ABSTRACT
Assessment of skin colours is crucial for the diagnosis, management, and therapeutic outcome evaluation of hyperpigmentary disorders. Reflectance spectroscopy techniques, which include colorimetry and spectrophotometry, have been introduced in the clinical setting. They represent objective and reproducible methods for the evaluation of skin colours, based on the measure of the intensity of reflected light of specific wavelengths. Spectrophotometric intracutaneous analysis (SIAscopy) is a novel diagnostic method with a higher accuracy in determining the contribution of individual skin cromophores. Tristimulus instruments produce a white light that interacts with a chosen skin area and then records the intensity of reflected light through a photodiode array. Narrowband instruments use light-emitting diodes for green light and red light to illuminate the skin surface, and then the intensity of the reflected light is measured. Hyperpigmentary disorders occur with greater frequency and severity in black individuals and mostly involve the face, with melasma being the most common.
