Melasma is a relatively common skin disorder that, in large part, affects women more than men. Loosely translated, the term melasma means the black spot. It is characterized by darker-colored patches on one’s skin, typically around both sides of the face. Melasma is often mistaken for a type of skin cancer, but the disorder isn’t cancerous. The patches are flat and affect both sides of the face. Interestingly enough, the disorder itself is entirely harmless, as there are no symptoms of pain outside of the patches of skin, but it can make some people feel more self-conscious.
Melasma isn’t necessarily a stressful disorder to have, and it tends to come like clockwork based on some of the causes below. It is also known as the mask of pregnancy, which we’ll get into with the various causes of melasma. Overall, it is a skin disorder mostly classified as harmless, but there are some forms of treatment based on an understanding of the causes. If you’re interested in the many potential causes of melasma for men and women alike (though more on the latter), keep reading below.
Gender at Birth
As stated in the introduction, melasma is a skin condition that affects females more than males. 90% of melasma cases belong to the former, which is why the gender at birth matters when looking into the various causes of melasma. Only a small percentage of melasma sufferers are men, while women are much more likely to get it. The fortunate thing is that despite how common the disorder can be for women, the only thing they get is slightly darker patches around both sides of the face. There are times when the patches differ in color and are much darker than usual, but melasma is generally harmless.
It’s true that some people might be more self-conscious due to the appearance of such patches, but there are some forms of treatment that can help. The important thing to note is that melasma is not cancerous, and only has an aesthetic effect. Otherwise, it’s perfectly fine and some cases even go away on their own with some best-practice methods. That said, there are situations where melasma is permanent, but it is a far better scenario than skin cancer.
