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Lifestyle and home remedies
By Mayo Clinic staffCertain self-care tactics may help you care for your skin and improve its appearance:
- Protect your skin. If you have vitiligo, particularly if you have fair skin, use a sunscreen with an SPF of at least 30 that protects against both UVA and UVB light to protect your skin from the sun's harmful rays. Sunscreen helps protect your skin from sunburn and long-term damage. Sunscreen also minimizes tanning, which makes the contrast between normal and depigmented skin less noticeable.
- Conceal imperfections. Concealing cosmetics may lessen the appearance of the white patches and help you feel better about yourself, especially if your vitiligo patches are on exposed skin. You may need to experiment with several brands of concealing cosmetics before finding a product that blends best with your normal skin tone. Sunless tanning products (self-tanners) also may help conceal imperfections by adding color to depigmented areas. The coloring doesn't wash off, but it gradually fades as the dead skin cells slough off in several days.
References
- Halder RM, et al. Vitiligo. In: Wolff K, et al. Fitzpatrick's Dermatology in General Medicine. 7th ed. New York, N.Y.: McGraw-Hill Professional; 2007. http://www.accessmedicine.com/content.aspx?aID=2972969&searchStr=vitiligo. Accessed March 2, 2009.
- Vitiligo. American Academy of Dermatology. http://www.aad.org/public/publications/pamphlets/common_vitilgo.html. Accessed March 5, 2009.
- Questions and answers about vitiligo. National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases. http://www.niams.nih.gov/Health_Info/Vitiligo/default.asp. Accessed March 2, 2009.
- Goldstein BG, et al. Vitiligo. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed March 4, 2009.
- Faas L, et al. In vivo evaluation of piperine and synthetic analogues as potential treatments for vitiligo using a sparsely pigmented mouse model. British Journal of Dermatology. 2008;158:941.
- Whitton ME, et al. Therapeutic interventions for vitiligo. Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology. 2008;59:713.
- Parsad D, et al. Effectiveness of oral Ginkgo biloba in treating limited, slowly spreading vitiligo. Clinical Experimental Dermatology. 2003;28:285.
- Gibson LE (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. March 17, 2009.
- Lotti T, et al. Vitiligo: New and emerging treatments. Dermatologic Therapy. 2008; 21:110.
