Pigmentation

Melanin is the brown pigment that produces the various shades and colours of human skin. Colouration (pigmentation) is determined by the amount of melanin in the skin. Without melanin, the skin would be pale white with shades of pink caused by blood flow through the skin. Fair-skinned people produce very little melanin, darker-skinned people produce moderate amounts, and very dark-skinned people produce the most. People with albinism have little or no melanin and thus their skin appears white or pale pink. Usually, melanin is fairly evenly distributed in the skin, but sometimes people have spots or patches of skin with more melanin. Examples of such spots include freckles, age spots (lentigines), and melasma.

Melanin is produced by specialized cells (melanocytes) that are scattered among the other cells in the top layer of the skin called the epidermis. After melanin is produced, it spreads into other nearby skin cells.

Pigment disorders can be widespread and affect many areas of skin, or they can be localised and affect only certain areas of the skin. The pigmentation changes they cause are called:

Depigmentation

Hypopigmentation

Hyperpigmentation

In our practice, we are focusing on Hyperpigmentation, which is usually or more pronounced when the skin is exposed to the sun. This happens because melanin absorbs the energy of the sun’s harmful ultraviolet rays, in order to protect the skin from overexposure. The usual result of this process is skin tanning, which tends to darken areas that are already hyperpigmented.

Wear a broad spectrum sunscreen (blocks UVA & UVB)
Avoid direct exposure to sunlight