Where vitiligo appears

Vitiligo can affect any area of the skin although some areas are preferentially affected, such as the neck, axillae, genitals (groin and penis, in particular), elbows, hands, knees and feet. According to one study, people with a dark phototype are more readily affected by vitiligo.

Generally speaking, it is more probable that the white patches of skin occur in areas exposed to the sun, such as the face and hands, in skin folds, such as the elbows, knees and groin, and in skin around orifices, such as the eyes, nostrils, umbilicus, and in the genital region.

Areas of the face respond more quickly than other areas to treatment and individuals with a dark phototype usually have better results.

When deciding which of the different therapeutic protocols to use, the main pictures of vitiligo to refer to are:

• generalised vitiligo, with symmetrical patches distributed casually over most of the skin surface;
• acrofacial/acral vitiligo, with patches limited to the extremities (hands and feet), with or without involvement of the face;
• focal/localised vitiligo, with patches limited to one or two areas of the body;

segmental vitiligo, with lesions restricted to a single part of the body, for example a leg, one half of the trunk or face, or to a dermatome. Segmental vitiligo accounts for 10% of all cases of vitiligo and differs from the other forms in many ways, including better response to the usual treatments, younger age at onset and less association with autoimmune diseases.