Pregnancy
Melasma is often called the mask of pregnancy, as it is most likely to happen to pregnant women. The reason why pregnant women get the disorder more often is due to the increased production of the hormones progesterone and estrogen. Both of these hormones are thought to react with the melanocytes and cause them to produce more melanin, resulting in melasma. The interesting thing about melasma occurring during pregnancy is there is a very high chance that the skin disorder disappears once the mother gives birth. Once the body returns to normal levels, the darker patches will likely fade away.
While it can be somewhat stressful for those who are already pregnant to get a skin disorder, simply know that it is a relatively common occurrence and has no risk to either the mother or the baby. It’s not like other situations concerning melasma where it takes a long time for the darker patches to disappear. Not only is it completely harmless—which means cancer can be ruled out—but it will also fade after the pregnancy. Overall, the mask of pregnancy is one of the more harmless versions of an already harmless disorder.
