Tinea versicolor affects millions of people worldwide. It is not dependent on the age, sex or race of an individual. Yet, teens and younger adults aged 18 to 35 are more affected by this condition than others. In the United States alone, it is estimated that 2% to 8% of people have experienced this condition at least once in their lifetime, which is from 6 million to 25 million people.

There is no correlation between one’s health and tinea versicolor. Most of the people who get this disease are perfectly healthy in the first place.

It is known that tinea versicolor is caused by the body’s yeast. Yeast is present all over a human’s skin. At times, the yeast changes form into a fungus which harbors under the skin. It feeds off the skin’s oil and dead cells which is the source of tinea versicolor. Medical experts have been researching for years to find out what triggers the disease to form on one’s body; however the exact causes are not well understood.

There are a few identified factors that seem to lead to the formation of this condition, yet they are not definite. These are:

• Humid weather
• Excessive sweating
• Oily skin
• Weak immune system or taking medication that weakens the immune system
• Genetics
• Public areas like gyms and tanning equipment