This time of year a disturbing thing starts to happen for many of us. Those brown blotches that looked so much better during the winter start to look worse again. If that's the case, you may have melasma. How to tell?

Brown spots from sun damage or age are usually smaller - up to the size of a quarter and roundish. Melasma is usually larger, brown blotches with irregular borders. Melasma almost always starts off with hormones, usually from oral contraceptives or pregnancy. For many the melasma goes away after delivery or after discontinuing OCPs.  But in some, it continues on into an annoying, sometimes disfiguring chronic problem.

No skin type is immune. If you have melasma, you'll need a good dermatologist. Make an appointment today. Over the next few weeks, I'll be talking about what can be done to treat it.

See Dr. Irwin's article on Melasma - In Depth