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Basics

• Summary
• Start Here
• Diagnosis and Tests
• Treatments and Therapies

Learn More

• Living With
• Specifics
• Genetics

See, Play and Learn

• Images

Research

• Clinical Trials
• Journal Articles

Resources

• Find an Expert

For You

• Children
• Teenagers
• Patient Handouts

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. When these cells become damaged or unhealthy, it affects melanin production. Some pigmentation disorders affect just patches of skin. Others affect your entire body.

If your body makes too much melanin, your skin gets darker. Pregnancy, Addison's disease, and sun exposure all can make your skin darker. If your body makes too little melanin, your skin gets lighter. Vitiligo is a condition that causes patches of light skin. Albinism is a genetic condition affecting a person's skin. A person with albinism may have no color, lighter than normal skin color, or patchy missing skin color. Infections, blisters and burns can also cause lighter skin.

Start Here

• Overview of Skin Pigment (Merck & Co., Inc.) Also in Spanish

Diagnosis and Tests

• Wood's Lamp Examination (VisualDX)

Treatments and Therapies

• Chemical Peels (American Society for Dermatologic Surgery)
• Dermabrasion (American Society for Dermatologic Surgery)
• Laser Resurfacing (American Society for Dermatologic Surgery)
• Melasma: Diagnosis and Treatment (American Academy of Dermatology)

Living With

• Melasma: Tips for Managing (American Academy of Dermatology)

Specifics

• Acanthosis Nigricans (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
• Age Spots (American Society for Dermatologic Surgery)
• Albinism (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
• Hyperpigmentation (American Osteopathic College of Dermatology)
• Incontinentia Pigmenti (Genetic and Rare Diseases Information Center)
• Lentigines (American Osteopathic College of Dermatology)
• Melasma (American Academy of Dermatology)
• Pityriasis Alba (American Osteopathic College of Dermatology)
• Progressive Pigmentary Purpura (American Osteopathic College of Dermatology)

Genetics

• Crouzon syndrome with acanthosis nigricans: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
• Dowling-Degos disease: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
• Griscelli syndrome: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
• Hermansky-Pudlak syndrome: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
• Histiocytosis-lymphadenopathy plus syndrome: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
• Incontinentia pigmenti: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
• Legius syndrome: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
• Noonan syndrome with multiple lentigines: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
• Oculocutaneous albinism: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
• Piebaldism: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
• Tietz syndrome: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
• Vici syndrome: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
• Waardenburg syndrome: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
• Xeroderma pigmentosum: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)

Images

• Acanthosis Nigricans (VisualDX)
• Lentigo Simplex (VisualDX)
• Melasma (VisualDX)
• Oral Melanotic Macule (VisualDX)
• Post Inflammatory Hyperpigmentation (VisualDX)
• Postinflammatory Hypopigmentation (VisualDX)

Clinical Trials

• ClinicalTrials.gov: Hyperpigmentation (National Institutes of Health)
• ClinicalTrials.gov: Hypopigmentation (National Institutes of Health)
• ClinicalTrials.gov: Pigmentation Disorders (National Institutes of Health)

Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

• Article: Prevalence and associated factors of oral pigmented lesions among Yemeni dental...
• Article: Prevalence and Predictors of Premature Graying of Hair Before the Age...
• Article: Differential diagnosis of pigmented nail lesions.
• Skin Pigmentation Disorders -- see more articles

Find an Expert

• Find a Dermatologic Surgeon (American Society for Dermatologic Surgery)
• Find a Dermatologist (American Academy of Dermatology)
• National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases Also in Spanish

Children

• Café au Lait Spot (VisualDX)
• Pityriasis Alba (VisualDX)
• What Are Freckles? (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish

Teenagers

• Acanthosis Nigricans (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
• Albinism (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish

Patient Handouts

• Abnormally dark or light skin (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Acanthosis nigricans (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Albinism (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Hypomelanosis of Ito (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Incontinentia pigmenti (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Liver spots (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Melasma (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Patchy skin color (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Urticaria pigmentosa (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish