High Estrogen Level Causes Melasma?

Great question. Melasma is a very common asquired dyscromia that occurs only in the sun-exposed areas . It is worsened by sun exposure, pregnancy ( where it is called chloasma or the mask of pregnancy), oral contraceptives, and certain anti-epileptic drugs like Dilantiin. It is particularly common among Latinos and Asians. Melasma is more apparent during the summer months attesting to the role of sol. Curiously, although estrogen has long been felt to be central to the cause of... more

Serum levels of estrogen do not correspond to melasma occurence, however exogenous estrogen from foods and medicine can stimulate melanocytes. I would begin Melaquin AM and Melaquin PM for the melasma and remove any estrogen loads you may have.

There are some reasons to believe that any alteration in the progersterone/estrogen ratio can cause or aggravate irregular pigmentation as is seen with melasma and chloasma. Clearly, exogenous forms of estrogen are known to trigger this condition, so it would make sense that endogenously high levels may do the same.