Brown spots on hands overnight: 9 Causes, Remedies

Sometimes we wake up noticing some minor to alarming changes in our skin. It could be acne, bumps, swelling, wrinkles, age spots, redness of the skin, etc. It is common to see the development of the brown spots on hands overnight.

Skin is the primary indicator of an underlying condition. Most of you would have developed tiny brown spots on hands.

It is also called as hyperpigmentation, which means darkening of the skin. These brown spots may appear at any part of the body from face to legs and toes. You can easily witness the onset of brown spots on hands overnight in face, neck, hands, and fingers.

The coloring pigment called melanin determines the color of your skin. While the melanin level increases or decreases due to various conditions, from the use of a laptop to wrong lingerie, brown spots on hands overnight is an outcome of the melanin level in your body. Any health problem, which silently breeds in your body impacts the melanin and causes the dark spots.

Dark skinned people have a lot of melanin in their body. More melanin means darker skin and vice versa. So any minor change in the health also leads to the development of dark spots on hands or legs.

Remember, when you notice the brown spots on hands overnight, it doesn’t mean you developed the spots overnight, in just a few hours. So many dark spots or brown spots on hands overnight are an indication of an underlying problem. Let us find out the causes of the brown spots appearing on skin overnight, how to get rid of these dark spots, etc.

Causes of Brown Spots on Hands Overnight:

Exposure to Sun:

This is the major cause of the sudden onset of the brown spots on hands overnight. Too much sun exposure impacts your skin and body in many ways. While there may be no visible changes in your skin with constant sun exposure, overnight you may notice the appearance of the dark spots on hand.

Signs of Aging:

Aging is the major cause of brown spots on hand overnight. The dark spots on hands can be flat spots or appear as raised spots. It is an indication of the aging signs, in most cases.

It is not a major of a concern. When you age, your body undergoes a lot of changes. It also influences your skin. In fact, skin is the major part of the body that shows the signs of aging. Dark spots are like wrinkles.

These are also called as age spots or liver spots. Generally, these dark spots appear overnight on face, neck, or hands.

As stated above, aging impact the hormonal production. Melanin is not an exception. Age spots are harmless. It doesn’t cause any discomfort. Except for the cosmetic reasons, the dark spots on hand or neck need no treatment.

Age spots are common in people aged 40 plus years.

UV Exposure:

Other than sun exposure, exposure to UV light or rays or radiation also causes brown spots on hands overnight. This happens commonly under the following circumstances.

• Laser treatment for cosmetic or skin problems
• Light therapy for skin problems – this may happen after a few days of treatment
• Accidental exposure to UV rays or light
• Excessive use of tanning beds

Exposure to UV rays generally causes brown spots on fingers.

Light Bulbs:

You may laugh at it. The light from the bulbs triggers the splotches on your skin, which eventually turns into brown spots on hands overnight.

The light causes pigmentation similar to exposure of the UV light. Not all lights lead to brown spots on fingers or hands.

Hormones:

A light drop or rise in hormones makes dramatic changes in your body, which may be good or bad for you. Some hormones have a direct impact on your skin.

For instance, increase in the levels of estrogen causes muddy splotches. These are called melasma. In fact, the hormonal flare-ups make you susceptible to melasma. However, the melasma flares up with the sun exposure.

So, if you are not fully covered, or wear sleeveless, and expose you to the sun, you are prone to brown spots on hands overnight.

Hormones fluctuate for many reasons, which include the following:

• Pregnancy
• Menstruation
• Postpartum (until the body gets back to the normal routine)
• Certain foods affect the hormonal balance
• Birth control pills
• Antidepressants

Rough Scrubs:

Scrubbing is good for you. It exfoliates the skin, removes the dead cells, and keeps your skin young. However, overuse of scrubs or rough scrubbing affects your skin. It causes inflammation, irritation, and may lead to brown spots on hands overnight.

Skin Cancer:

On rarest occasions, brown spots on hands indicate the onset of the skin cancer.

There is an interesting scenario that conflicts with the skin cancer and skin pigment melanin. People with darker skin have more melanin. They are prone to development of dark spots on hands. On the other hand, the risk of skin cancer in dark-skinned people is very low. Fair-skinned people are more prone to the risk of developing skin cancer.

However, brown spots are not only the sign of the skin cancer. Many signs accompany it.

Poor Liver Function:

Every internal organ connects with an external organ. In this context, the liver is connected to the skin. Dysfunction or damage to liver manifests in the skin. For instance, jaundice, hepatitis, alcohol consumption etc. affects the liver and depicts through the skin.

Poor function of the liver causes dark or brown spots on hands overnight. Sometimes, it also causes brown spots on legs.

If you are healthy, if you have limited sun exposure, and if you develop brown spots on hands, fingers, legs, or toes, it is an indication of the poor liver function.

Iron and Vitamin B12 Deficiency:

Vitamin B12 and Iron are two essential nutrients responsible for red blood cells, hemoglobin content, in our body. Deficiency of vitamin B12 or iron may also cause brown spots.

Treatment and Remedies for Brown Spots on Hands Overnight:

In a majority of cases, the growth of brown spots on hands overnight is not a serious concern. As stated above, it is harmless and does not need any treatment. Unless it causes a cosmetic problem, you can ignore the condition.

However, it is essential that you should have the basic knowledge about the cause of the brown spots on hands overnight. Since it associates with liver function, make sure you are healthy.

Being a case of hyperpigmentation, you can try skin lightening remedies and treatment to get rid of the dark spots, black spots and brown spots on hands, legs, neck, and face.

If you are skeptical about the growth of dark spots on hand, don’t hesitate to visit a dermatologist.

Home Remedies for Brown Spots on Hands Overnight:

There are many skin lightening and bleaching ingredients you can try without worrying about the side effects.

• Salt Scrub – Gently rub pink salt or black salt on the dark spots. It exfoliates the skin and removes the darker skin.
• Lemon Juice – Lemon is the natural bleaching agent. Rub the fresh lemon rind to bleach away the dark spots. When you apply lemon, remember to control your sun exposure.
• Honey and Vinegar – It makes a good exfoliating agent, which gently removes the darker skin.
• If you are sure that dark spots on hand are caused due to sun exposure, limit the sun exposure. Apply Sunscreens with a minimum of 30 SPF on the sun-exposed areas.
• Tomatoes make the natural sunblock. You can rub the tomatoes on the splotched areas.

Creams to Get Rid of the Brown Spots on Hands Overnight:

You can find a lot of skin lightening and fading creams to lighten the brown spots on hands.

• SPF 50+ sunscreen
• Retin A dark spots remover cream
• Tretinoin black spots removing the cream
• Hydroquinone 4% cream

Apart from these, you can also get prescription creams from dermatologists.

Treatments to Remove the Brown Spots on Hands Overnight:

When you are in dire need to remove these brown spots immediately, you can get clinical treatments.

• Chemical peel – Removes the top layer of the spotted area by application of the chemicals.
• Laser therapy – passes laser light on the spots, which lightens the dark spots as well as remove the skin. You might need multiple sessions to lighten the spots.
• Light therapy – similar to laser therapy, where UV rays are applied on the skin. It may also need multiple sessions.
• Micro-dermabrasion – Exfoliates the dark spots through cold nozzles. It is an instant skin exfoliation, which facilitates the growth of fresh cells quickly.

Among the above mentioned clinical treatments, microdermabrasion works quick, safer, and is cheaper. A chemical peel may not be suitable to apply on all places.

In worst cases, your doctor may prescribe topical steroids to apply on the brown spots.