What Causes Skin Discoloration?

 Skin discolorations mainly refer to any changes in skin pigmentation that affects your natural skin tone. Skin discolorations can cause many different effects such as your skin might turn darker, yellowish, grayish, whitish, lighter, reddish, orange or bluish in color. Normal skin has cells that are known as melanocytes, these cells are responsible for producing melanin which determines the color of your skin.

Depending on what your skin type is, skin discolorations come in many kinds. Some of the most common skin include the following:

Example of post-acne hyperpigmentation

Hypopigmentation - This is also known as a type of white skin discoloration and is the result of a loss of melanin skin pigment. A person who has this particular skin condition will usually have one part of their skin lighter in comparison to their normal skin tone and color. A great example of hypopigmentation is tinea versicolor and vitiligo skin condition.

Hyperpigmentation - This particular skin condition is characterized by dark marks on skin. Its mainly caused by the presence of overly active malanocytes that in turn work to produce excessive melanin. Exposure to the sun can actually worsen hyperpigmentation by further darkening the already dark marks on the skin. 

Cyanosis -  This particular skin conditon results in a bluish color developing in the skin because of a lack of consistent oxygen supplied in the blood. It can also happen because of an abnormal hemoglobin or because of excess toxins in the blood.

Redness - This is caused by the reddening of the skin and usually happens either on the face and neck or the whole body. It can be due to broken blood vessels, sunburn, eczema, a viral infection, rash or fever. It usually indicates a sign of some form of skin irritation.

Orange Skin - This is more likely to happen in infants especially once their diet switches from a liquid diet to a solid diet. The orange skin may be caused by excessive intake of carotene-rich foods . 

Yellow Skin - Yellow skin is normally a sing of jaundice or it can also indicate a severe liver problem. If your skin color develops a yellow tint, its very important to seek out medical attention for the proper diagnosis by a medial professional.

 What causes skin pigmentation

Skin discoloration are mainly caused by many different things. As a matter of fact each and every one on the skin discolorations listed above are the result of some form of abnormality in the body's own metabolism. Now onto the most common causes for skin pigment change:

Diseases: Some diseases can lead to a change in skin pigment. For example yellow skin is usually associated with liver disease and jaundice, white skin is caused by albinism, paleness can be caused by anemia, and heart disease can turn the skin blue (cyanotic). 

Medications - Abnormal changes within the skin can also be the side effects of medication. For example, antimalaria drugs and antibiotics such as tetracycline can result in hyperpigmentation in some people. In most people the treatment for rheumatoid arthiritis (minocycline), usually causes the darkening of skin color as part of the most common side effects.

Pregnancy -In women with already dark skin, pregnancy can result in hyperpigmentation or melasma because of the hormone levels which also cause an increase in melanocyte acivity. In most cases melasma fades after the child is born.

Diet - Recent research has reason to believe that a person's skin color also depends on what they eat. The skin's own sensitivity goes up with the intake of a diet rich in lime, parsley or any other foods that have psoralens. Skin usually becomes more sensitive to the sun, which can result in further skin discoloration.

* In addition to the above mentioned cause of skin discoloration, changes in skin pigment and color can also be due to extreme climate ( very cold or very hot), aging, menopause as well as genetics.

Symptoms and Treatment

Keep in mind that any abnormal changes in your skin tone could be a symptom of a serious medical condition. As already outlined, the symptoms of your very own skin discoloration really depend on the cause. Any therapy or treatment you seek is really based on the causes and type of skin discoloration you have.

When in doubt, its always best to double check with a qualified medical professional/dermatologist in order to obtain the proper diagnosis and treatment.  The most important thing to also remember is to always wear sunscreen with a high SPF whenever you go outdoors during the daytime.You should always wear sunscreen even when its cloudy, its when UV rays are the most intense, even if you can't feel the heat of the sun on you!
 By wearing sunscreen, you'll help prevent your skin from premature aging, wrinkles, further hyperpigmentation, sunspots and most importantly, you'll help prevent your chances of getting skin cancer.

The Sunscreen I recommend is Eltamd UV Clear SPF 46, 48-Gram 1.7 oz. Its really the best there is out there in terms of being able to fully protect skin that's prone to hyperpigmentation. If your skin is very shiny, oily and acne-prone this is one of the BEST sunscreens you can get for your money without that gross, greasy, heavy feeling you get with most sunscreens out in the market nowadays.