Many women experience a dark upper lip discoloration at some point in their life. It is most commonly caused by a change in hormones or sun exposure. Some women experience only a discoloration on their upper lip and others get dark splotches over their cheeks, forehead and nose as well. Men can also develop a dark upper lip, but it is much more common in women.
Sun Exposure
Sun exposure can cause melasma in the skin. Medline Plus describes melasma as a dark-skin discoloration affecting areas on the face that have been overexposed to the sun. Use sunscreen or avoid the sun to protect your skin form developing melasma. Topical creams or chemical peels can help reduce a dark upper lip due to sun exposure.
Upper Lip Hair
Many women grow varying amounts of hair on their upper lip. To remove the hair, they may try hair removal creams, chemicals, tweezing or waxing. These treatments may remove the hair but can also leave a discoloration on the sensitive upper lip skin. If you have hair on your upper lip and do not remove it, the upper lip can appear darker than the rest of your face due to the hair.
Pregnancy
During pregnancy, about 70 percent of women, according to the American Academy of Dermatology, develop what is referred to as the 'mask of pregnancy'. It is darken pigmentation of the skin on the face affecting the upper lip, cheeks, nose and forehead. Hormones released during pregnancy cause hyper pigmentation on certain areas of the body. Do not try to bleach or lighten your skin while you are pregnant.
Hormone Replacement Therapy
Similar to the 'mask of pregnancy', women receiving hormonal replacement therapy may endure hyper-pigmentation. The influx of hormones causes the discoloration, and this can usually be treated with skin bleaching lotions prescribed by a dermatologist.
Birth Control
Birth control affects hormone levels in the body, so, like pregnancy and HRT, it can cause discoloration on the upper lip. Consider switching birth control methods as a cure for hyper-pigmentation caused by birth control or use a skin bleaching cream if your doctor recommends it.
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