Dark spots
*The article was translated into English using automatic translation. The editors are working on its improvement.
Age spots (hyperpigmentation) are areas of skin on the face or body with an excessive concentration of melanin - a special pigment found in various layers of the epidermis and gives color to the skin.
Such defects can be congenital (nevi) or acquired (freckles, age-related hyperpigmentation).
Melanocytes are responsible for skin pigmentation - cells that produce melanin, the main pigment of the skin. It is a normal skin pigment containing sulfur. With an increase in melanin production, pigmentation increases, and in connection with its decrease, local or widespread decreases in pigmentation or its absence (vitiligo) appear.
The cause of spots is a failure, as a result of which some skin cells begin to produce more melanin than before. Hyperpigmentation itself is not harmful. But it is a symptom of certain changes that have occurred in the body, which, in turn, can be either neutral from a health point of view or quite dangerous.
Skin pigmentation is closely related to the vitamin and enzyme balance of the body. A lack of vitamins A, C and PP increases melanogenesis (melanin production), and a lack of B vitamins reduces it. The activity of melanocytes is influenced by adrenal hormones, sex hormones, thyroid activity, microelements (copper, zinc, iron), and intercellular enzymes of the skin. The most dangerous disorder of local pigmentation is melanoma, which is a neoplasm containing melanin.
When melanin is unevenly distributed in the skin and deposited in the upper layer of the skin, small spots (for example, freckles) form. They can be from light yellow to brown and, in most cases, do not cause much trouble or worry to their owner.
Hyperpigmentation, which is deposited in the deeper layers of the epidermis, looks completely different - dark brown spots appear on the surface of the skin (they can rise above the surface of the skin). Such pigmentation upsets women more, and in some cases, it really bothers them.
Age spots can appear both in young people and in adulthood. As a rule, their appearance is more likely over the age of 35-40 years. In isolated cases, they go away spontaneously; more often, getting rid of them requires considerable effort.