If you’re dealing with any sort of skin discoloration, then you know the frustration that can come with it. The first step to fixing this frustration is to figure out what’s causing it!
From there, you can actually ease the issue with natural remedies that are safe and gentle enough to use on red, irritated, or discolored areas of your skin! Make sure to consult with your doctor if your symptoms are severe or uncomfortable, but these natural remedies will help soothe symptoms.
Common Causes of Skin Discoloration
Skin Pigmentation Disorders
Skin pigmentation disorders could be the cause of your frustration. Some of the most common types of skin pigmentation disorders include:
- Post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation: Caused by inflammation as a result of acne or an injury like a wound or a burn. The size and location of the inflammation can vary depending on what caused it.
- Melasma: Commonly caused by hormone changes from medications like birth control or pregnancy. Can also be caused by sun exposure. Appears as brown patches, usually on the face.
- Sunspots: Caused by high amounts of sun exposure over a long period of time. These spots are also known as liver spots or solar lentigines. Sunspots could just look like freckles or they could be large patches of tanned or otherwise brown skin.
- Vitiligo: Caused when the cells that produce melanin (melanocytes) stop working properly. This leads to patches of lighter skin throughout the body and even in the hair.
Skin Rashes
Another common cause of skin discoloration involves skin rashes. Some of the most common types of skin rashes include:
- Rosacea: This skin condition commonly affects the face, causing bumps and redness in the facial blood vessels. It may look like a sunburn or even blushing at first, but it can worsen and be quite severe.
- Psoriasis: This skin condition caused by the immune system leads to raised, red, and scaly patches of skin. The thicker areas of skin can appear silver due to the thickness and texture.
- Contact dermatitis: This is an allergic reaction that occurs due to an irritant or allergen. It appears as a red and itchy rash in an area close to where the contact was made.
- Eczema: This skin condition, also known as atopic dermatitis, causes patches of red skin that may look dry and cracked and feeling itchy due to the allergic reaction. Over time, these patches may experience oozing or form a crust.
- Sunburn: This is our skin’s response to too much sun exposure. It appears as a red and often painful rash that is hot to the touch. Sunburn can take a few hours to appear after exposure and can even occur from exposure indoors or on a cloudy day.
Skin Infections
Increasing in severity, skin discoloration can also be caused by a skin infection. Some of the most common types of skin infections causing discoloration include:
- Ringworm: This fungal infection causes red or silver ring-shaped patches on the skin that may be scaly, dry, or itchy.
- Candidiasis: This fungal infection causes red and itchy skin patches in areas where the skin folds such as the armpits or the groin.
- Tinea versicolor: This fungal infection causes patches of skin to become lighter or darker throughout the body. Although the patches form slowly, they can sometimes merge to form larger patches usually on the trunk, neck, and upper arms.
Skin Cancer
Finally, skin discoloration could be an indication of skin cancer in some instances. That being said, there are several different types of skin cancers that can each appear differently on the skin. Here are the four more common types of skin cancer:
- Actinic keratosis: AKs aren’t actually cancerous yet, they are actually precancerous areas of dry, rough, and scaly skin. AKs may appear as just a single rough bump or an entire patch of peeling skin that may appear pink, yellow, red, or brown when compared to the rest of the skin.
- Basal cell carcinoma: This is the most common type of skin cancer and often appears as flesh-colored or pink skin patches or bumps.
- Squamous cell carcinoma: This is the second most common type of skin cancer and often appears as red bumps, sores, or scaly patches. These spots may heal and then re-open if irritated or disturbed.
- Melanoma: This is the most severe type of skin cancer and may look like an unusual mole or even involve changes to an existing mole in different shades of tan, brown, or even black.
Natural Solutions for Uneven Skin Tone: Remedies to Try at Home
You may need to consult with a doctor to figure out what’s causing your skin discoloration, but once you have a cause, you can move on to how to fix it.
Many people assume that you have to use prescription products with harsh chemicals to fix skin discoloration, but that’s not necessarily true. In fact, natural ingredients in skincare products can be extremely effective in brightening hyperpigmentation caused by everyday damage and environmental stressors.
Here are our favorite natural products for skin discoloration from WOW Skin Science:
- WOW’s Aloe Vera Face Wash: If you have discoloration caused by sun damage, then aloe vera will be your best friend! WOW’s Aloe Vera Face Wash can soothe your skin and refine pores to help promote a more even complexion with barbadensis leaf juice, hyaluronic acid, green tea extract, calendula officinalis extract, and cucumber extract.
- WOW’s Ubtan Face Wash: Get your glow back, and brighten a dull complexion with turmeric, found in WOW’s Ubtan Foaming Face Wash. Ubtan is an ayurvedic staple to give brides a glow before their wedding day! This carefully curated blend features chickpea flour, turmeric, saffron, rose water, almond powder, and sandalwood oil to even out your skin -- dark spots included!
- WOW’s Vitamin C Face Serum: If you have areas of hyperpigmentation, consider something naturally powerful like Vitamin C! A powerful antioxidant, Vitamin C is able to encourage skin cell turnover to brighten dark spots while nourishing the skin. Along with hyaluronic acid and witch hazel, this serum is definitely something that you need in your skincare routine.
Say Goodbye to Skin Discoloration
As you can see, it’s totally possible to combat skin discoloration naturally once you know what’s going on. It may not happen overnight, but with some patience and persistence, you can gain the confidence to feel comfortable in your own skin!
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