White Spots on Face

Finding white spots on your face is a more common problem than you think. Causes vary from yeast infection to vitiligo or leucoderma. Before you can properly treat the white spots you have to establish the causes behind them. In some cases, the white spots on your skin are surrounded by white-colored rings, which could be due to environmental factors, stress, hormonal imbalance or other types of disease.

Causes and Treatments of White Spots on Face

1. Milia

Condition Description

Milia are the tiny white bumps that are most commonly found across a baby’s nose/chin/cheeks. Even though milia can potentially occur to people of all ages, they are most commonly found on babies, affecting more than half of all newborns.

Treatments

Medical treatment is not needed as the milia will go away on their own after a few weeks. You should keep your baby’s face clean and pat your baby’s skin dry gently.

Watch a video for milia causes and remedies：

2. Pityriasis Alba

Condition Description

Pityriasis alba is a chronic skin condition that usually occurs in children from ages 6-12. This condition is characterized as a rash of lighter skin that can spread across the face, neck, upper chest area and even sometimes the arms can be affected. The outlines of the rash are not easily visible, where the lighter colored patch will usually blend into your normal skin color.

Treatments

Treatment is not necessary since the rash will fade away on its own in time. You can use a moisturizer to help the process, but even with treatment, it will take a few months to heal.

Experience with Pityriasis alba：

3. Leucodema/Vitiligo

Condition Description

Leucoderma, also called Vitiligo is a skin disorder that involves the de-pigmentation of your skin. It causes some areas of your skin to change color which can cause decolorized patches on your skin. This patch can grow bigger and multiply. De-pigmentation usually occurs around the mouth, eyes, nose, fingers/nails and genitals.

This is the same condition that Pop icon, Michael Jackson suffered from, causing his skin to turn white in some areas.

Home Remedies

Treatments

First of all, it’s important for anyone suffering from leucoderma to not use any harsh soaps, powders or cosmetics. Additionally, it is recommended that they avoid any food high in iron as well as shell fish and citrusy food.

While no treatment has been proven to be 100% effective, below are the most common treatment methods for leucoderma:

• Skin Camouflage. For patients with mild cases of leucoderma, cosmetic products can be used to help cover the visible discolored areas. It is also advised for patients to avoid a lot of sunlight/tanning so that the affected areas do not become more prominently visible.
• De-pigmenting. In this method, patients undergo de-pigmentation of the unaffected skin to form one, even skin color tone and the patches no longer stand out. This treatment usually lasts for a year but can take longer depending on the condition of the patient.
• UVB photo-therapy. This treatment is probably the most common for patients suffering from this condition. In UVB photo-therapy patients are exposed to UVB light and can last only a few weeks if the skin disorder is only up to three years old. Otherwise, treatment could last a few months.
• PUVA photo-therapy. This treatment helps make your skin more sensitive to UV rays by taking drugs. After a short dosage of the drugs, patients are then exposed to ultraviolet A light. This treatment could potentially harm your skin, making it appear sun burned.
• Transplanting melanocytes. The opposite of de-pigmenting your skin, in which melanocytes are transplanted to affected areas to even the skin color tone.

4. Fungal Infection

Condition Description

Fungal infections can affect the pigmentation of your skin, which can cause white spots to appear and create a somewhat patchy effect. Fungal infections are especially common in hot and humid climates, with teenagers and adults more prone to be affected. If you suffer from a fungal infection it’s important that you see a dermatologist as soon as possible as it can be treated easily as long as symptoms are spotted early and not left untreated for too long.

Treatments

Treatment for fungal infections depend on how severe the condition is and where it is located. Below are some of the most common treatments used:

• OTC creams. In most mild cases of fungal infection, simply apply anti-fungal creams could get rid of the infection. However, if the case is more severe than that and it persists after using the cream, you will want to seek a doctor’s opinion. Most usually, topical shampoos/creams/lotions are given to the patient who is advised to either massage the shampoo into his/her head and leave for a few minutes before washing, or rub the cream/lotion into his/her skin and keep overnight.
• Oral medications. Oral medications may also be prescribed alongside the above treatment, and medicated cleansers are also recommended for the patient at least once or twice a month especially in the hotter months. Take note that it could take weeks or months for your skin to regain its normal complexion after treatment.

Prevention

Below are some methods through which you can prevent fungal infections from reoccurring:

• Wear natural fabrics like cotton and make sure your clothes aren’t skin tight and allow you to breathe
• Try as much as possible to not make your skin any greasier than it already is. To do this you should avoid using oil-based products on your skin
• Your doctor may also prescribe some oral medicine or tropical creams that you are expected to use at least twice a month so that the fungal infection does not reoccur.

5. Leprosy

Condition Description

This is a disease that has been around since ancient times. It will cause skin sores, damaged nerves and weaker muscles which can worsen over time if not treated.

Treatments

Treatment includes antibiotics (including rifampin, dapsone, clofazamine, minocycline fluoroquinolones, and macrolides) that can kill the bacteria that cause the disease. Inflammation can be controlled with aspirin or prednisone.

6. Pregnancy

If you experience white spots on your face during pregnancy, then don’t worry as this is a very common symptom resulting from hormonal imbalances and disappears after childbirth. Some patients report that they stayed throughout lactation too, but it varies from one condition to the next.

7. Poikiloderma of civatte

Condition Description

This is a chronic skin condition that is usually a result of sun damage. On the upside, it is non-cancerous but it usually only occurs in fair-skinned adults. Patients will experience white patches one their neck/chest area as well as darker areas and some redness.

Treatments

This condition does not require treatment, however, to prevent it from becoming worse, patients are advised to wear clothes that protect their skin and sunscreen. Laser therapy can also make this condition less obvious.

8. Lichen Sclerosis

Condition Description

This skin condition starts with small, shiny white spots on your skin—especially in the genital and anal area, but it also occurs near your breasts and upper body. These spots can grow bigger often causing bruises and itching. Other symptoms include possible bleeding and pain.

Treatments

While the condition is not contagious, it us usually treated if it occurs in the genital area as it can lead to other complications such as with urination and sex. Treatments include anti-inflammatory creams, and in men, circumcision could be required to prevent the condition from occurring again.

Before choosing any medications, be sure that you are well aware of your symptoms and seek a medical opinion to be sure because while this article has tried to be as comprehensive as possible, there are a myriad of other causes and only your doctor can give you an accurate diagnosis.

Home Remedies for White Spots on Face

1. A clean face. Make sure you wash your face with soap and water several times a day. Infections will usually thrive on oily, dirty skin.

2. Apple vinegar splash. Mix some apple vinegar with water and splash it on your face twice a day. Since vinegar is acidic in nature, it will kill off any bacteria or fungi and also reduce any white spots.

3. Exfoliation. Perform an exfoliation of your skin 1-2 times a week so that dead skin cells /dirt are removed from your pores.

4. Ginger rubbing. Rub a piece of ginger on the spots three times a day, for at least 5 minutes each time. This will help make them disappear faster.

5. Cabbage. Crush a couple of cabbage leaves until they extract some water. Put the cabbage water on a cotton ball and rub the areas that are affected with white spots.

6. Black gram. Grind a bit of black gram until it become paste-like by adding some water. Apply to your face or affected areas on your body for 10 minutes before rinsing off with lukewarm water.

7. Ginger and lemon juice. Crush a piece of ginger until it extracts some water. Mix this ginger juice with some lemon juice and water and drink it.

8. Walnuts and figs. Adding walnuts and figs into your diet can help eliminate any white spots after a month.

9. Radish seeds and ginger paste. Grind approx. 25g of radish seeds and mix with 2tsp of vinegar. Put the paste on the affected areas for about 10 minutes before rinsing off with lukewarm water.

10. Turmeric. Soak 500g of turmeric in 8 liter of water and let it boil on the stove until you’re left with about 1 liter of the mixture. Strain it and add 0.5 liter of mustard oil. Put the mixture on your face twice a day for a couple of months to see the white spots disappear.