Post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation ​

Post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation, also called PIH, is a dark discoloration of the skin caused by inflammation or damage to the skin. The dark pigmentation usually takes the shape and size of the damage that was there before. The color of the scars depends on the skin type.

Post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation is common, especially in dark skin tones. The discoloration is harmless and in some cases disappears on its own. In a few cases the discoloration can be permanent and this is experienced as very disturbing.

Lentigo solaris (age spot)

The sun is wonderful and important for humans. Sunlight and solar heat delivered to the skin play a role in our well-being, mood and in the production of Vitamin D in our body. A lentigo solaris or sun spot is a benign pigmentation spot that develops on skin that comes into frequent contact with the sun. Usually lentigo solaris does not appear until older age. That is why it is also called age spot (lentigo senilis). Solaris lentigo occurs in 90% of all white people over the age of 60. It occurs only exceptionally in people with a dark skin type. A café-au-lait stain literally means ‘coffee with milk stain’, a name due to the even coffee color of the stain. It is a common benign mole, which is already visible during birth or arises after a few weeks or months after birth. Usually it is one spot, without pigment spots around it and has a round or oval shape with a sharp boundary. About 10% to 20% of the population has a café-au-lait stain.