ts, extensive, irregular in shape that appear on the face, forehead and upper lip. They appear due to hormonal changes that stimulate the melanocytes.
The usually appear in pregnant women, users of OCPs and menopausal women. This alteration is made worse by the sun.
There are two types:
Post-inflammatory pigmentation (PIH) causes darkening of the skin. It takes the form of different-sized spots. PIH is caused by an increase in melanin synthesis in response to an inflammatory injury or damage to the skin.
If the excess melanin is produced on the top layer
of the skin (epidermis) the hyperpigmentation is brownish in hue.
If the excess melanin is produced in the lower layer of the skin (dermis) then it acquires a gray-blue coloration.
Although PIH can occur in every skin type, it is most common in the higher phototypes V and VI and can affect both men and women equally.
Solar lentigines are spots on the skin associated with aging and exposure to ultraviolet radiation from the sun. They vary in color, from light brown to red or even black, and are located in the areas most exposed to the sun, particularly the hands, face, shoulders, arms and forehead, even the head if it is hairless.
From the age of 40, the skin starts to lose its ability to regenerate and recover from exposure to the sun, and the solar lentigines are very common in this age range, especially in those who spend time exposed to the sun’s rays.
Senile lentigines are brown to dark brown colored macules, from a few millimeters to 1-2 cm in diameter. Their surface is smooth and well defined. They usually appear after the age of 40 due to the cumulative effect of the sun and because with age melanin is unevenly distributed in the epidermis.
They are more frequent in the areas exposed to the sun like the face, back of the hands and neckline. They appear as flat, brown colored spots, and are predominantly oval in shape.
Ephelides are a congenital alteration of the pigmentation that are revealed by exposure to the sun. They are commonly called freckles.
They are macules of a few millimeters diameter, light yellow or light brown, which usually appear in people with red hair or blondes with light-colored eyes. Their number increases with age.
They are located mainly on the face, neck, forearms and legs, covering the shoulders, arms and thighs during the summertime.
Microcirculation is the circuit used by the organism to transport nutrients to the tissues and to eliminate cell debris and waste substances.
Fragility, a tendency to redden and suffer irritations and above all the possibility of developing hyperactivity are characteristics of sensitive skins. They are due to alterations in the barrier function, which produces a special sensitivity of the epidermis to stimuli that can be classified into two groups:
- External stimuli: the climate, light, cosmetics, pollution, etc.
- Internal stimuli, such as stress, individual conditions, tiredness, etc.
Erythema is a reddening of the skin due to an excess blood supply produced by vasodilation; it is a symptom of different skin conditions; it is usually the most visible sign of a skin process that determines its size.
We may come across two types of erythema:
Solar erythema (induced), with the symptoms:
Blushing (spontaneous), with the symptoms:
This is reddening of the face (mainly the midface area). Its origin is a slowdown of the venous circulation.
The triggers can be hot drinks or food, the changes in temperature or emotions. At first it is transient, but with time the redness becomes permanent.
Couperosis is an alteration of the vascularization of the dermis of the face and neckline which is expressed in the onset of redness. It corresponds to a network of telangiectasia on a background of erythrosis.
It is more common in skins that are thin, white, sensitive and pallid, which redden easily because their epidermis is very thin. The elasticity of these peripheral vessels is virtually zero. If the blood flow suddenly increases and the capacity for elastic recovery is scarce, this redness may easily occur.
The formation o