Lifestyle and home remedies

If you have vitiligo, the following self-care tactics may help you care for your skin and improve its appearance:

• Protect your skin from the sun and artificial sources of UV light. Use a broad-spectrum, water-resistant sunscreen with an SPF of at least 30. Apply sunscreen generously and reapply every two hours — or more often if you're swimming or sweating.

  You can also seek shade and wear clothing that shields your skin from the sun. Don't use tanning beds and sunlamps.

  Protecting your skin from the sun helps prevent sunburn of the discolored skin. Sunscreen also minimizes tanning, which accentuates the vitiligo patches.

• Conceal affected skin. Makeup and self-tanning products can help minimize the differences in skin color. You may need to try several brands of makeup or self-tanners to find one that blends well with your normal skin tone. The coloring of self-tanning products doesn't wash off, but it gradually fades over several days. If you use a self-tanner, select one that contains dihydroxyacetone, as it is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
• Don't get a tattoo. Damage to your skin, such as that caused by a tattoo, may cause a new patch of vitiligo to appear within two weeks.