Tattoo for Vitiligo Patches: When And How?

Tattoo for vitiligo patches: when and how? 

Key points 

Cosmetic tattoo represents the standard treatment for achieving permanent camouflage in vitiligo areas. 

It is especially helpful for mucosal vitiligo. 

Adverse effects must be considered. 

Answer 

The tattoo is currently adopted by the general  population for ritual or symbolic reasons. It  consists in introducing micropigments into dermis,  i.e. inerting iron oxides that are considered to be  unable to migrate. The micropigment implanted  into skin cannot be washed off, but its colors fade  naturally in 24-36 months. 

Cosmetic results depend on doctor’s or  technician’s skill in matching the color of the  tattoo with the color of the surrounding normal  skin. 

Dark skinned people usually have better results  than fair skinned individuals. 

Adverse effects that have been reported include  recurrences of herpes simplex infection, chronic  granulomatous reactions to implanted pigments,  allergic reactions, koebnerization, imperfect color  matching and, in our experience, also cutaneous  pseudolymphomas.