The 4 most common type of skin pigments

Among all different kinds of pigmentation, the most commonly seen are such as freckles, Seborrheic keratosis , melasma and solar lentigo.

1. Freckles
   Freckles are very commonly seen and categorized as superficial pigments. Freckles are tiny, irregular in shape and in light brown color. They are often visible on the area that is most easily exposed to the sun, such as cheeks, nose bridge, neck, shoulder and hands. The cause of freckles is mainly due to sun exposure, which activates melanocytes to increase melanin production. In most cases, freckles may become darker during the summer time and lighter in the winter. Laser is an effective way to remove these freckles. After being treated, most of the pigment spots will be crusted within 1-2 days, and will then fall off by themselves. However, there may be some remaining pigments in the deeper skin, which need longer time to be treated and removed. Treatment result varies among different individuals, therefore number of sessions may also vary. Nonetheless, freckles can be easily treated, but they can reoccur very easily if the skin is continuously exposed to the sun without protection and proper skin care.
2. Seborrheic keratosis
   People always think the pigments found on the elders are called seborrheic keratosis. However this is not the case although seborrheic keratosis is always found on them. Seborrheic keratosis is a different type of pigments, but it is slightly elevated and rough. It is also named as 'Senile wart'. The cause of seborrheic keratosis is long exposure to sunlight, that activates the mutation of keratinocyte of the epidermis. After a long period of time, the excess growth of keratinocyte will be accumulated and form this kind of elevated lesions. They appear in various colors, from light brown to black, and are stuck on the surface of the skin. Different from the pigment removal treatment, they are usually treated by CO2 laser, like mole removal treatment, which requires one session only. A small wound will be formed after the treatment and be healed within a week following the post care instruction of the medical staff.
3. Melasma (also named 'Chloasma' or 'Mask of pregnancy')
   Melasma is very commonly seen in women (Especially Asians). The cause is unknown but certainly relates to the female sex hormones, hence a lot of pregnant women are suffered in this pigmentation problem. In terms of appearance, it forms as some dark brown patches which often appear symmetrically on the upper cheek, like the shape of butterfly. Melasma is one of the most difficult pigments to be treated. It gets worsen easily especially after intense sun exposure, and it is also affected by stress, inadequate of sleep, sickness, and depression. A long term treatment is required when dealing with melasma. Other than regular laser treatment and sufficient sun protection, a happy and healthy life style is also required in order to improve the condition of melasma.
4. Solar lentigo
   solar lentigo is a superficial lesion and mainly caused by intense sunlight exposure over a period of time, which increase the number of melanocytes of the epidermis. solar lentigo is a brown spot that has a clearly-defined edge and is usually formed distinctly in round or oval shape. Being different from freckles, solar lentigo is always bigger in size with solid color, and usually appear in profile of the face, near the eye or upper cheekbone because this is the area that mostly exposed to the sun. As it is superficial pigment, the lesion will form scab after being treated by laser in 2-3 days. The scab will be peeled off naturally within few more days. It is not very difficult to treat solar lentigo, usually requires a few sessions in order to achieve a visible effect. However, sun protection is very important after treatment to avoid reoccurence of the brown spot.