Worried About Pigmentation On Your Skin? Here Are Some Tips To Get Rid Of It

Skin pigmentation is a medical condition where the natural tone of the skin is affected due to a change in the production of melanin. Melanin is a pigment, the production of which gives us our natural colour. Any overproduction of melanin can cause hyperpigmentation, i.e. the skin might turn darker and an underproduction of melanin causes hypopigmentation which makes the skin lighter. Such a change in the production of melanin is caused when the skin cells become damaged or unhealthy. Skin pigmentation may occur in the form of patches or spots. Patches may occur on any part of the body while spots occur usually on the face.

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Causes of skin pigmentation:

The primary cause behind skin pigmentation is a change in the melanin production. But what causes such a change is mostly strong sun exposure on the skin. Melanin is a pigment which protects our skin from the harmful rays of the sun. But if you expose your skin to sun rays for a long time, the exposure might damage your skin cells and cause the melanin to under produce or overproduce itself causing skin pigmentation.

Another driving cause of skin pigmentation is hormonal change. It is said that skin pigmentation more commonly occurs among women because of the changes that female sex hormones such as oestrogen and progesterone bring about in the production of melanin when the skin comes in prolonged contact with sun rays.

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Skin pigmentation may also occur due to genetic inheritance. If any of your parents happen to be suffering from skin pigmentation, the chances of the same may increase in you.

An injury also causes pigmentation. Melanin is also frequently affected when the skin cells get damages. Injury inflicts such a damage hence causing skin pigmentation.

Symptoms of skin pigmentation:

Different disorders associated with skin pigmentation may have different symptoms. In the case of albinism, a change of colour in the skin, eyes and hair is a clear symptom. In cases of hyper pigmentation, the occurrence of dark patches on the skin is taken as a vivid symptom of the diseases. Patches of colour abnormal to your skin colour are the most definite symptom of skin pigmentation.

Treatment of skin pigmentation:

Skin pigmentation is often diagnosed through medical examinations such as Wood's lamp or black light test. These are visual examinations which are often used to diagnose skin problems related to pigmentation. A biopsy may also be conducted to check whether or not is the skin pigmentation a symptom of cancer. After the pigmentation is diagnosed, its treatment begins. The treatment includes undergoing bleaching to lighten the skin ( most recommended in hyperpigmentation), chemical peels, and even laser surgery. Topical steroid creams and topical creams containing tretinoin may also be suggested as a treatment for skin pigmentation. While the treatment is going on, it is constantly reminded that you must further protect your skin from the harmful radiations of the sun.

Prevention:

Skin pigmentation may not be prevented in situations where the cause of the disease is genetic inheritance or injury. But if you are planning to spend the summers lying on a beach to get the perfect tan, then you must remember to apply sunscreen and protect your skin from overexposure to the sun rays.

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