Vitiligo - All about Vitiligo Camouflage

All about Vitiligo Camouflage - Priscila Iwama

A lot of people with vitiligo are proud of their patches on their skin, after all, they are rare patches that carry an unique beauty in each person, while others feel uncomfortable and search for ways to cover them. Vitiligo is formed by the absence or inactivity of melanocytes, which are the cells responsible for the melanin in the skin. Vitiligo causes a discoloration in the skin, forming white patches that vary in size.

The patches are not transferable, and don’t have many symptoms. Doesn’t hurt, doesn’t itch, and it is not contagious, but the patch is more sensitive to the sun.

The doctors still don’t know how to explain what causes vitiligo, it is believed that it is an autoimmune disease, where the immune system attacks the melanocytes, causing discoloration in the skin. Other causes would be: hereditary, overexposure to the sun, and chemical products on the skin, but to this moment, nothing has been proven.

According to studies by specialists, of 97 cases of vitiligo, 48 are men and 49 are women, between 22 and 46 years old. Vitiligo occurs on average 37% on the legs, 18% on the thighs, and 12% on the arms and wrists.

There are a few treatments available, like the repigmentation of the skin, which comes in medicine and vitamins, the phototherapy with ultraviolet radiation A, and even the melanocytes transplants. The melanocytes transplant is a small surgery, that transfers cells from pigmented parts of the affected body, to areas that are not pigmented. All of the treatments should be consulted with a dermatologist, and the results may vary depending on each patient.

Vitiligo doesn’t have a cure and is unpredictable. Rarely some patches on the body could recover the original pigment, however other patches could appear in different places.

Over time, vitiligo stabilises and the increase of patches is not noticeable. After 2 years of stability, vitiligo can be camouflaged with the dermopigmentation. Currently there are numerous techniques, pigments and equipments of high technology which allows extremely satisfactory results.

The skin shades of each person is personally analyzed. Before the procedure, different colors of ink are mixed and tested in specific parts of the client’s skin.

Through needles and specific movements, translucent inks is deposited on the superficial dermis, the papillary dermis.

The dermopigmentation of vitiligo is a smooth procedure, without bleeding or pain. For a natural effect result, we can do from one to three sessions of 30 to 90 minutes, which varies from the size of the area that needs to be covered. The type of skin, metabolism and lifestyle influence the durability, that tends to be between 2 and 3 years. After this period, the color lightens in an uniform manner until it disappears from the skin. Retouc