Skin spots and skin pigmentation is the same and they appear on the damaged parts of the skin. Skin is constantly bombarded by pollutants, impurities and external attacks. The skin layer offers protection to the body against theses external attacks and impurities. The skin cells are able to withstand a lot of wear and tear; they also have the ability to repel some of these attacks; absorb the impact of these attacks on their own without affecting the internal parts, along with the ability to rejuvenate itself and heal some of the wounds. There are many specialized cells in the skin that aid in the healing process and melanin pigments are one such group of cells.

These pigments are present all over the skin surface and are responsible in maintaining the skin coloration or evenness of skin tone, across the surface area of the skin. They are constantly at work, healing the damaged cells and imparting the body color to these cells. Since, skin is under constant attack, these cells are under constant work. Sometimes, the damage caused to some parts of the skin may be so big that the melanin pigments are overwhelmed and are not able to rectify it. This causes skin pigmentation or skin spots. Skin spots tend to contain a larger concentration of melanin pigments that imparts the darker color. All these pigments present in the spot are damaged and they cannot function properly on their own. These damaged pigments cannot even be healed properly, so, they lie dormant in their unhealed state on the damaged patch of skin. Skin spots are superficial in nature; they are restricted to the top layer of the skin. They are not harmful in any way but they are unaesthetic to look at. They can mar the overall aesthetic appeal of the people.  They can be removed with the help of various methods and laser removal method is the most popular one. When the skin spots are removed, the lower layer of the skin is exposed. The melanin pigments in this new layer of skin are fresh and undamaged. So, they can perform their function efficiently and this fresh patch of skin gradually matches the skin tone of the surrounding area. Skin spots can appear on people of all ages but it is more frequent on people who are approaching their old age. They can also appear on people whose occupations over expose them to sunlight.