Freckles, Moles & Skin Pigmentation Disorders

What it is?

Pigmentation, or the color of our skin, is associated with a special substance - melanin. Melanin is a dark coloring pigment that, under the influence of sunlight (or rather, ultraviolet radiation), is formed from an amino acid that is part of most proteins - tyrosine. Melanin is produced in skin cells called melanocytes. The presence of pigmentation is associated with increased production of melanin, and its deficiency causes local or general pigmentation deficiency.

How does this happen?

Manifestations of impaired melanin production are:

1. Freckles, scientifically known as “ephelides” (which is translated from Greek as “sun spots”), are small brown spots located mainly on the face and open parts of the body. They usually appear in the spring at the first rays of the sun, and in the fall and winter they pass or partially disappear.

2. Vitiligo - manifests itself in the fact that the body “eats” pigment from the skin, causing white, sharply defined spots with bleached, gray hair to appear.

3. Chloasma, which appears as symmetrical brown spots located primarily on the face.

4. Birthmarks and moles (nevi).

5. Pigment spots of various nature, etc.

What happens?

Freckles are evidence of a disorder in skin pigment metabolism. In fact, these are distant relatives of tanning, but tanning is characterized by an even distribution of tyrosine in skin cells, and freckles are islands of tyrosine that spontaneously turned into melanin.

If the immune system is not functioning properly, vitiligo may appear on the skin. It is believed that the tendency to develop vitiligo is inherited.

Brown pigment spots that appear mainly on the face, occurring during pregnancy, certain diseases of the female genital area, infection with worms, problems with liver activity, etc., are called chloasma.

Clusters of melanocytes on our skin are called moles or birthmarks. Every person has them in one quantity or another.

In addition to the above, pigmentation is caused by all types of dermatitis. Also, age spots can remain at the site of burns, injections, insect bites, or against the background of previous urticaria.

Diagnosis

If skin pigmentation changes, it is necessary to undergo examination by a cosmetologist to clarify the cause of this disorder.

Treatment

Firstly, it should be remembered that any type of skin pigmentation becomes more pronounced under the influence of sunlight, which means its appearance can often be prevented by daily applying sun protection to the skin of the face.

Secondly, sometimes unwanted pigmentation goes away on its own after eliminating the cause that caused it; in other cases, only light exfoliating agents are required.

Whitening procedures include two main elements - exfoliation of the stratum corneum of the skin and a decrease in the production of melanin pigment. Exfoliating the skin helps remove melanin from the epidermis, which leads to lightening of age spots.

So, if you decide that you simply need to remove freckles, then you should not forget that all whitening procedures, even the most gentle ones, can provoke the appearance or intensification of dry skin, which leads to premature formation of wrinkles and aging of the face.