Birthmarks/Pigmented Skin
Birthmarks are abnormal skin colorations in spots that are either present at birth or appear shortly thereafter. They can be flat or slightly raised from the skin. They can be any number of colors, including red, brown, black, tan, pink, white, or purple. Birthmarks are generally harmless. There are two major categories of birthmarks: pigmented birthmarks and red birthmarks.
Pigmented Birthmarks can grow anywhere on the skin and at any time. They are usually black, brown, or skin-colored and appear singly or in groups. They can be moles (congenital nevi) present at birth, Mongolian spots, which look like bluish bruises and appear more frequently on people with dark skin, or café-au-lait spots that are flat, light brown, or tan and roughly form an oval shape.
Red Birthmarks (also known as macular stains) develop before or shortly after birth and are related to the vascular (blood vessel) system. There are several different types:
Angel kisses, which usually appear on the forehead and eyelids.
Stork bites appear on the back of the neck, between the eyebrows on the forehead, or on the eyes’ eyelids. They may fade away as the child grows but often persist into adulthood.
Port-wine stains are flat deep-red or purple birthmarks made up of dilated blood capillaries (small blood vessels). They often appear on the face and are permanent.
Strawberry hemangiomas, composed of small, closely packed blood vessels that grow rapidly and appear anywhere on the body. They usually disappear by age nine.
Cavernous hemangiomas are similar to strawberry hemangiomas but go more deeply into the layers of the skin. A bluish-purple color can often characterize these. They also tend to disappear naturally around school age.