Taking good care of your skin would mean also paying attention to pigmentation because pigmentation of the skin is a common issue, especially where sun exposure can exacerbate the problem. This is a result of either too much or too little melanin in the skin. So your skin could either have light patches or dark patches.
Skin pigmentation can occur in anyone – male or female, young or old. Women in the age group of 20 to 40 are reportedly more prone to pigmentation. Particularly, this is said to be true of those women who have just passed through pregnancy and women using oral contraceptives or hormone therapy.
One of the most common types of pigmentation is melasma. This is commonly seen in females and as brown patches. It is due to hormonal problems and increases on sun exposure. Other common forms are birth marks, freckles, moles, etc. Patchy shades of the skin could be due to sun exposure. Known as photomelanosis, this is increased pigmentation which occurs on parts of the skin that are exposed, such as the face, neck and back.  This kind of pigmentation can be avoided or not allowed to increase if sunscreen is used regularly and methodically. In fact, sun protection is also important for premature ageing. So, sun protection creams can apparently prevent pigmentation, ageing and skin cancer.
Therefore, before leaving the house it is advisable to apply a sun protection cream. It should be a minimum SPF15 for the least and minimal amount of sun exposure. But those who need to be out very frequently and for long hours, then for them it is recommended that they use sunscreen with SPF30 and above.
A person should use this cream 20 minutes before going out. This should be applied around the eyes, nose and all areas of the face. Regular usage of this is said to reduce photo-damage to the skin and also might possibly reduce incidence of malignant melanoma.