What are these white spots on my skin?

Symptoms:

You have dry, scaly, itchy patches which are lighter than the rest of your skin. The patches are growing slowly in clusters. You’re in your 20s and white patches have appeared where normal skin pigment has been destroyed, mainly in areas exposed to the sun.

You have tiny white raised spots on your face about 1-4mm in size. There’s no redness and no itching.

It could be:

Tinea versicolor (TV), a fungus which usually lives on the surface of the skin and can grow out of control. The patches become more noticeable when you have a suntan. Vitiligo, an autoimmune condition where your immune system mistakenly harms healthy cells – in this case melanocytes, the pigment-producing cells in your skin.

Milia – when the keratin in dead skin cells blocks sweat glands so that sweat becomes trapped under the skin and forms tiny cysts.

Stop it:

See your doctor to confirm the diagnosis. Antifungal shampoos, washes, soaps and creams are usually the first line of treatment. Antifungal pills may be necessary. The best option is to wear sunblock so that your skin can’t tan. If white patches are small, they can be tattooed. Low-dose hydrocortisone cream may also help.

In the hands of a dermatologist, the contents of the cysts can be wrinkled out with a sterile needle. Otherwise 0.1% tretinoin can be used under medical supervision.