Symptoms

The symptoms of melasma include dark, irregularly shaped patches on sun-exposed areas of the face. Tan to brown patches indicate that the majority of pigment is in the epidermis (the outer-most layer of skin visible to the eye); blue or black patches indicate that the majority of pigment is in the dermis (the middle layer of our skin).

The distribution occurs in one of three patterns:

• centrofacial (across the centre of the face)
• malar (over the cheeks)
• mandibular (over the lower jaw)