Your doctor probably told you that those brown patches showed up abruptly on your skin and are nothing to worry about – they are normal age spots.
Okay, that’s great news.
Some may find age spots to be embarrassing whereas some just plainly do not like them. So if you don’t like how age spots look on you, you probably might be wondering how you got them, how you can get rid of them, and how you can handle them to avoid getting more.
How Age Spots Show Up
Age spots, also known as liver spots or solar lentigines, occur after severe exposure to ultraviolet (UV) light. They are typically tan, brown, or black; vary in size, and generally show up on the areas that are most exposed to the sun such as the face, hands, and arms.
Your skin contains melanin, which delivers your skin its color. This skin pigment also gives you a tan when your skin is exposed to UV light for a long time.
And as a matter of fact, they appear when melanin becomes gathered in one spot in the skin or is created in higher concentrations due to certain reasons.
Age spots can appear in everybody, but you may be more likely to get this condition if you have light-colored or fair skin or have a history of frequent or extreme sun exposure or sunburn.
And in case you notice that the spots have grown or changed in size, or are multi-colored or bleed, see your doctor right away. As this could possibly be cancerous and need to be treated immediately.
How You Can Prevent Age Spots
Starting from the very root cause of age spots. Use a lot of sunscreen with SPF of at least 30 to prevent age spots from appearing or to prevent them from appearing again.
Also, don’t forget to wear protective clothing out in the sun, like hats & sunglasses. And if you drive frequently, you might even want to consider buying an ultraviolet protective coating on the driver’s side window of your car.
How You Can Treat Age Spots
You probably are unhappy with your age spots, much like all other people. But there are ways you can get rid of them or even lighten them.
The pigment causing age spots is at the base of the epidermis — the topmost layer of skin — so any medications intended to lighten the age spots must enter this layer of the skin.
Effective treatments for age spots can include lightening creams that contain the ingredient called hydroquinone as seen in skinlite cream 20g.
A chemical peel on the other hand is a known treatment that can be applied to the age spots directly. They can be more effective than any other non-operative options.
Lastly, if you decide to buy a non-prescription fade cream, choose the one that includes hydroquinone, glycolic acid, or kojic acid as they are powerful ingredients known to ward-off age spots quickly.