Everything You Need To Know About Cafe Au Lait Birthmarks

Posted on 27 Jul, 2023

Cafe au lait (which means coffee with milk in French) birthmarks are coffee coloured marks that appear on your body typically at birth. These birthmarks are with you for life, but do tend to naturally fade as you get older. Here at The Laser Treatment Clinic, we specialise in the safe removal of not only cafe au lait birthmarks, but all kinds of unwanted birthmarks too. We make use of our specialist technology to ensure you can have the skin of your dreams. 

If you have cafe au lait birthmarks and are considering having them removed then this blog post is for you. Here’s everything you need to know about these kinds of birthmarks, as well as how we can help fade and remove them from your skin.

Are cafe au lait birthmarks harmless? 

Yes, cafe au lait birthmarks are benign birthmarks that are congenital (present at birth). They pose no threat and cannot turn into cancer. However, if you have more than 6 cafe au lait birthmarks, it can be a sign of an underlying genetic disorder. In this case it’s always best to visit your GP, so they can answer any questions you may have. 

As for cafe au lait birthmarks, there is no medical treatment required. However, many people choose cosmetic treatment like the ones we offer here at The Laser Treatment Clinic. If your cafe au lait birthmark is an insecurity of yours, we can help boost your confidence by having it removed. There’s a number of ways we can do this, the most effective is laser treatment.

What causes cafe au lait birthmarks?

These birthmarks are a type of hyperpigmentation. This happens when the body produces too much melanin (the substance responsible for the colour of your skin). The excess melanin causes darker patches to show up on the skin, usually 2-3 shades darker than your skin tone. 

Cafe au lait birthmarks can also vary in size, usually severe larger birthmarks are the ones we remove. We understand that skin abnormalities can cause you to feel insecure and experience low self esteem, but we can help. 

What are the removal options?

As mentioned before, we have a variety of laser treatments to remove cafe au lait birthmarks. These include: IPL therapy (intense pulsed light), vascular laser treatment, and NdYag laser. Laser treatment works by heating up the blood vessels in the target area, which causes them to collapse and divert the blood flow away from the birthmark. This then allows the birthmark to fade and eventually disappear from the skin.  

To find out more about how we can help with the removal of cafe au lait birthmarks, and our various treatment options, contact us today. Feel free to book a free consultation too.