I still remember the first time I noticed them.
I was in my late thirties, standing in front of a full-length mirror after a summer vacation. My arms had a nice, healthy glow from all those days in the sun. But scattered across my forearms and shins were tiny, pale white spots—almost like someone had taken a paintbrush and flicked bleach onto my skin.
I panicked. My first thought was some kind of fungal infection. My second thought was something worse. I spent a solid hour googling “white spots on skin” and convinced myself I had everything from vitiligo to skin cancer.
Then I went to my dermatologist, and
