When it comes to black skin care, dealing with those dreaded dark spots seems to be one of our biggest issues. It doesn’t matter if you are light-skinned or dark-skinned those dark spots just seem to appear.

Where Do They Come From?

The dark spots we see are from excess pigment that can form in (3) different ways:

* sun damage

* hormonal changes such as melasma

* inflammatory processes called post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation (PIH) in the form of dark marks that follow healed acne or trauma to the skin

* Melasma is the condition where the skin darkens due to increased estrogen-type hormones during pregnancy or when taking birth control pills or hormone replacement. The condition is exacerbated with exposure to sunlight so it is crucial to wear sun protection daily

Now I’m sure we have all seen those nasty souvenirs that are left over after a pimple has gone away or a cut has healed and the dark spot is left hanging around. That is what we call post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation. This is very common in black skin and can be quite annoying.

You may get a pimple that comes and goes but then you are left to deal with the dark spot that remains that can last for months at a time. Read the rest of this entry »