Tattoos & Vitiligo
Vitiligo is a skin disease that affects many and has no known cures. Little can be done to reduce the appearance of vitiligo, but there are a couple of options, such as tattoos, to cover up vitiligo spots.
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Vitiligo
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Vitiligo is a skin disease in which pigment cells in the skin are destroyed. Without the cells, the skin does not color. A person with vitiligo will have white spots all over his body that often will grow in size.
Common Treatments
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Hydrocortisone creams are given to patients with vitiligo to force color back into the skin. Phototherapy also is used. Ultraviolet lights are placed over the skin to try to stimulate repigmentation.
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Micropigmentation
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Micropigmentation, or therapeutic tattooing, is used to cover up vitiligo spots. A doctor performs this treatment by tattooing over the vitiligo in a color that closely matches natural skin tone.
Tattoos
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Some vitiligo patients opt for more colorful and artistic tattoos done by tattoo artists to cover their vitiligo spots. These tattoos hide the disease and show off more personality.
Warning
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Micropigmentation and tattoos are not usually recommended by doctors for vitiligo patients. White skin loses color from tattoos faster than normal skin. If the disease is spreading, tattoos can make the vitiligo worse and require even more tattooing.
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References
- Photo Credit tattoo image by shime from Fotolia.com
