Changes in skin color, called melasma, is the result of increased melanin production or hyperpigmentation on localized patches of the skin, especially on the face. Find out what causes skin discoloration and how you can battle those brown spots.

2 Main Causes of Brown Spots

• Sun Damage. Unprotected sun exposure can cause areas of skin discoloration. These discolored patches have many names: from solar lentigenes, freckles, sun spots, age spots to liver spots, but they basically mean the same thing.
  Sun spots appear as small brown patches of freckles on fairer skins. For darker skins, they emerge as small patches of ashen-grey discoloration.
  
  
• Hormones. Patches of skin discoloration can also be caused by birth control pills, pregnancy or estrogen replacement therapy. These are known as hormone masking or pregnancy masking.

What Are Those Brown Spots?
Freckles are small brown spots scattered mainly across the cheeks and are common in fair-skinned Asians who sunburn easily.
Liver Spots are caused by over-exposure to the sun and are larger and darker than freckles, often with irregular edges.
Melasma are light to dark brown blotches of pigmentation that commonly develop slowly over the forehead and cheeks. Melasma may be caused by hormone changes.