Contraceptives
While melasma is known as the mask of pregnancy, and it’s far more likely to appear to those who are pregnant, the same thing can occur to those trying to avoid pregnancy. Many types of contraceptives contain hormones such as estrogen, which is well-known to affect the melanocyte cells in the epidermis. The result is an increased overall chance to get melasma, which can be somewhat ironic for women who are trying to avoid the skin disorder and are predisposed to it. Birth control has a chance of giving women melasma, and pregnancy also has a chance of giving melasma.
While hormonal birth control can cause melasma, there are other types of contraception where you don’t need to tinker with hormones. That said, the barrier type of contraceptive is often less effective than hormonal birth control, so it’s up to you to figure out which one you would prefer. At the very least, melasma has no effects on the body other than slightly dark skin around the face, though it can cause people to be self-conscious. The odds of getting melasma through birth control is often low enough where women are okay with the risk.
