Pigmentation of the skin can happen due to a number of reasons, from sun exposure to hormonal changes. A good skin specialist can help identify the type of pigmentation you have through a detailed consultation and analysis.
Some of these types of pigmentation include:
1. Melasma
Melasma is a condition wherein freckle-like spots appear on the skin either due to sun exposure or pregnancy. This condition is often tricky to treat, keeping in mind that treatment can make the pigmentation worse in some cases. By analysing your skin better, our dermatologists can help identify the right treatment for your melasma.
2. Vitiligo
Vitiligo is a skin condition wherein the lack of melanin causes patches to appear on the skin. While there is no cure for the condition, treatment on the skin that isn’t pigmented can help make the difference less obvious.
3. Lentigines
These are spots that look quite similar to freckles. However, they vastly differ from each other. Where one is a result of melanin increase, the other is due to melanocytes, which is an increase in the number of cells that produce melanin.
Lentigo can be both a result of sun exposure and something that is already present at the time of birth. Lentigines have many forms, and, therefore, may have different treatment options. Your dermatologist can recommend the right treatment option in your case through a thorough investigation.
4. Birthmarks
Birthmarks can be both vascular and pigmented. Treating birthmarks requires a number of considerations in order to make sure the area around the birthmark is left undisturbed. Further, the nature of the birthmarks plays a major role in determining what kind of treatment would best suit in order to treat it.
5. Cafe au lait spots
These are so-called owing to the colour of the pigmentation. Cafe au lait spots are either dark or light brown in colour and are often caused due to genetic conditions. More often than not, these can be seen in babies or in children.
6. Port-wine stain
Port-wine stains usually occur on the limbs, the abdomen, or the head, and are flat and coloured. These can be treated on any part of the body. However, the chances of success in treating port-wine stains are not always high. Dermatologists recommend laser treatment to deal with this type of pigmentation in order to take care of tangled blood vessels without disturbing skin that is unblemished.
7. Macular stain
Macular stains are birthmarks that are flat and red. These are due to blood vessels being developed and can appear at the back of the neck, on the forehead, etc. While these fade away during childhood, some remain even through adulthood.
8. Hemangioma
In some cases, small blood vessels show up on the skin as a collection, causing pigmentation. These, however, disappear with time and may not always require any treatment.
9. Age spots or liver spots
Liver or age spots need more than just a topical treatment. These are brown splotches that are large in size and are treated using lasers.
Every type of pigmentation requires different treatment options, depending on the patient’s skin and the extent of pigmentation. It is also important to understand that the treatment and the results of the treatment are subjective, with the outcome varying for each patient.
