DYK, Not All Dark Spots Are Created The Same?
We love to blame the sun for most of our skin woes, but is it entirely at fault when it comes to pesky dark spots? Actually, no. The sun is a major factor, for sure, but there are many other reasons your skin becomes patchy or discolored…
No matter how hard you try to keep the tone of your skin free of patchy dark spots as you get older, this seems to be one skincare battle you just can’t seem to win. But what are dark spots and why, oh why, do they creep up on the skin when we have enough skin issues to contend with (yes, we’re talking to you fine lines and wrinkles)?
What Causes Dark Spots?
Dark spots, aka hyperpigmentation, is extremely common and occurs when your skin overproduces melanin, the pigment the gives your skin its natural color. This makes certain areas of your skin appear darker and patchy, while others remain as they were. And it really is as simple as that.
The tricky part, however, comes when you try to pinpoint exactly why melanin has gotten out of control in the first place. And there are three main causes of hyperpigmentation to know about.
The Sun
According to countless studies, exposure to the sun is the most common cause of hyperpigmentation. No surprises there, right? This is because melanin acts like a kind of natural sunscreen to help protect your skin from damaging UV radiation. The more you subject your skin to sunlight, therefore, the more melanin your melanocytes will produce as they work super hard to keep your skin safe.
Tan skin is basically the result of melanin going into overdrive. And when you continue to subject your skin to excessive sun exposure, this whole process can (and often will!) go completely wayward. This leads to an uneven production of melanin which gets clumpy and, of course, leads to the inevitable patchy, sun-damaged skin.
These types of dark spots are called solar lentigines and they usually appear on areas that are most frequently exposed to the sun. Your face, hands, arms and shoulders are those most affected, so keep an eye on these areas for small, flat spots that are either brown, black or a kind of grayish color.
Your Hormones
Dark spots that are the result of unbalanced hormones are called melasma and they’re way more common in women than men thanks to the many hormonal changes women go through during their lives. Menstruation, pregnancy, birth control, hormone replacement therapy and the menopause all cause extreme changes in the female sex hormones and, just like exposure to the sun, this stimulates melanin production which, unfortunately gets a little out of control.
Melasma is usually lighter in color than sun spots and it looks more patchy. It’s also commonly seen on the forehead, over the cheeks or around the lips – but almost always on the face, for sure. The good news is that, more often than not, melasma goes away after you pass through this stage in your life and come out the other end, or if you stop taking the medication that’s the primary cause.
Skin Trauma
Last, but certainly not least comes post-inflammatory hyperpigmention (PIH) which looks most severe in dark skin types but is pretty common in all genders and can happen at any time in your life.
PIH happens when your skin becomes inflamed after its been subjected to some kind of injury or trauma. It’s most commonly caused by acne and in fact one out of every two acne sufferers will experience some form of PIH – or post-acne marks as they’re also called.
But it’s not just acne that can trigger this type of hyperpigmentation: anything that causes inflammation has the ability to leave you with red, pink, brown or black PIH spots. A mild cut, bug bite or burn, for example, can go down that road, as can bouts of psoriasis, eczema or even surgery. As your skin regenerates and heals itself, excess melanin is produced which can leaves the area darkened and discolored long after the wound has gone.
What Can You Do About Your Dark Spots?
While not all dark spots are caused by the sun, UV radiation will make every single one of them worse. So, you gotta protect your skin every day to a) help prevent sun spots and b) lessen your chances of any type of dark spot becoming bigger and/or darker.
Sun avoidance is, of course, the most effective way to keep your skin safe from the sun’s wicked ways, but, well, you have to live, so instead of being quite so drastic, simply up your skin protection game with these two simple must-dos.
1. Apply Topical Antioxidants
Apply an antioxidant serum every morning after cleansing and before moisturizing to kick things off. Antioxidants are the bomb for adding that little extra je ne sais quoi to your regime. How so? Well, they’re almost unbeatable at fighting off free radicals that, if left alone, will have a party when you expose your skin to the elements, damaging collagen, screwing up elastin and doing a number on your DNA. This is not only bad news for dark spots but it’s also asking for wrinkles to come and join in on the (not so) fun.
There are plenty of awesome antioxidants out there but our favorite for sun protection is vitamin C because it also helps to keep dark spots to a minimum by keeping melanin under control. Win. And win. Try our classic Vitamin C Facial Serum daily. No arguments.
2. Wear Sunscreen ALL YEAR LONG
It goes without saying that sunscreen is essential for preventing dark spots AND for helping to minimize existing ones. Not to mention all the other anti-aging benefits a sunscreen like our fabulous SPF 30 Mineral Sunscreen with Vitamin C brings to the table.
To get the best protection from both UVA and UVB radiation, make sure you always choose a broad-spectrum formulation and never go below SPF 30 which blocks around 97 percent of UVB. Choose a mineral sunscreen that contains zinc oxide, titanium dioxide or both (we believe these are the best!) and apply it generously to all areas of exposed skin every morning. Reckon you can get away without it on cold, gray days? Think again. Sun damage is caused by UV radiation, not heat, which means that chilly, overcast days still have plenty of UV ready and willing to screw up your skin if you let it. The truth is, around 80 percent of UV radiation penetrates right through those clouds. Remember that.
Should You Be Worried About Dark Spots & Skin Cancer?
Hyperpigmentation is not related to skin cancer, but if you notice any kind of new dark spot developing or changing in size or color you should always consult a board-certified dermatologist to get it checked out.
Skin cancer is the most common cancer in the US and around one in five of us will develop it by the time we’re 70. Don’t like those stats? Good, you shouldn’t, so make sure you get any mole, freckle or unusually dark patch of skin looked at by a professional.
You May Also Like
View More-
![What Happens To Your Pores As You Age?]()
Do you feel like your already-supersized-pores are growing by the minute? They're not. But it might feel like they are...
Pores are the foundation of healthy skin. Of course, collagen makes your skin strong, supple and plump. And yes, elastin gives it that all-important bouncebackability. But without pores, your skin would be a dry, shrivelled up shadow of its former self. Not to mention the fact that your entire body would lose its ability to regulate its own body temperature.
As a quick reminder, pores are tiny, microscopic openings found at the surface of your skin right at the top of your hair follicles and sweat glands. They exist to allow important liquids (as well as other particles and gases) to pass through the surface of your skin. The human body has two types of pores: sweat pores which help regulate body temperature; and oil-producing pores that are found at the top of your hair follicles where they release sebum to moisturize and lubricate the surface of the skin. The good thing about sweat pores is that they’re so small you can’t see them making them of very little concern in the grand scheme of things.
Oil-producing pores, on the other hand, are just so annoyingly visible. So why?
What Determines The Size Of Your Pores?
Like your height, skin tone and color of your hair, the size of your pores is largely shaped by genetics. This means that yes, you can blame your parents, and yes, the size of your pores is pretty much fixed.
Of course, this is great news if you have almost invisible pores. Not so much if yours feel like they take over your entire face. But let’s get one thing straight: no matter how enlarged you believe your pores are when you study them in the mirror, they’re rarely as bad as you think. Because the truth is, nobody else scrutinizes your skin on the same level as do you.
Do Pores Get Bigger Over Time?
Yes and no. The size of your pores never really changes on a physiological level. So yes, all those half-truths about being able to ‘shrink’ your pores with alcohol-heavy toners or freezing cold water is a bit of a con. But there’s a little bit of truth in there because while the actual size of your pores doesn’t alter, their walls can stretch and expand, making them appear more pronounced.
Penny drops.
What Causes Pores To Stretch With Age?
Many things happen to your skin throughout your life that can cause the walls of your pores to become damaged and loose. Of course, regular aging plays the most obvious role as your collagen levels naturally decrease over time. Sadly, there’s not a huge amount you can do about your biological clock (there’s those genes doing their worst again!) but there are many other factors of which you can control that contribute to the rate at which your pores become slack.
Sun Damage
Gosh, the sun gets blamed for a lot of skin issues. But we don’t apologize for that because it really is one of the worst things for the condition of your skin. UV radiation breaks down important proteins like collagen and elastin thanks to a build-up of free radicals. This weakens the collagen fibers that give your skin its structure, thus allowing the walls of your pores to become slack, weak and kind of baggy-looking. AKA more visible!
Picking Your Skin
If you have a tendency to pick or squeeze your skin, this not only irritates your skin as a whole, but it can seriously mess with the collagen and elastin fibers that keep your skin firm and supple. Scarring is the most obvious possibility from picking your skin, but you pores will also suffer as a consequence.
Excess Sebum
After puberty sebum production usually levels out to a somewhat more ‘normal’ rate. However, things can get messy again during significant hormonal changes in your life. Menstruation, pregnancy, the menopause, all of these periods in your life cause your hormones to become unbalanced and your sebum levels to fluctuate. And when sebum production increases it fills up your pores causing them to expand, stretch and appear bigger.
Slow Cell Turnover
When you’re in your 20s each skin cell has a life cycle of around 28 days in which time it is formed at the lower levels, moves up to the surface and then sheds. As with most biological functions, however, cell turnover slows down as you mature, causing dead cells to hang around longer than necessary at the surface of your skin. Like excess sebum, these dead cells have nowhere else to go but to clog up your pores. And clogged pores = saggy, enlarged-looking pores.
Bad Makeup Choices
Certain foundations and face cosmetics that contain heavy oils and thick butters can also block your pores, causing them to expand and become more noticeable. Make sure you scan the labels of your favorite makeup formulations to ensure they’re non-comedogenic. Non-comedogenic means they’re way less likely to block your pores (comedone is the fancy term for pore, if you didn’t know).
The Best Ways To Keep Your Pores Tight
After reading the above you can probably guess what you need to do to avoid your pores becoming damaged and saggy. But we’ll lay it out for you anyway, just to drive the point home!
1. First up, wear sunscreen. This is the best thing you can do to conserve the collagen you’ve already got while ensuring you’re still making quality fresh stuff. Apply SPF 30 Mineral Sunscreen with Vitamin C every morning as par for the course, and do your skin even more of a solid by doubling up your protection with an antioxidant serum underneath sunscreen. Niacinamide is a very good ingredient for smoother, more resilient skin so try our Niacinamide (B3) Facial Serum.
2. Don’t pick your skin. Pimples or no pimples. Nothing good can come of this.
3. Balance sebum by gently cleansing and lightly moisturizing your skin come what may. It’s super important to keep your skin clean morning and night so that oils don’t build up at the surface. We love Tea Tree Super Cleanser+ which harnesses the power of tea tree oil to clarify the skin without leaving it feeling parched. Just remember, it’s equally as vital to follow with moisturizer so your skin doesn’t think it’s dry and overcompensate with more oil than you started with!
4. Exfoliate to boost cellular turnover. But don’t overdo it. Listen to your skin and exfoliate just once or twice a week if that’s all it needs. Our Vitamin C Gentle Face Scrub (which just won an industry award may we add!) is a fantastic way to keep your skin bright, clean and dead skin cell-free. Plus, it’s kind to your skin. Which is super important, at any age.
5. Finally, don't underestimate the powers of retinol. Retinol is an incredible way to boost collagen AND encourage healthy cellular turnover. That's great news for your pores. And for controlling acne. And for reducing the appearance of wrinkles. And... well, you get the picture. Try our classic Retinol Facial Serum once or twice a week to begin with, building up to nightly as your skin acclimates.
What Happens To Your Pores As You Age?
read more
