{"id":224,"date":"2017-07-06T15:11:20","date_gmt":"2017-07-06T07:11:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/xmedicimports.com\/wp\/?p=224"},"modified":"2018-06-08T16:56:08","modified_gmt":"2018-06-08T08:56:08","slug":"224","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/xmedicimports.com\/blog\/index.php\/2017\/07\/06\/224\/","title":{"rendered":"PIGMENTATION \/ DARK SPOTS"},"content":{"rendered":"

Pigmentation is a common skin condition, where some areas or patches of skin turn darker in colour. It is caused when there is too much of the pigment melanin, on the surface of the skin.<\/p>\n

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Types of Pigmentation<\/strong><\/p>\n

Freckles<\/strong> are mostly genetic condition. It\u00a0appear mostly across the upper cheeks and nose at a very young age. Sun exposure and other environmental factors can darken freckles. Freckles tend to fade in the winter, whereas other forms of hyperpigmentation do not.<\/p>\n

The medical term for freckles is Ephelides <\/em><\/strong>or Lentigenes<\/strong>.<\/em><\/p>\n

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\u00a0Sun spots<\/strong> are dark spots (usually brown) induced by sun exposure. In other words, photo damage. The sun stimulates the production of melanin, the pigment responsible for producing color in skin. These spots form after years of exposure to the sun.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Sun spots are flat, discrete spots, usually on the cheeks, nose, and forehead. They are also common on the back of hands, arms, and decollete. Unlike freckles, they do not fade in the winter.<\/p>\n

Sun spots are often called dark spots, brown spots, liver spots\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>in product claims and the beauty industry.<\/p>\n

The medical term for age-related spots is Senile Lentigenes<\/strong><\/em>.<\/p>\n

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Age spots<\/strong> are actually spots that result from a cellular waste pigment, called Lipofuscin, which is a totally different pigment from melanin.<\/p>\n

Lipofuscin is due to an accumulation of cellular garbage that comes with age. It is oxidized skin lipid that turns yellow or brown.<\/p>\n

It is hard to tell the difference between sun spots and age spots with the naked eye. \u00a0Special UV light scopes can\u00a0differentiate different types of spots.<\/p>\n

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Post-inflammatory\u00a0hyper pigmentation (PIH)<\/strong><\/p>\n

This kind of spotting or discoloration is due to inflammation caused by trauma to the skin.<\/p>\n

Things that can cause post-inflammatory pigmentation:<\/p>\n

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  • cystic acne or healing pimple<\/li>\n
  • cosmetic procedures \u2013 lasers, IPL, microdermabrasion<\/li>\n
  • deep chemical peels<\/li>\n
  • chemical exfoliants \u2013 AHA\u2019s and other acids<\/li>\n
  • overuse of certain ingredients (e.g. Benzoyl Peroxide)<\/li>\n
  • mechanical trauma \u2013 a wound that leads to a scar or discoloration<\/li>\n
  • excessive irritation<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n

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    Melasma<\/strong> is hormonally-induced pigmentation, and occurs in about 70% of pregnant women. It is also\u00a0known as pregnancy mask or chloasma.<\/p>\n

    This discoloration is due to pregnancy, birth control pills, changes in estrogen\/estradiol\/progesterone levels, thyroid dysfunction, and to a lesser extent, high stress.<\/p>\n

    While it affects all races, melasma occurs most often in brown or olive skin tones.<\/p>\n

    Melasma is very difficult to treat and takes a long time to fade. \u00a0It gets worse with sun exposure, so it\u2019s important to wear sunscreen while treating melasma.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

     <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Pigmentation is a common skin condition, where some areas or patches of skin turn darker in colour. It is caused when there is too much of the pigment melanin, on…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":804,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[778],"tags":[173,174,169,172,73,86,94,168,170,171],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/xmedicimports.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/224"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/xmedicimports.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/xmedicimports.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xmedicimports.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xmedicimports.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=224"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/xmedicimports.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/224\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":264,"href":"https:\/\/xmedicimports.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/224\/revisions\/264"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xmedicimports.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/804"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/xmedicimports.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=224"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xmedicimports.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=224"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xmedicimports.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=224"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}