The majority of us have, or have had, some sort of birthmark during our lives. Many are tiny and are in places that only our closest relations/ 'friends' know about. There are though, some that are more noticeable and vary in shape and size and can be of numerous colours. The differing types of birthmarks are known by fairly common sounding names, but each have their own characteristics.

Angel kiss birthmarks, also known as salmon patches or stork bites; occur in many newborns, on the back of the neck or between the eyebrows. These birthmarks are thin, flat, light pink or red in colour, with poorly defined borders. Many angel kiss birthmarks will spontaneously disappear within the first year of life, but those that are situated around the hairline at the back of the neck often remain into adulthood. Another common birthmark is the brown variety, also known as Caf-au-lait spots, and can appear anywhere on the body, but most often on the legs, torso and buttocks. They are permanent and range in colour from a light shade to a chocolate shade of brown. Purple birthmarks, also referred to as port-wine stains are uncommon birthmarks that are pink-red at birth and darken to reddish purple birthmarks by several years of age. develop normally. They can very often cover a large area of the body, generally are found on the face. The strawberry birthmark, as you might gather, gets its name from its resemblance to the fruit. They most often develop on the face, scalp, back or chest and are the most common of all birthmarks, but can be quite alarming at birth. They begin as raised, red soft lumps on the skin usually the size of a 50p piece.

A mongolian birthmark, also known as blue spots, are common among darker skinned races, such as Asian, East Indian, African and Hispanic. They are flat, pigmented lesions with nebulous borders and irregular in shape. They appear commonly at the base of the spine, on the buttocks or back, as well as the shoulders and can sometimes be mistaken for bruises.

The vast majority of birthmarks will disappear by the time a child starts puberty, but for those that don't and are thought to be unsightly and/or in a place which attracts attention; technology in the form of a laser removal process has been developed and is available in some cases. This laser removal treatment is quick and practically pain-free. The technique involves the lasers penetrating the surface of the skin and lightening the darkened areas and dependant upon the size of the birthmark, can take anywhere from several minutes to an hour, but are nearly always performed on an outpatient basis.