Pigmentation Disorders
By Ahmed Irshad

Skin is the most important and biggest component of the body. It is a covering and protective layer, and it contributes to the beauty and grace of a person. No other component of the body is as important for personal grooming as hair and skin. The pigmentation process of skin plays an important role in the beauty of skin. Today, people are more conscious about skin care, and precious skin care products are being used for different skin care problems. Skin coloration or pigmentation is the most common skin problem.
Here are some skin diseases and the terms relating to skin care, like pigmentation, hypo-pigmentation, hyper-pigmentation, melanin, and melanocytes.

Vitiligo
Vitiligo is most common pigmentation disorder due to the hypo-pigmentation in skin. Vitiligo causes white patches on skin and it has been observed, in these patches melanocytes (skin cells that produces melanin) cells are not found. About 2 percent of the total population is suffering from this pigmentation disorder and the causes of vitiligo are still not known with certainty. However, this is understood that the major causes of vitiligo is destruction of melanocytes cells and resulting in the lack of melanin.

Albinism
Albinism is also an example of hypo-pigmentation, but unlike vitiligo is totally inherited disorder and all the body is universally depigmented. Vitiligo and Albinism are skin conditions due to the depigmenation of skin or lack of skin coloring. And there are some other skin condition that resemble these, except a large number of skin problems are due to the hyper-pigmentation in skin.

Pigmentation of Skin

Process responsible of maintaining the natural coloration of skin is termed as pigmentation of skin. The irregularities in the pigmentation of process of skin are generally termed as depigmentation or hyper-pigmentation etc. Skin is not only the covering and bordering layering of body it gives great contribution to the beauty and grace of a person.

Hyper-pigmentation

Pigmentation disorder in which dark spot appears on skin and skin became darker as compare to its surrounding is termed as hyper-pigmentation. A common example of hyper-pigmentation is melasma in which dark spots appear on the cheeks and top of nose.

Main cause of this is the too much sun exposure.Hypo-pigmentation More than 2 percent population is suffering from such disease, which causes white patches on skin. Why white patches appear in skin, such problems normally referred as depigmentation of skin. In depigmentation the skin becomes lighter as compared to its surrounding. Example of skin condition causes depigmentation are nevus depigmentosus (quite stable scars may appear any part of body), Pityriasis Alba (a common condition in children), Idiopathic guttate hypomelanosis, vitiligo, and white scars due to injuries.

Normally these conditions are termed as pigmentation disorders. Another term hypopigmentation is also resembled as we describe depigmentation.

Melanin

A coloring substance in our bodies is called melanin. It protects body from absorbing harmful Ultra Violet rays. The special skin cells that produce melanin called melanocytes.
Melanin play an important role in pigmentation or depigmentation of skin. If the body produces too much melanin, it causes hyper-pigmentation and in inverse case if produces low melanin it causes hypo pigmentation in skin.

Causes: Most frequent cause of pigmentation problems are the internal and related to the immune system of the body.