know that melasma is caused by an increase in the production of melanin. This substance is responsible for the color of your skin.

Some people say that melasma is especially common in dark-skinned women. Others say that women with olive skin are especially at risk. Still others say that it is mainly women who have pale skin that are most affected by this condition.

The good news is that there are natural remedies to solve this aesthetic problem.

Natural Remedies For Melasma

Homemade remedy with bananas

Mash one banana and then apply this paste on the dark spots for fifteen minutes. Then rinse it off with warm water. Do this four times a week.

Homemade eggplant remedy :

First, cut an aubergine into slices and remove the pulp. Then make a compress and place it on your skin for fifteen minutes. Then clean your skin with water. You can do this up to three times a week.

Homemade Remedy With Black Balsam (Herbal Liqueur)

4 or 5 drops should suffice. You have to add these drops to a protein. Beat this mixture well and then apply it on the dark spots. Do this twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening.

Homemade Remedy With Hydrogen Peroxide

Wipe a cotton ball dipped in hydrogen peroxide over your face before going to bed.

Mask to eliminate dark spots

Mix 2 tablespoons milk powder, 4 tablespoons honey and 2 tablespoons lemon juice until it forms a homogeneous paste. Then apply it on your face and let it sit for about twenty minutes. Then wash it clean and apply a layer of natural yogurt. Leave it on for ten minutes and rinse it off.

Homemade Onion and Vinegar Remedy

First, crush an onion and mix it with a little vinegar. Then apply this mixture on the dark spots and let it sit for fifteen minutes. If it starts to burn or if your skin feels irritated, rinse immediately.

People who are predisposed to get dark spots or melasma because these conditions affect family members should take extra precautions. This is a hereditary condition.

• Avoid the sun and always wear a high factor sunscreen when you go to the beach or the mountains, every day.

• Better not take the pill.
• Avoid undergoing other forms of hormonal treatments.

Some more tips

• It is necessary to be very careful when choosing a treatment for melasma, even if the treatment is a homemade remedy. Because if it is a very abrasive or strong agent, it can have the opposite effect and actually make the situation worse.
• Dark spots are more common in women between the ages of 20 and 50.
• There is no definitive cure for melasma. However, it is possible to make the appearance and color of the spots less noticeable if they may recur during the next pregnancy, if you start using contraception again or if you expose your skin to the sun every day.

• The biggest problem caused by dark spots is aesthetic and mainly has to do with your outward appearance. It has no other symptoms and is not harmful to the body.
• In some cases, these dark spots may disappear without treatment, such as after you have given birth.
• There are professional treatments that can eliminate melasma, or dark spots, including microdermabrasion, chemical peels, and laser treatments. However, these treatments are only offered in the most severe or advanced cases.
• The best way to treat dark spots is to see a dermatologist. Don’t wait too long. You can improve your appearance in a matter of weeks.

Images Courtesy of Sicchickk 71, Edwin & Telly Tofslie, trec_lit, Ophelie Baudelaire, Michael Chen, Greg Peverill Conti.