No one likes to deal with skin problems, whether it's acne, age spots, or blemishes caused by sun-damaged skin. From teenagers to adults forced to deal with occasional bouts of acne to those who suffer from chronic skin conditions such as melasma, freckles or eczema or psoriasis, skin care is a serious topic. Natural aging also takes its unwelcome toll on skin, and many people don't take advantage of both natural and cosmetically designed products that may relieve and reduce such conditions.
Having acne does not mean you can scrub the pimples away with heavy-duty cleansers and they will disappear. In fact, cleaning your face too much can actually make it worse since the oil production will increase, causing more of a breakout. Find an acne treatment that will do the job, but not make things worse in the process.
While people who suffer from acne may need to find an acne treatment through a doctor or over the counter, there are things that can be done individually that help prevent further breakouts, or reduce the amount of oil that causes blemishes. The key to healthy skin is to keep it clean, without over drying and keep from spreading unwanted bacteria and oil to the face.
Melasma is a skin condition that causes darkened areas of skin to appear on the cheeks, forehead or above the lips of many people, especially those going through pregnancy or menopause. This change is caused by hormones and in most cases, will fade after hormone levels have stabilized. However, this might take months, even years, so patience is very important in its treatment.
Melasma is known as hyperpigmentation, which is, quite literally, an increase in the amount of skin pigmentation that is most often seen as tan or light brown patches of skin, usually on the face. While women predominantly suffer from this type of skin condition, men are also known to occasionally suffer from it as well.
Some people only have a few freckles, while others have zillions. What exactly is a freckle and what can you do about them? A freckle is a spot, usually light tan or brown in color, that is made up of melanin, which is a pigment found in skin cells. Usually, people with fair skin tend to have more freckles than darker skinned people. If you are fair skinned and have red hair, you may be predisposed genetically to have freckles.
For many, freckles are caused by exposure to the sun, though some people inherit the predisposition from their parents. Finding freckles on babies is rare, and while some adults develop freckles, by far the largest group to experience freckling is children.
Because small bodies don't typically produce enough melanin to protect the skin from bright, intense sunlight, the body activates the skin cells to produce more melanin in order to protect it. In most cases, freckles fade with age, though fair-skinned people may experience freckling throughout life, since their bodies don't generally produce enough melanin either. Basically, the lighter skin you have, the more freckles you can expect.
An age spot is a darkened spot of skin that is usually located where the skin has been exposed to sun over time, and is caused by an increase in pigment in certain areas of the skin. As people age, their skin becomes less supple and elastic, and fragile. At around 40 years old, age spot development becomes common, and are most often found on the back of the hands, forearms, shoulders, face and forehead, any area where there is a high exposure to sunlight. While harmless and painless, they do cause sufferers a great deal of consternation when trying to conceal them. In most cases, the appearance of an age spot is permanent.
Have you noticed that as you age, your skin seems to tear or bruise easier than ever before? This natural aging condition causes skin cells to become more susceptible to ultraviolet light. Keep in mind that certain locations where perfume or cosmetics are worn may also appear darker. The first sign that an age spot or liver spot will develop is a patch of skin that starts to take on a different color than surrounding tissues, usually light brown to dark brown, although some people experience an almost black patch of skin growing, usually on the arms and hands.
