Age Spots and Brown Liver Spots | Lighten or Prevent Solar Lentigo/Skin Discoloration with Lasers, Peel

Age Spots | Skin Spots and Discoloration

Age spots, or "liver spots" as they're often called, have nothing to do with the liver. Rather, these flat, brown spots are caused by years of sun exposure. They make us look like we have older skin. They are bigger than freckles and appear in fair-skinned people on sun-exposed areas. So, how can you get rid of age spots?

Age spots can be found all over the body, including:

• face
• hands
• arms
• back
• feet

The medical name for them is solar lentigo. They may be accompanied by wrinkling, dryness, thinning of the skin, and rough spots.

To maintain younger looking skin there are a number of treatments available. Some, like liposuction or face-lifts, don't work on age spots. But others do work as age spot treatments.

How to fade age spots

There are several facial skin care products that can help with age spots. Treatments available for to remove age spots or make age spots fade on older skin include:

• Skin-lightening, or "fade" creams - Bleaching creams containing hydroquinone can be useful for people with fair skin. Hydroquinone can however irritate and temporarily redden the skin. It is also essential that you use strong sunscreen for sun protection if you use a product containing hydroquinone to remove age spots. Some creams may contain kojic acid. It is a byproduct of fermentation and is sometimes used as a preservative in foods. Vitamin C also known as ascorbic acid is available in a number of lightening creams. There are many different product lines with creams and gels that can work to fade age spots, usually with hydroquinone as an active ingredient. For example, the Obagi Nu Derm line works to eliminate sun or age spots as well as hyperpigmentation. Murad also produces a gel for age spots and pigment lightening. CamoCare has an herbal product for sun spots. Meladerm is another product for excess pigment that uses herbal ingredients. Drugstores have less expensive lines such as Neutrogena and even generic brands.
• Alpha hydroxy acid (AHA) and beta hydroxy acid (BHA) - AHAs and BHAs cause a light peeling or exfoliation of the skin, which can help to fade age spots and discoloration over time. Examples of AHAs include glycolic acid and lactic acid. Many face and body lotions contain these. The most commonly used BHA is salicylic acid.
• Cryotherapy (freezing) - Liquid nitrogen or another freezing agent is applied to the age spots to destroy the extra pigment and remove the age spots. There is a chance of scarring, and it is usually done on single spots or smaller areas.
• Laser therapy - Laser therapy destroys the dark pigment without damaging the skin's surface. You may need several sessions, with the spots fading in the weeks or months after treatment. Different types of lasers can be used. The Q-switched Ruby Laser (QSRL), Q-switched Nd:YAG and Q-switched Alexandrite Laser are all used on age spots.
• Tretinoin - Tretinoin cream is approved for reducing the appearance of darkened spots. A sunscreen or sun block should be used to prevent further damage. Tretinoin is the active ingredient in Retin-A and Renova.
• Dermabrasion - This involves sanding the surface layer of your skin with a rapidly rotating brush or other mechanism to remove the skin's surface. There will be alot of redness and scabbing right afterwards, and healing can take several weeks.
• Chemical peel - A chemical peel involves applying an acid, which burns the outer layer of your skin, to the age spots.

It is essential that after any treatment to remove or fade age spots, that you use good sun protection. Apply sunscreen with a SPF of at least 15. Use sun protective hats and clothing, and stay out of sunlight as much as possible. To keep age spots from returning, make sure you continue to use sun protection every day.

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Updated June 2009

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