What should you know about burn dark spots on face?

When facial skin is inflamed or injured, pigment-producing cells may release extra melanin. The mark can look brown, grey, or darker than the surrounding skin and may remain after soreness and peeling have settled. Sun exposure can deepen the contrast. A clinician may also consider melasma, sun spots, tinea versicolor, or another cause if the colour pattern does not match the burn, appears in separate areas, or keeps changing.

Colour alone cannot confirm the cause. The depth of the burn, your natural skin tone, medicines, and whether the surface is still open all affect the assessment.

Do not pick peeling skin or scrub the mark. Use a bland moisturiser once the surface has closed, avoid fragranced products, and protect the face from sunlight with shade, clothing, and a suitable broad-spectrum sunscreen. Delay peels, lasers, and brightening products until a clinician confirms that the barrier has recovered; treating inflamed skin too early can worsen pigment.

Seek prompt care if the burn is still open, increasingly painful, swollen, warm, draining, or affecting the eyelid or eye. Arrange a dermatology review for a spot that bleeds, crusts, forms a firm lump, changes quickly, or does not fit the original injury. New facial pigment with widespread rash or medicine-related symptoms also warrants assessment.

Ask whether the mark is post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation, when active treatment can begin, and which ingredients are safe for your skin tone. Discuss whether a chemical peel, skin brightening treatment, or picosecond laser treatment is appropriate, including the possibility of further irritation or darkening.