The darkening of certain areas of the skin can occur at any age and are often caused by sun exposure, inflammation, hormonal changes, or ageing. When exposed to the sun's damaging UV rays, the skin produces excess melanin, resulting in darker patches or sunspots.
Increased Melanin Production: One common reason for skin darkening is increased melanin production. Melanin is the pigment responsible for giving color to our skin. Hormonal changes, certain medications, or underlying medical conditions can trigger an increase in melanin production, leading to darker skin (1).
If you've been wondering, "Why is my skin becoming darker?" without obvious sun exposure, it's essential to understand that several factors could be at play. Your skin can react to many triggers, both internal and external. These include hormonal changes, medications, ageing, and stress.
Addison disease happens when the body doesn't produce enough cortisol, a hormone that regulates stress. One symptom of the disease is darkening of the skin in places like scars, skin folds, elbows, knees, and knuckles. Talk to your health care provider if you think you might have vitiligo or another skin condition.
The hyperpigmentation related to vitamin B12 deficiency is more common in darker-skinned patients. Few other cases of skin hyperpigmentation due to vitamin B12 deficiency have been reported in the literature. The mechanism of hyperpigmentation is due to increased melanin synthesis rather than a defect in melanin.
The incidence of this change varies, and depends on the type of medication involved. Some of the most common drugs involved are NSAIDs, antimalarials, psychotropic drugs, Amiodarone, cytotoxic drugs, tetracyclines, and heavy metals such as silver and gold (which must be ingested, not just worn).
Estrogen and progesterone are two of the major factors responsible for catamenial hyperpigmentation of the skin.
Your skin can develop darker patches as the result of excess melanin production, typically caused by skin inflammation, hormone fluctuations, and poor lifestyle choices.
This can cause an overproduction of melanin, which can lead to the formation of dark patches or hyperpigmentation on the skin. Also, under stress, your bodies produce more inflammation, which can lead to increased pigmentation and worsen melasma symptoms.
A change in color perception can be caused by many different eye diseases. Cataracts, glaucoma, retinal disease such as macular degeneration and disease of the optic nerve such as optic neuritis or any other optic nerve problem can cause this.
The Earth's Tilt – A Quick Science Lesson
Our planet, Earth, doesn't stand straight up as it orbits the Sun. Instead, it's slightly tilted at an angle of about 23.5 degrees. This tilt is what causes the different seasons throughout the year, and it's the reason we get more sunlight in summer and less in winter.
The reversibility of skin discoloration depends on the cause. Dermatologists can recommend treatments such as topical creams, laser therapy, or chemical peels based on the specific condition.
Vitiligo occurs when pigment-producing cells (melanocytes) die or stop producing melanin — the pigment that gives your skin, hair and eyes color. The involved patches of skin become lighter or white. It's unclear exactly what causes these pigment cells to fail or die.
Causes of hyperpigmentation include: Skin inflammation (post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation) Use of certain drugs (such as minocycline, certain cancer chemotherapies, and birth control pills) Hormone system diseases such as Addison disease.
The classic dermatologic sign of Addison's disease is diffuse hyperpigmentation of the skin with focal hyperpigmentation of scars, nails, and the oral mucosa.
Eumelanin, on the other hand, is dark brown or black. The ratio between these two types of pigment is what makes the difference in each person's ability to tan. The skin of people with a higher amount of eumelanin will darken faster when exposed to the sun and so they will be more protected from burns.
Body folds, such as the neck and armpits, are another region highly susceptible to discoloration. Hyperpigmentation of the skin can appear dark brown to black, with or without skin tags. And we don't know about you, but we've had some serious dark circles under our eyes at some point.
Some pigmentation disorders affect just patches of skin. Others affect your entire body. If your body makes too much melanin, your skin gets darker. Pregnancy, Addison's disease, and sun exposure all can make your skin darker.
One cause of food-induced skin pigmentation is the chemical psoralen, which increases the risk of age spots and makes the skin more sensitive to UV rays. Psoralen is found in foods like the common fig, parsley, parsnips, limes, and celery.
Drug-induced pigmentation is a form of abnormal skin pigmentation that is caused by drugs through several different mechanisms. Several drugs have associations with pigmentation, including cytotoxic agents, analgesics, anticoagulants, antimicrobials, antiretrovirals, metals, and antiarrhythmic, etc.