After my pregnancy, I noticed dark patches on my cheeks. Will this pigmentation go away on its own? Do I need treatment for it?

Pregnancy may often cause dark patches in different parts of body like abdomen and face. Most of them are hormonal and resolve post pregnancy without any treatment. However, distinct brown to blue patches on cheeks may be caused by melasma. This disease often occurs in pregnancy or menopause (when there is a hormonal shift in the body) and can persist indefinitely. The first step to treating melasma is protection from UV light and sunlight because that is the most common trigger. Avoiding direct sun exposure and religiously using a sunscreen of SPF 30-50 or more can stop it from worsening and rarely even decrease the pigmentation. Maximum cases, however, need treatment after pregnancy. Multiple lightening agents like hydroquinone, glycolic acid, kojic acid etc are available to apply in topical creams, lotions etc as first line therapy. Procedural treatments include chemical peels with glycolic acid, phenol etc and laser as a third line therapy. You should consult a dermatologist for further management. Melasma can be a recurrent and stubborn disease which refuses to go away completely even after long periods of treatment.