These pigmentation problems are caused by too much or too little melanin, the natural pigment which determines skin colour. This can show in hyperpigmentation – areas of dark skin, or hypopigmentation where there’s a loss of skin colour.
What causes uneven skin tone? Uneven skin tone has 3 main causes. Understanding them is the first step in dealing with it.
1. Sun exposure
Exposure to UVA light is a major culprit in causing uneven skin tone, causing brown spots – also known as age spots or liver spots – to appear. This is because of the over-production of melanin, caused by sun stimulation. But sun exposure can also cause areas of hypopigmentation – loss of skin colour, resulting in white spots.
What can you do about it?
UVA rays are present all year round, not just when the sun is shining, so make protecting against them part of your everyday beauty routine. Use broad spectrum products with UVA as well as UVB protection. To check that UVA protection is included, look for the UVA logo.
La Roche Posay’s Pigmentclar, is skin tone correcting daily moisturiser that includes UVA and UVB protection. It’s developed to reduce the appearance of dark spots and pigment irregularities. As well as making the complexion more luminous, it protects the skin for greater resistance against dark spots.
2. Hormones
Changes in hormone levels cause your body to produce excess melanin, leading to dark spots. If you’re pregnant, going through the menopause or taking the contraceptive pill, you may be more prone to skin discolouration. This discolouration often takes the form of a darkening of the skin on the nose, cheeks, foreheads and upper lip.
Darkened skin in pregnancy often fades or disappears once the hormones level out. The same may also happen when you stop taking the contraceptive pill – but sometimes it can be permanent.
What can you do about it?
Carefully applied makeup can help create the appearance of a more even skin tone. Pick the right colour for your skin, and always use a primer. Also, apply your concealer before your foundation.
3. Scarring
Scarring from blemishes is another cause of uneven skin tone. This happens because the body produces more melanin as part of the healing process.
What can you do about it?
Again, makeup can help. Hydreane BB Cream from La Roche-Posay contains mineral pigments that melt in the skin for a unified and even complexion.
La Rochy-Posay offers several other products that can help with uneven skin tone. Pigmentclar Serum evens out the complexion visibly, reducing dark spots. And the look of dark circles in the eye area can be visibly reduced by Pigmentclar Eyes
