Vitiligo is a skin disorder in which the skin loses color in patches. The speed in which the skin loses color and its extent cannot be predicted. The effect may be seen on the hair or the insides of the mouth as well.

The cause of vitiligo remains unknown. It is understood to be an autoimmune disease triggered by environmental factors. Presence of other autoimmune diseases such as anemia or hyperthyroidism is considered risk factors for vitiligo.

Melanin is the compound that is responsible for the color of the skin and hair. Vitiligo is the result of melanin cells malfunctioning or dying. It is naturally more evident among darker skinned people though it occurs in skins of all types. This is not a harmful disease and poses no danger except leaving the person affected not happy with their skin.

Treatment can help in restoring the natural color but it will not stop further loss of color. The best recommendation for light-skinned people suffering from vitiligo is to cover the patches with sunscreen and makeup. Phototherapy can help colorize the patches but it comes at the risk of skin cancer. So it is considered as the second line of treatment. Sessions under a UV lamp are done about three times a week for a few weeks or months. This has been found to be quite effective. The best form of treatment so far has been steroids and ultraviolet light along with specific creams. The patches on the face are the easiest to recolor as the skin on the face is the thinnest. Patches on hands and feet are the hardest to recolor because of the thickness of the skin involved. Immune mediators such as glucocorticoids are also considered to aid in re-coloring vitiligo-affected skin as the disease is an immune disorder. Where the pigmentation is severe, there is an option to decolorize the entire skin with topical drugs to make the skin color even. Some of these drugs include mequinol and hydroquinone. All of the skin colors can be removed permanently using a medication called monobenzone. This takes about a year.

The first signs of vitiligo show up on the areas of the skin exposed to the sun. These include the face, arms, legs, and neck. It is characterized by loss of skin color in patches, premature graying of hair not just on the head but on the beard, eyebrows and lashes, loss of color on the insides of the mouth, lips, and nose, and loss of color in the retina. It generally appears before one is twenty years of age.

The loss of skin color can be generalized, occurring in any part of the body; it could be universal encompassing most of the body; it could be acrofacial affecting fingers; it can be mucosal, affecting the mucous membranes; it can be segmental, appearing on a particular part or side of the body when young and then stopping its progress; or it can be localized where it occurs only on a particular part or selected parts of the body. It has no cure but the speed of progress can be slowed and color could be returned to certain parts.