Heightened concern about the appearance of the skin may contribute to an early awareness of the condition among women. In early vitiligo, white color areas are not distinct and may be pruritic. Primarily, vitiligo progresses without any symptoms. In late vitiligo, tendency of spreading can be stopped. At first there are usually only a few, small, sharply, circumscribed foci, the borders of which are often hyperpigmented.
Lesions increase in number, can become confluent, and then take on bizarre shapes.
Vitiligo lesions may be localized or generalized, the latter being more common. Localized vitiligo is restricted to one general area including a segmental or quasidermatomal distribution. Generalized vitiligo implies more than one general area of involvement - the macules are usually found on both sides of the trunk either symmetrically or asymmetrically arrayed. Most common sites of involvement are the face, neck, and scalp. Vitiligo quite often occurs around body orifices such as the lips, genitals, gingiva, areolae, and nipples.