What Are Skin Blemishes?
Human skin is prone to
rashes and spots of all kinds. Most of the time, they are harmless, but it is
essential to know them and their symptoms to understand how to act.
Skin blemishes are
called hyperpigmentation, and, in some people, they cause distress because they
cannot be concealed or hidden from the areas where they tend to appear: face,
hands, and other visible areas exposed to the sun.
Hyperpigmentation
occurs when the body produces an excess of melanin in certain skin spots. Skin
patches are flat, darker in tone, ranging from light brown to black, and can
vary in size and shape.
There are many types,
but the most common are:
Pigmented spots (such
as senile spots): these are small, darkened plaques whose primary cause is sun
exposure, so they appear in particularly exposed areas: face, hands, and arms.
Melasma or Chloasma
("mask of pregnancy"): This manifests with dark and irregular areas
on the face or arms. It affects 90% of pregnant women as a consequence of
hormonal influences and contraceptive pills.
Inflammatory
hyperpigmentation appears when a skin lesion heals and remains in the form of a
flat spot with changed color. It is common in people with acne and can also
result from cosmetic procedures.
Skin spots or
hyperpigmentation can be due to multiple causes such as hormonal disorders, sun
exposure, or diet.
Symptoms of Skin Blemishes
The main symptoms of
skin blemishes are changes in the coloring of an area of the skin and its size.
Painless and, as
mentioned above, the causes can be multiple. They are usually harmless, but the
specialist in Dermatology is the one who should study them in-depth.
What Are the Causes of
Skin Blemishes?
Hyperpigmentation of
the skin responds to an overproduction of melanin (the pigment that gives the
natural color to the skin, hair, and eyes).
Skin spots appear in
the form of plaques. As explained above, it can be triggered by various
factors, but the most common causes are sun exposure, genetic factors, age,
hormonal influences, skin lesions, or infections.
Is Prevention Possible?
Certain factors can
prevent, but others are unavoidable. Thus, to avoid certain spots, it is
recommended not to overexpose oneself to the sun and to use a high sun
protection factor.
Besides, the possible
hormonal influences of certain medications can also consult with each
specialist.
What is the treatment?
The most commonly used
treatments are chemical peels and laser therapy:
The first consists of
applying an acid solution to the affected area to remove superficial layers.
These chemical products
generate blisters in the skin and, finally, exfoliation, with new, uniform skin
appearing underneath.
The second is laser
therapy. It has almost the same effect as the first but is more precise since
the dermatologist has greater control over the treatment. It is a technique
that allows "shooting" the affected areas with a high-intensity
light.
There are lighter
treatments that act only on the cutaneous epidermis or superficial layer, and
other more intense treatments penetrate the deeper layers.
However, despite being
the most used, these treatments are never exempt from being slightly invasive
to the skin and more depending on each skin type.
Depending on the skin
type, they can irritate, inflame or burn the skin, resulting in
post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation.
Other treatments have been emerging in recent years: hydroquinone, arbutin, kojic acid, vitamin C derivatives, retinoic acid derivatives, azelaic acid or B-resorcinol or butyl resorcinol, as well as jojoba oil, lemon juice, or the intake of a sugar-free diet, which are influential factors against hyperpigmentation.