There is a pigment melanin in the body which is responsible for the lighter or darker skin in people. This pigment is secreted by a special group of cells in the body.
The release of melanin is increased due to exposure in the sun. This is referred to as tan. Long hours in the sun makes you dark due to the pigment melanin. This is called pigmentation.
Pigmentation makes your skin look dark, patchy, botchy and dull. The production of melanin in large amounts is called hyper pigmentation. There are pigmentation disorders such as vitiligo and melasma or hyper pigmentation.
In my clinical practice most clients come with black/brown patches on the forehead and cheeks. In Chinese medicine it is also called as Liver spots. liver spots (lentigines) are usually caused by accumulated sun damage, and customarily appear after age 30. In ladies these spots tends to worsen before menstruation. When liver qi stagnates, it causes blood to stagnate leaving dark spots and discoloration on the