The disease can last for a considerably long time. Occasionally, "spontaneous cure" may ensue, particularly in young girls.

Lichen sclerosus is associated with a higher risk of cancer. Skin that has been scarred as a result of lichen sclerosus is more likely to develop skin cancer. Women with lichen sclerosus may develop vulvar carcinoma. Lichen sclerosus is associated with 3–7% of all cases of vulvar squamous cell carcinoma. In women, it has been reported that 33.6 times higher vulvar cancer risk is associated with LS. A study in men reported that "The reported incidence of penile carcinoma in patients with BXO is 2.6–5.8%".

IBS is an autosomal dominant genetic condition caused by a mutation in the gene for keratin 2e on chromosome 12.

This means an affected person has a 50% chance of passing the condition on to their child. Around half of cases of IBS, however, have no parent with the condition and have the genetic fault due to a spontaneous mutation.

Lichen sclerosus may have a genetic component. Higher rates of lichen sclerosus have been reported among twins and among family members.

Usually, a common form of treatment for the condition is a type of hand cream which moisturises the hard skin. However, currently the condition is incurable.

Ichthyosis linearis circumflexa is a distinctive skin condition of generalized hyperkeratosis and polycyclic and serpiginous erythematous plaques with a characteristic, migratory, double-edged scale at the margins, and is the typical cutaneous manifestation of Netherton's syndrome.

Ichthyosis bullosa of Siemens is a type of familial, autosomal dominant ichthyosis, a rare skin disorder. It is also known as bullous congenital ichthyosiform erythroderma of Siemens or ichthyosis exfoliativa. It is a genetic disorder with no known cure which is estimated to affect about 1 in 500,000 people.

Palmoplantar keratodermas are a heterogeneous group of disorders characterized by abnormal thickening of the palms and soles.

Autosomal recessive and dominant, X-linked, and acquired forms have all been described.

Many conditions affect the human integumentary system—the organ system covering the entire surface of the body and composed of skin, hair, nails, and related muscle and glands. The major function of this system is as a barrier against the external environment. The skin weighs an average of four kilograms, covers an area of two square meters, and is made of three distinct layers: the epidermis, dermis, and subcutaneous tissue. The two main types of human skin are: glabrous skin, the hairless skin on the palms and soles (also referred to as the "palmoplantar" surfaces), and hair-bearing skin. Within the latter type, the hairs occur in structures called pilosebaceous units, each with hair follicle, sebaceous gland, and associated arrector pili muscle. In the embryo, the epidermis, hair, and glands form from the ectoderm, which is chemically influenced by the underlying mesoderm that forms the dermis and subcutaneous tissues.

The epidermis is the most superficial layer of skin, a squamous epithelium with several strata: the stratum corneum, stratum lucidum, stratum granulosum, stratum spinosum, and stratum basale. Nourishment is provided to these layers by diffusion from the dermis, since the epidermis is without direct blood supply. The epidermis contains four cell types: keratinocytes, melanocytes, Langerhans cells, and Merkel cells. Of these, keratinocytes are the major component, constituting roughly 95 percent of the epidermis. This stratified squamous epithelium is maintained by cell division within the stratum basale, in which differentiating cells slowly displace outwards through the stratum spinosum to the stratum corneum, where cells are continually shed from the surface. In normal skin, the rate of production equals the rate of loss; about two weeks are needed for a cell to migrate from the basal cell layer to the top of the granular cell layer, and an additional two weeks to cross the stratum corneum.

The dermis is the layer of skin between the epidermis and subcutaneous tissue, and comprises two sections, the papillary dermis and the reticular dermis. The superficial papillary dermis with the overlying rete ridges of the epidermis, between which the two layers interact through the basement membrane zone. Structural components of the dermis are collagen, elastic fibers, and ground substance. Within these components are the pilosebaceous units, arrector pili muscles, and the eccrine and apocrine glands. The dermis contains two vascular networks that run parallel to the skin surface—one superficial and one deep plexus—which are connected by vertical communicating vessels. The function of blood vessels within the dermis is fourfold: to supply nutrition, to regulate temperature, to modulate inflammation, and to participate in wound healing.

The subcutaneous tissue is a layer of fat between the dermis and underlying fascia. This tissue may be further divided into two components, the actual fatty layer, or panniculus adiposus, and a deeper vestigial layer of muscle, the panniculus carnosus. The main cellular component of this tissue is the adipocyte, or fat cell. The structure of this tissue is composed of septal (i.e. linear strands) and lobular compartments, which differ in microscopic appearance. Functionally, the subcutaneous fat insulates the body, absorbs trauma, and serves as a reserve energy source.

Conditions of the human integumentary system constitute a broad spectrum of diseases, also known as dermatoses, as well as many nonpathologic states (like, in certain circumstances, melanonychia and racquet nails). While only a small number of skin diseases account for most visits to the physician, thousands of skin conditions have been described. Classification of these conditions often presents many nosological challenges, since underlying etiologies and pathogenetics are often not known. Therefore, most current textbooks present a classification based on location (for example, conditions of the mucous membrane), morphology (chronic blistering conditions), etiology (skin conditions resulting from physical factors), and so on. Clinically, the diagnosis of any particular skin condition is made by gathering pertinent information regarding the presenting skin lesion(s), including the location (such as arms, head, legs), symptoms (pruritus, pain), duration (acute or chronic), arrangement (solitary, generalized, annular, linear), morphology (macules, papules, vesicles), and color (red, blue, brown, black, white, yellow). Diagnosis of many conditions often also requires a skin biopsy which yields histologic information that can be correlated with the clinical presentation and any laboratory data.

Pustulosis palmaris et plantaris (also known as pustulosis of palms and soles, palmoplantar pustulosis, persistent palmoplantar pustulosis, pustular psoriasis of the Barber type, and pustular psoriasis of the extremities) is a chronic recurrent pustular dermatosis (that is, a pustulosis or pustular psoriasis) localized on the palms and soles only, characterized histologically by intraepidermal pustules filled with neutrophils. It can occur as part of the SAPHO syndrome.

Porokeratosis is a specific disorder of keratinization that is characterized histologically by the presence of a cornoid lamella, a thin column of closely stacked, parakeratotic cells extending through the stratum corneum with a thin or absent granular layer.

Acrokeratosis verruciformis (also known as "Acrokeratosis verruciformis of Hopf" is a rare autosomal dominant disorder appearing at birth or in early childhood, characterized by skin lesions that are small, verrucous, flat papules resembling warts along with palmoplantar punctate keratoses and pits. However sporadic forms, whose less than 10 cases have been reported, presents at a later age, usually after the first decade and generally lack palmoplantar keratoses.

Whether acrokeratosis verruciformis and Darier disease are related or distinct entities has been controversial, like Darier's disease, it is associated with defects in the ATP2A2 gene. however the specific mutations found in the ATP2A2 gene in acrokeratosis verruciformis have never been found in Darier's disease.

Diseases of the skin include skin infections and skin neoplasms (including skin cancer).

An extremely rare disease of which only a few isolated cases are known.

ILVEN usually appears in infancy or early childhood. The condition is very rarely begun in adulthood. ILVEN occurs predominantly in females (female-male ratio, 4:1) with no racial predominance.

Myrmecia is one of the three types of warts that occurs on the skin on the hands and feet (palmoplantar). It is induced by human papilloma virus type 1 (HPV1). They occur on the palms of the hands, soles of the feet, and on the sides of the fingers and toes. The histology is abundant eosinophilic inclusion bodies associated with HPV1 E4 gene products. It was studied as far back as 42 B.C. - 37 A.D. by Aulus Cornelius Celsus.

Overheating: The scaling of the skin prevents normal sweating so hot weather and/or vigorous exercise can cause problems.

Eye problems: The eyelids can be pulled down by the tightness of the skin and this can make eyelids (but usually just the lower one) very red and they are prone to drying and irritation.

Constriction bands: Very rarely children with this condition can have tight bands of skin around their fingers or toes (usually at the tips) that can prevent proper blood circulation to the area.

Hair loss: Severe scaling of the skin on the scalp can lead to patchy loss of hair, but this is rarely permanent.

Ectodermal dysplasia with corkscrew hairs is a skin condition with salient features including exaggerated pili torti, scalp keloids, follicular plugging, keratosis pilaris, xerosis, eczema, palmoplantar keratoderma, syndactyly, onchodysplasia, and conjunctival neovascularization.

The causes of Kyrle disease are unclear and can be idiopathic. The only correlation that has shown light is the frequent association with an underlying disorder, such as, diabetes mellitus, chronic renal failure, hyperlipoproteinemia, hepatic abnormalities, and congestive heart failure. However, there had been cases where Kyrle disease was seen without any conjunction with the previous mentioned disorders. Due to the causes of Kyrle disease is unknown, the best way to prevent the disease is to prevent the disorders that are usually reported in conjunction with it.

The causes of nail psoriasis are unknown. It has been suggested that fungi may play a role.

This condition is an autosomal recessive genetic disorder, which means the defective gene is located on an autosome, and both parents must carry one copy of the defective gene in order to have a child born with the disorder. Carriers of a recessive gene usually do not show any signs or symptoms of the disorder.

One form of ichthyosis lamellaris (LI1) is associated with a deficiency of the enzyme keratinocyte transglutaminase.

Genes involved include:

Epidermolytic ichthyosis (EI), (also known as "epidermolytic hyperkeratosis (EHK)", "bullous congenital ichthyosiform erythroderma (BCIE), bullous ichthyosiform erythroderma, or bullous congenital ichthyosiform erythroderma Brocq) is a rare and severe form of ichthyosis this skin disease affects around 1 in 300,000 people.

It involves the clumping of keratin filaments.

It is possible to classify epidermolytic hyperkeratosis based upon palm and sole hyperkeratosis.

This is a dominant genetic condition caused by mutations in the genes encoding the proteins keratin 1 or keratin 10.

- Keratin 1 is associated with the variants affecting the palms and soles.

- Keratin 10 is associated with the variants in which these are unaffected.

Morbidity and mortality range from both extremes as the significance correlate with the underlying systemic disease.

The term pustular psoriasis is used for a heterogeneous group of diseases that share pustular skin characteristics.

Inflammatory Linear Verrucous Epidermal Nevus (ILVEN) is a rare disease of the skin that presents as multiple, discrete, red papules that tend to coalesce into linear plaques that follow the Lines of Blaschko. The plaques can be slightly warty (psoriaform) or scaly (eczema-like). ILVEN is caused by somatic mutations that result in genetic mosaicism. There is no cure, but different medical treatments can alleviate the symptoms.