Birthmarks, they come in all shapes, sizes and colours, and they’re more common than you might think.

But what are the different kinds of birthmarks out there, what causes them, and is there any way to treat them?

Any mark that is present on the skin at birth, or shows soon after birth, is considered a birthmark. This includes at-birth moles and freckles. Birthmarks can appear anywhere on the skin, and more than 80% of babies have some kind of birthmark, which may last only temporarily or be present their entire lives.

There are two main categories of birthmarks, but within each category there are a number of individual variations. The categories are vascular, involving blood vessels, and pigmented, involving the pigments of the skin. Let’s explore these a bit more now.

Pigmented Birthmarks

Pigmented birthmarks are caused when there is an unusual development of pigment cells in the skin. Generally, they are caused by excess skin pigment cells being present.

Mole

Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Birthmarks — via www.xovain.com

Many people don’t think of moles as being a kind of birthmark, but moles that are present at birth are considered to be birthmarks. These kinds of birthmarks are called congenital melanocytic nevus, and can be located anywhere on the body. They appear light brown when babies are light-skinned, and almost black when babies are darker-skinned. They vary in shape, size and texture.

Mongolian Spot

Mongolian spots, also known as dermal melanocytosis, are benign congenital birthmarks that are flat and have irregular shapes and wavy borders. Mongolian spots are primarily found in people of East Asian and Turkic descent, but they are also found frequently in East Africans and Native Americans. The spots generally present around the lower back, buttocks and shoulders and are blue in colour, but they can also be a blue-black, blue-tray or deep brown. This often leads them to be confused with bruising. They tend to vanish after about three to five years of life.

Café Au Lait Spot

Café au lait spots, a variety of macules, can be found anywhere on the body. They tend to be oval in shape, and are a light brown colour that is similar to milky coffee, which is how they got their name. The marks are either present at birth, or develop in childhood, but they do not fade considerably with age. Having one or two on the body is normal, but when a child presents with more than four, it can be an indicator of neurofibromatosis which is a gentically inherited condition that causes tumors to grow on nerve tissue.