I'm the most covered-up person I know. I flee from the sun like it's a disease. It's four in the afternoon and I have my curtains drawn. I cover up ALL the time. The only fault is that I don't use sunscreen when I go out.
I've noticed that by about Week 2 or 3 of using The Regimen (currently in Week 4) my skin has gotten noticeably darker. I've tried exfoliating, but the my skin keeps shedding constantly that exfoliating seems to be making no difference. What's going on? I have (well, at least I used to) a natural alabaster skin tone and I WANT IT BACK.
I would say its got nothing to do with sun exposure, its just a natural reaction most people's skin has to bp. It usually settles down after a couple of months as your face adjusts to the bp.
Don't exfoliate your skin though, you are just adding to irritation which may cause your skin to darken further until it adjusts.