See Spot Go: A Woman Of Color’s Guide To Skin Discoloration

One morning, you wake up, and they're there: strange little freckles you've never seen before. Oh, they're not new. They've just been lying in wait for the perfectly inopportune moment to make an appearance on your face. And, what starts off as one tiny spot can quickly go oh-so wrong if you're not careful, no matter your complexion. As a woman of color, I've struggled with this issue for years and can tell you firsthand that chasing spots is rough if you don't know what you're doing.

Aside from the obvious problem of something small becoming bigger — which is always disconcerting — discoloration can be very challenging for gals of the brown-skinned variety. For starters, your melanin-deprived friends might assume pocks on dark skin wouldn't be as noticeable, but that's not necessarily the case. You see spot. And, you want spot out. Now.

To help shed some light on the situation, we looked to board-certified plastic surgeon Dr. Haideh Hirmand. Click ahead for her advice on just how to end the discoloration drama. I'll be right there with you.