(HY-per-pig-men-TAY-shun) A common, usually harmless condition in which patches of skin are darker than the surrounding skin. It occurs when special cells in the skin make too much of the pigment called melanin. Hyperpigmentation may appear as freckles, age spots, or larger areas of darkened skin.
Hyperpigmentation is a common, usually harmless condition in which patches of skin become darker in color than the normal surrounding skin. This darkening occurs when an excess of melanin, the brown pigment that produces normal skin color, forms deposits in the skin.
Hyperpigmentation is the darkening of the skin which can occur due to a variety of factors. It is commonly seen from increased deposition of melanin in the epidermis and/or dermis. Less frequently, it may be caused by the deposition of endogenous or exogenous pigments such as hemosiderin, iron, or heavy metals.
Hyperpigmentation on dark skin will appear darker than the surrounding skin, small or large, depending on the cause. Trauma to the skin, medication, hormones, and sun exposure can cause hyperpigmentation. Hyperpigmentation is common on dark skin and can be challenging to treat.
African American skin varies in its tones and shades, which extend between caramel, almond, hazelnut, toffee, java, espresso, ebony, and deep ebony. There is a thicker dermis (middle layer of the skin), which translates to higher levels of collagen levels in the skin.
Skin pigmentation, which refers to how much melanin the body generates, determines the color of the skin. The two main types of melanin, eumelanin, and pheomelanin, are produced by melanocytes in the epidermal layer of the skin.
In the case of pigmentation, the melanin production is in balance, leading to an even and natural skin tone. However, with hyperpigmentation, there is an overproduction of melanin in specific areas, resulting in darker patches or spots.
Mild hyperpigmentation can begin to fade within 3-6 months with consistent treatment. More aggressive treatments, such as chemical peels, may show results sooner but often require multiple sessions. Severe cases of hyperpigmentation, such as deep melasma, can take a year or more to resolve.
The Fitzpatrick classification, currently used by dermatologists, only classifies individuals as white, brown, or black. Many clinicians, including forensic pathologists, currently describe the patient's skin color by incorporating the individual's race or ethnicity.
Symptoms of Addison's disease include: Steadily worsening fatigue (most common symptom). Patches of dark skin (hyperpigmentation), especially around scars and skin creases and on your gums.
Discolored skin patches or spots can appear brown, red, white, pink, purple or black depending on your skin tone and the reason for the discoloration. Many things cause your skin's pigment or coloring to change. Some types of skin discoloration are caused by melanin production.
Melanin is a substance in your body that produces hair, eye and skin pigmentation. The more melanin you produce, the darker your eyes, hair and skin will be. The amount of melanin in your body depends on a few different factors, including genetics and how much sun exposure your ancestral population had.
The primary triggers for hyperpigmentation are excessive sun exposure, hormonal imbalance, and skin injuries. These cause inflammation like blemishes or pimples on the skin surface. After experiencing triggers, your skin starts to overproduce melanin, resulting in dark patches on the skin.
It appears as irregular patches of tan, brown or brown-gray pigmentation, usually on the face. Melasma is more common in women than men because of hormonal changes, and it occurs more often during pregnancy. Other common triggers include sun exposure and medications like as oral contraceptives.
The three main types include age spots, melasma, and post-inflammatory trauma. Post-inflammatory trauma can result from an injury, sun exposure, or a skin condition, such as acne.
Hyperpigmentation refers to skin that darkens in comparison to its natural color. These patches of discoloration can develop anywhere on the skin, but are most often seen on sun-exposed areas such as the face, neck, chest, tops of the arms and hands, and shins.
Does Drinking Water Help Pigmentation? Research notes that increasing how much water you drink everyday can positively impact the skin's overall health and appearance. 5 This suggests, that in some cases, staying hydrated may help with some types of skin pigmentation.
Summary. Pigmentation means coloring. Skin pigmentation disorders affect the color of your skin. Your skin gets its color from a pigment called melanin. Special cells in the skin make melanin.
Topical therapy is the recommended first-line treatment, with the gold standard being hydroquinone, which can be used alone or in combination with other agents.
According to a study called “Shades of beauty,” light brown skin tones are often the most physically attractive skin color (Frisby et al., 2006). They used four models for that study. They did not change the skin tone, but they imaged each model to three different skin tones: light, medium, and dark.
Light skin is most commonly found amongst the native populations of Europe, East Asia, West Asia, Central Asia, Siberia, and North Africa as measured through skin reflectance.
1. South Sudan: South Sudanese people often have some of the darkest skin tones in Africa. This is attributed to the region's high levels of melanin, which provides protection against intense UV radiation.