Pigmentation Problems

Fairness has almost been an obsession with women who have a darker skin. So much so, that an entire industry flourishes in the developing and manufacturing a series of fairness enhancing products, from creams, lotions and even bars of soap.

Then of course we have the fair skinned women trying their hardest to get a sun tan and risking skin cancer just so they can get the bronzed look of a darker skin. Again a whole industry flourishes with creams , lotions and even supplements to be taken just so that those with fair skin can be darker.

But that aside there are some who have a real problem with the colour of their skin, and that is those who have vitiligo, those who are affected can be either dark or fair skinned.

In most cases the cause of the vitiligo is unknown, and it consists of irregular patches of various sizes totally lacking in pigment. This lack of pigmentation causes the person to have white or pale patches on their skin, sometimes with a darker border. These patches can be very small or they can cover huge areas of the body and are often on the more exposed areas of the body.

If pale or white patches appear on your skin you should go and see your Dr as vitiligo can be associated with several very serious diseases, including Graves’, Addison’s and Hashimoto’s to name but a few.

Sun-screens must be used as these areas are damaged by the sun very easily, our normal colour in our skin does give us some natural protection from the sun. The sun can also make the areas of the skin affected very itchy, so keep these areas covered to protect them.

So what can be done to treat vitiligo? not a lot I’m afraid.

Some Dr’s will try steroid creams, not a good idea as you may then have the problem of the skin thinning.

Although not a treatment as such, camouflage cosmetics is often the best way forward.If your vitiligo affects your face your Dr may be able to put you in contact with a cosmetic specialist, this specialist would be able to teach you how to apply the special cosmetics required to cover up the patches.