Age Spots (Dark Spots)
It doesn’t matter that age spots, or dark spots, are not caused by aging. Almost everyone thinks they are and thus they have become, by association, indelibly linked to aging.
Facial age spots often cause emotional concerns because they may be viewed as unsightly or unhealthy. Most age spots are harmless though unusual ones should be checked by a physician.
Life In The Sun
Age spots are actually caused by your skin being exposed to the sun. Those of us who have lived longer have had more sun exposure and therefore the brown age spots, or sun spots, are more prevalent with the elderly.
Our skin is protected from the sun’s ultraviolet rays by melanin pigment in our skin cells. The pigment absorbs sunlight. As we age, our skin cells often overproduce the pigment which then forms small brown spots on our skin. These spots are either age spots (solar lentigines) or freckles (ephiledes). People with fair complexions often develop ephiledes early in life.
Another folk term for age spots is “liver spots” but, of course, the spots have nothing to do with the liver. No matter what you call them, age spots appear most often on the hands, neck, arms and face because these areas suffer most exposure to the sun.
Despite the belief of the youth culture, tanning actually damages the skin and will likely lead to age spots in the future.
Age Spot (Dark Spot) Removal Treatments
Age spots, dark spots, sun spots, or liver spots are flat brown spots on your skin. Most commonly, these spots appear on the face, the backs of hands, forearms, neck and chest. As we age, out skin gradually loses its ability to recover from sun exposure, resulting in an uneven distribution of skin pigment (melanin) appearing as spots.
Prevention, through avoiding over-exposure to damaging UV rays, is perhaps the best medicine and can help keep you from getting more age spots in the future. But what about the spots you already have?
Over-the-counter sunscreens and lightening creams do little to treat age spots. Noticeable results may take years. But there are several age spot removal treatments that can be very quick and effective:
Chemical Peels
Facial chemical peels use a chemical solution to remove dead layers of your skin where age spots occur. This exposes the healthy, smooth and spotless skin underneath.
There are many types of chemical peels of varying strengths. Age spots, being very superficial, are best treated with a mild product such as the Enzyme or Jessner peel. Results may be noticeable even after one treatment and there is little or no down time. For most effective results, 6 treatments are recommended.
IPL (Intense Pulsed Light) Age Spot Treatments
A photo facial laser rejuvenation treatment provides excellent results with minimal pain and little downtime. Using our Palomar Starlux® System, pulsed light targets the melanin in age spots, where the light is converted into heat. The heat selectively destroys these brown spots, which are shed away, clearing the lesion and revealing fresher, healthier skin.
Laser Skin Resurfacing
Fractional laser skin resurfacing is an easy an effective way to get the youthful, beautiful skin you always wanted – without surgery. Treatments are quick and effective, with little discomfort and virtually no downtime.
What Age Spot Treatments Are Right For You?
You don’t have to live with your age spots. Call us today for a free consultation to discuss a treatment plan for clearer skin.