In these individuals, the normal pathways for producing melanin are defective. Usually this defect is due to being homozygous for this autosomal, recessive trait. This means that these people usually have two copies of a particular recessive gene. The skin remains pink or with less pigment than normal throughout life, and the eyes have no pigment. The hair is white or with reduced color.
Skin cancers are common in albino individuals who live in sunny climes.
Many inflammatory disorders will result in a temporary pigment loss in the skin. For example, psoriasis can result in a temporary pigment loss. In these cases, depigmentation is permanent. This condition causes the loss of pigment in areas of skin without any evidence of disease. It is thought to be due to an autoimmune attack on melanocytes .