What Causes Pigmentation Marks?
Changes in your skin resulting in pigmentation can be caused by ultraviolet light. When you go out in the sun, the rays make the body produce melanin at a faster than normal rate. Melanin is the substance that is located in the epidermis, and it gives your complexion its natural colour.
Also when your hormones levels change during pregnancy or the menopause this affects the skin and can bring on these patchy dark areas. In later life is this is part of the ageing process that we all go through. Read more about Hormonal Changes in the Skin
Extra melanin in the skin makes it turn darker after exposure to the sun. How deeply tanned you can become depends on how much melanin you happen to have. Pigmentation Marks are caused by excess melanin becoming clumped in one spot.
Pigmentation Marks or Age Spots don't develop overnight. In most cases, it takes a number of years of exposure to the sun's UV rays for them to develop. A middle-aged woman who sunbathed in her youth (especially without SPF protection) or used tanning salons regularly is more likely to develop Pigmentation Marks than someone who limited their exposure to the sun's rays.
Sorry to say but you are your mother or your relatives! Generic history plays a part in how likely it is that you will develop Pigmentation Marks as you reach middle age. If your close relatives have the condition then you are more likely to develop them too.
As the body ages, it produces melanin in higher amounts. Age spots are the result of these higher levels of melanin in the body and are just another factor in the ageing process.
In addition, hormones play havoc with our skin adding to this arrival of Pigmentation Marks. Other changes to the skin that may happen around the same time are surface lines, wrinkles, dry skin and redness on the nose, ears or cheeks. The skin may also take on a more translucent appearance. It’s not called the change for nothing! Find out more read Hormonal Changes in the Skin