Dear MIRIAM: TAN'S SO PATCHY.

Byline: Dr MIRIAM STOPPARD

Dear MIRIAM I'VE been taking HRT for four years and I've never felt better, but my face has started to go patchy in the sun. Is there any connection?

Over the last couple of years it has tanned very unevenly and I get brown patches, particularly down the sides of my cheeks.

Could this be the HRT and what should I do to avoid it? I don't really want to wear a heavy camouflage make-up in hot weather.

I THINK you've developed chloasma, which could be down to the HRT. It's most commonly seen in pregnancy, when it's called the mask of pregnancy, and results in such patches of pigmentation. Perfumes can also cause chloasma.

Increased pigmentation in the skin in pregnancy is a result of the high levels of the hormones oestrogen and progesterone.

Women taking the oral contraceptive pill or on HRT sometimes develop a similar condition, because similar hormones are contained in these products.

As your dark and light patches look more prominent when you get sun-tanned, my advice is to avoid the sun, and to wear a total sun-block and a hat whenever you go out in it.