Skin pigmentation is basically what is called the human body’s skin coloring. The body’s skin cells produce a substance known as melanin, which is responsible for helping determine the kind of skin pigmentation a person will have. The color of a person’s skin pigmentation depends mainly on his or her ethnic or racial origin as well as the extent of his or her exposure to the sunlight outside.
Typically mentioned when discussing skin pigmentation are skin problems as well as terms like freckles, flat moles, liver spots, brown spots, age spots, sun spots, solar lentigo, actinic keratosis, seborrheic keratosis, port-wine stains, birthmarks, melasma, chloasma, mask of pregnancy, acne scarring, wound scarring, and post-inflammatory pigmentation. All of these terms are related in some way to skin pigmentation. The skin disorders mentioned often manifest as skin discolorations.
Disorders associated with skin pigmentation usually result from irregularities in melanin production within the body. When skin cells are damaged or unhealthy, melanin production can be seriously affected, leading to abnormalities in the pigmentation of the epidermis.
Pigmentation disorders may affect only small portions of a person’s skin or affect the whole body itself. Hypopigmentation and hyperpigmentation are the two main categories of skin discoloration problems. Hypopigmentation is the abnormal reduction of skin pigmentation while hyperpigmentation is the abnormal increase in skin pigmentation.
How does hyperpigmentation occur? It occurs when there is an excessive production of the skin’s melanin. This causes the original skin coloration of a person to appear darker or more tan. Dyschromia is the other term for hyperpigmentation. The top skin areas where it frequently appears include the face, arms, and hands.
Categorized under dyschromia are age spots, sun spots, liver spots, freckles, and melasma. Causes of dyschromia can be too much sun exposure, pregnancy, Addison’s disease, hormonal changes, acne, failed skin treatments, as well as heredity. Hypopigmentation, on the other hand, makes the skin become lighter than it should be due to decreased melanin production. Pityriasis alba, Tinea versicolor, blisters, burns, vitiligo, infections albinism, etc. are just some of the causes behind the decreased melanin production in hypopigmentation.
Regardless of what kind of skin pigmentation problem one has, it usually makes the individual unsatisfied with the skin they have. This is the reason why many individuals look for techniques to treat their skin pigmentation problems medically. There are many different kinds of methods to treat skin pigmentation problems. Creams are used as one method for lots of individuals to treat their skin. Individuals use the creams because they give some relief for their skin condition. Products that are meant for skin lightening are also utilized and contain components such as hydroquinone, Vitamin C, retinoids, and kojic acid.
When it comes to physical appearance, skin pigmentation is very essential. It is therefore no wonder that the cosmetic industry and medical world invest so much for the sake of research and development on treatments for skin disorders with discoloration.
