Dark spots on the skin are caused by trauma or inflammation. Treating them requires us to reduce & prevent inflammation in the skin.
I’ll go over what causes dark spots, how to treat & prevent them
What causes dark spots
Dark spots are caused by inflammation of the skin. This inflammation can be the result of pimples or trauma on the skin. 
When there's an injury on the skin our immune response is triggered and part of our immune response is inflammation. The inflammation allows for healing to take place & part of your skin healing itself is that it produces more melanin to protect itself.
This is why dark spots are referred to as post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation.
Typically it's pimples that cause dark spots in most people. Pimples result in inflammation on the skin & if you squeeze or pick at the pimples the inflammation becomes worse.
How To Treat Dark Spots
To treat dark spots effectively, you have to treat the cause of the dark spots... inflammation.
If pimples are causing the dark spots, you have to clear the pimples and make sure that you're managing them effectively. To treat our pimples or acne effectively go to this episode here
By treating the pimples first, you're essentially reducing inflammation. There's no point in treating the dark spots but your skin is still creating more... right?!
Make sure you avoid any skincare ingredients that are going to cause inflammation or sensitivity on your skin. So avoid fragrances, essential oils, denatured alcohol and harsh cleansers.
Exfoliation is key when getting rid of dark spots. The pigmentation we see on our skin tends to lie deeper in the skin, it's not superficial. To lighten pigmentation, we have to lift it up & out the skin as we're lightening it.
So every time we exfoliate, we're getting rid of a layer of dead skin cells & exposing the layer underneath. A chemical exfoliator is better than a granular exfoliator when it comes to pigmentation.
The exfoliating acids that are great for dark spots are mandelic acid, glycolic acid, kojic acid, lactic acid & azelaic acid. These brighten the skin as they exfoliate.
When there's inflammation on our skin, there's an enzyme called tyrosinase that tells your melanocytes to make more melanin. Part of treating dark spots is to make sure that this enzyme does not function well, if at all... so we need a tyrosinase inhibitor.
Skincare ingredients that are tyrosinase inhibitors are Vitamin C, Oligo peptides, Alpha Arbutin, Tranexamic acid, Kojic acid & Azelaic acid.
Always include sunscreen in your skincare routine when treating dark spots. The sun will make the dark spots darker because it will create more inflammation.
Shop your favourite products here