The color of the skin is due to the presence of a protein known as melanin. Melanin is made by cells known as melanocytes, which are present in the deeper layers of the skin. In some cases, an injury to the skin can cause patches of abnormally...
The color of skin is determined by a pigment called melanin, which protects the skin from sun damage. If you lack melanin in certain areas, you have hypopigmentation in that area. Even people who are very pale have melanin in their skin....
Your skin's coloring is due to pigment cells known as melanin that mix with other vitamins and minerals in the body, including carotenoids in the diet that give your skin a yellow tinge, according to DermNet NZ. While most of your skin is evenly...
The skin covering your neck possesses a higher sensitivity than skin on some other areas of your body. Known as your body's largest organ, your skin must be nourished and protected from damage. When skin discoloration, known as hyperpigmentation...
There's a common misconception that shaving changes the thickness and growth rate of facial hair. But this is untrue. The only change that occurs is with the tips of shorn hairs. Shaving leaves the once-tapered hairs with blunt edges, making them...
Acne creams and lotions may be somewhat effective in reducing the appearance of redness and marking, but postinflammatory hypopigmentation scars (commonly known as white acne scars) are more difficult to minimize or eliminate. Still, a number of...
WD (Wrong Diagnosis.com) lists 2,331 medical conditions that can cause skin discolorations, and their list of types of skin discoloration is almost as long. Some medical conditions are simple and non-life threatening, while others are very...
Your skin is the largest organ in your body and is also the only one you can see. By appearance alone, skin conveys information such as approximate age, some idea of ancestry and general health. Diet can affect your skin tone in both a positive...
The process of laser hair removal consists of killing the hair follicle by beaming a laser into the skin. This process slows hair growth or eliminates it all together. The laser beam is absorbed into the dark pigment of the hair, which is why this...
If you are looking to remove unwanted hairs, laser hair removal is a possible option for you. Laser hair removal is the second-most popular cosmetic procedure performed in the United States---with Botox injections leading the list, according to...
If you've ever had a chemical peel at the spa, you are familiar with Trichloroacetic acid, or TCA. It is a common agent used to smooth out fine lines, dull acne scars and soften wrinkles. It showed some promise as a tattoo removal---or more...
Trichloroacetic acid, or TCA, is a chemical agent used to induce skin peeling. It has a variety of uses, one of which is as a method to remove tattoos. According to the TCA Tattoo Removal website, TCA causes a controlled inflammation on the...
Dark acne scars aren't a true from of scarring. They're actually patches of residual inflammation left on the skin after acne lesions heal. Dermatologists often refer to these spots as postinflammatory hyperpigmentation, or PIH, explains the...
The skin is the body's largest organ and contains special pigment-making cells called melanocytes. There are a wide variety of conditions that can lead to problems or abnormalities in skin pigmentation. Skin pigmentation problems can result in too...
During a skin peel treatment, the surface of the skin is burned or peeled off with the application of chemical agents, so that new skin can grow. Chemical peels are skin peels that are done with chemical solutions such as trichloroacetic acid,...
Chemical peels are used to cause blistering and peeling off of your skin. It helps new skin to regenerate resulting in smoother skin. Trichloroacetic acid or TCA peels are chemical peels. A trichloroacetic acid peel can be used to cause...
Your skin's pigment is vital to keeping your body healthy. Pigment can vary among individuals, with white and pale-skinned individuals often containing low levels of pigment in their skin and darker ethnicities, such as Asians and Africans,...
Phenol, also called carbolic acid, is an organic compound that is used in deep chemical peels. While occasionally a dermatologist may recommend a deep peel for patients with pre-cancerous skin growths, the American Society of Plastic Surgeons...
Albino skin disease, also referred to as albinism, is a collection of inherited conditions. According to the National Organization for Albinism and Hypopigmentation (NOAH), people suffering from albinism produce very little melanin, the pigment...
Hydrocortisone ointment is a relatively safe steroid that you can purchase over-the-counter, or your doctor may prescribe a stronger version. Use it to treat itchy rashes caused by skin conditions like eczema, poison ivy, poison oak, poison sumac,...
The National Institutes of Health characterize stretch marks as irregular areas of the skin. Medically known as striae, they typically develop as a result of rapid or excessive weight gain, but some people can suffer from stretch marks due to...
As we age, damage from the sun’s harmful rays becomes more apparent. One of the most common changes in our skin as we age is the development of age spots. Age spots are also known as solar lentigines, sun spots, dark spots or liver spots....
Shingles represents reactivation of varicella-zoster, the virus that causes chickenpox, within the sensory nerve roots of the body. Twenty-five percent of adults eventually develop shingles, according to the National Institute of Neurological...
Chemical skin peels are a popular method for skin rejuvenation. They carry fewer risks and are not invasive like some cosmetic procedures. This involves application of a chemical solution to the face so that it blisters and peels away. It reveals...
All chemical peels involve some risk to the skin. There are different types of chemical peels, appropriate to an individual's skin type, as well as different levels of chemical peels--superficial, medium and deep. Superficial and medium peels...
The American Academy of Dermatology reports that 24 percent of 500 people surveyed had a tattoo, and 17 percent of those with tattoos had considered removal. If that tattoo no longer seems like a good idea, laser tattoo removal is the only...
Face abrasion is a form of skin rejuvenation. It's a process of removing the uppermost layer of the skin to allow new epidermal growth. This growth often provides the skin with a smoother, more youthful appearance. It's known to even out...
Out of 500 individuals polled by the American Academy of Dermatology, 24 percent had tattoos, and 17 percent of those with tattoos had considered removal at some time. Laser tattoo removal is by far the most effective and safe way to remove an...
Fungi are microscopic organisms that, unlike green plants that produce chlorophyll, do not need light to live. Rather, they live off other living or dead organisms. Many fungi are so tiny that, like pollen, their spores can spread on the wind....