Pigmentation / Hyperpigmentation is a common skin condition where some areas or patches of skin turn darker in colour. It is usually a harmless condition caused when there is too much of the pigment, melanin on the surface of the skin.
This condition can affect people of all races and there are various causes for the kinds of pigmentation that we treat.
Age spots, sometimes called ‘liver spots’ are a form of pigmentation. They usually occur as a result of damage to the skin, from the sun’s rays. These are often referred to as solar lentigines. The small, dark spots are generally found on the hands and face, but any area exposed to the sun can be affected.
Freckles are also common and usually a hereditary skin blemish. Though freckles are often thought of as attractive some people do seek out treatment to reduce them.
Cafe au lait spots or cafe au lait macules are brown, flat pigmented birth marks. They are caused by a collection of pigmented-producing melanocytes in the epidermis of the skin.
These spots are typically permanent, and may grow or increase in number over time.