what does it mean when you have dark spots on your skin?
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Dark spots on the skin, or hyperpigmentation, occur when some areas of the skin produce more melanin than usual. Melanin gives the eyes, skin, and hair their color. Dark spots on the skin are not a cause for concern and do not need treatment, though people may choose to remove them for cosmetic reasons.
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If your body makes too much melanin, your skin gets darker. Pregnancy, Addison's disease, and sun exposure all can make your skin darker. If your body makes too little melanin, your skin gets lighter. Vitiligo is a condition that causes patches of light skin.
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Sometimes the white spots are merely scars that have become more visible after tanning. These areas of the skin have lost their pigmentation due to damage to the tissue. When tanning, the scars stand out from the darker skin around them.
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If you've noticed dark spots on your legs, which may resemble small black dots, you may have strawberry legs. The term comes from the dotted or pitted appearance that resembles the skin and seeds of a strawberry.
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In hyperpigmentation, the skin either produces too much pigment or the pigment is deposited deep within the skin, resulting in dark spots. When color is lost, it's called hypopigmentation, which results in light-colored patches. All people with dark skin are at risk for both skin conditions.
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Dark circles under your eyes happen when the skin beneath both eyes appears darkened. It's different from bruising around one eye from an injury or redness and swelling in one eye caused by an infection. Dark circles under your eyes usually are not a sign of a medical problem.
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As a pimple heals, your body sometimes produces cells with too much melanin in them to replace the damaged skin. This results in post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation, which we sometimes just call a dark spot.
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Sun damage Also called sunspots, solar lentigines, or liver spots, people can develop dark spots on their skin after being exposed to the sun or tanning beds. Areas of the body that receive the most sun exposure, such as the face, hands, or arms, are most likely to develop sun spots.
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- You develop dark skin patches. If insulin resistance is severe, you may have visible skin changes. These include patches of darkened skin on the back of your neck or on your elbows, knees, knuckles or armpits. This discoloration is called acanthosis nigricans.
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Darker patches of pigmentation on your forehead, cheeks, and neck are known as melasma, or chloasma, or mask of pregnancy. Melasma is caused by your body making extra melanin, the tanning pigment, which protects your skin against ultraviolet (UV) light .
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Dark eyelids occur when the skin surrounding the upper eye region darkens in color. This is related to a variety of causes, from changes to your blood vessels and surrounding skin, to hyperpigmentation. Dark eyelids may also develop from eye injuries and congenital conditions.
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Darker area of skin that feels like velvet A dark patch (or band) of velvety skin on the back of your neck, armpit, groin, or elsewhere could mean that you have too much insulin in your blood. This is often a sign of prediabetes. The medical name for this skin condition is acanthosis nigricans.
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White spots on the skin often occur when skin proteins or dead cells become trapped under the skin's surface. They may also occur as a result of depigmentation, or color loss. White skin spots are not usually a reason for concern and do not cause major symptoms.
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Cancer. In rare cases , sudden skin darkening could be a sign of cancer. When this happens, it often affects the stomach, liver, or colon. These tumors increase levels of growth factors that stimulate skin pigment cells.
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How to tackle red spots left by pimples. The red spots are hyperpigmentation that occurs as the skin heals. These spots are often called scars but they often also fade by themselves.
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Dark spots in your mouth can be caused by a variety of things. They run from minor lesions, such as a stain from a dental filling that leaked into your gums (called an amalgam tattoo), to benign tumors of your blood vessels, such as a hemangioma. Some types of cancer can also show up as dark spots.
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Freckles are small dark spots, usually less than 5mm in diameter, where the skin cells have produced extra pigmentation. Most freckles are uniform in color, but it varies depending on skin tone. They can be red, tan, light brown, dark brown, black, or any color that is darker than the person's skin color.