No wonder a woman’s body goes through a lot of changes at the time of pregnancy, from feeling nauseous to gaining too much weight. While some women begin to glow and beam with sparkle, others start to look drained and exhausted. A woman may have the choice of how she looks during pregnancy; whether she stay healthy and have a glowing look, or stay exhausted. But she has no control on few other things.

Melasma is one of those things which are caused by hormonal changes, and it is common for pregnant women to develop dark spots on their face during this time. At the time of pregnancy, women get freckled marks around upper lips, nose, cheekbones, and forehead, in the shape of a mask. Although pregnancy is the most common cause of melasma, it is also a result of overexposure to the sun.

Pregnancy stimulates a temporary increase in the amount of melanin produced by your body. Women with darker complexion are more likely to have melasma as compared to women with a lighter complexion. Why? Because your body already produces melanin and the production amount will increase subsequently, making the spots visible.

All the changes in skin due to melasma usually disappear gradually after the delivery of the child as the hormones fall back to its original state, but you can take several precautions to minimise the darkening of the skin :

Use sunscreen
Using an SPF is crucial because exposure to sun triggers melasma, intensifying pigment changes.

Stay hydrated
Drinking enough water will keep the temperature of your skin cool, and prevent dark spots on the skin.

Meditate
Meditation is a cure that can help fight any battle in life. Just relax your body and mind to keep your skin fresh.

Don’t wax
Using wax to remove hair can worsen the case, especially in the areas where you affected.

Stop the stress
Stress is the mother of all the imperfections in life. Stop stressing over melasma as it is a part of pregnancy and will fade off soon.

Call your doctor immediately if you notice changes in skin structure, or pigmentation causes irritation and pain. There are laser treatments for women to get away with the dark spots and reduce the pigmentation.

Only 7% of melasma victims are men while 67% of pregnant women have melasma. While most of the time dark spots fade within a few months or year, with some women, the spots never run off. You should not expect instant results, and it will take months for your skin to get back in its pre-pregnancy colour, you have to be patient with melasma.