Uneven skin tone

Unfortunately, quite a few reasons can lead to uneven skin tone, which in turn results in both an unhealthy and tired-looking complexion.

Known as hyperpigmentation, uneven skin tone is most often the result of an overproduction of melanin. Liver spots, mottled brown patches and large freckles on the face, chest and hands affecting millions of women.

UVA light from the sun is probably responsible for causing flat brown lesions known individually as lentigo develop over a period of 20 to 30 years.

This means that most people with this problem probably weren’t using sunscreen with adequate UVA protection in the past.

Liver spots on the hands and face are also due to damage caused by ultraviolet radiation. Using a high factor sunscreen on exposed skin from an early age is the best prevention. Not all skin pigmentation problems are due to the sun however.

Chloasma, which appears like a butterfly shaped darkening of the skin across the upper lip, nose, cheeks and forehead, can be caused by elevated levels of hormones during pregnancy in some women, or even when a woman starts taking the contraceptive pill.