Call them what you want - age spots or liver spots or solar lentigo - many of us have them on our skin. We get them after years of too much sun. If you have light skin, you're even more likely to develop age spots.
Age spots can appear anywhere - on the skin of your face, arms, hands, legs, back, even on the skin of your feet. If you want to prevent yourself from getting age spots - it's simple - stay out of the sun. In fact, staying out of the sun is one of the best anti-aging tools there is.
But if you already have age spots, don't give up hope. there are other options. One of the common ways to deal with age spots is with skin lightening cream, also known as fade cream. The key ingredient is in fade creams hydroquinone. This ingredient can lighten the skin, but it can also cause side effects, so you should use it in small areas only. You should also do a test patch, because it can irritate the skin, and make it red.
Exfoliants can also help with age spots. Exfoliants include Alpha hydroxy acid (AHA) and beta hydroxy acid (BHA). Tretinoin (better known by the brand names Retin-A and Renova) is also an exfoliant. Exfoliants are a key ingredient in many products you can buy over-the-counter, including moisturizers, toners, and astringents. Exfoliants cause the uppermost layers of the skin to shed. The skin underneath is then revealed. This reduces the discoloration over time. Exfoliants can leave the skin red or irritated, but do work over time to lessen skin discoloration and other problems.
There are also surgical options for age spots. One is cryotherapy or freezing. In cryotherapy, liquid nitrogen is applied to the area of discoloration. This basically destroys the extra pigment, but it can also cause scars. Lasers are also used to remove age spots. Another procedure that can remove age spots is dermabrasion, in which the upper layers of the skin are sanded away. Chemical peels also remove the top layer of skin cells and can be used to remove age spots.
With any of these procedures, you have to use sun protection afterwards, or your skin will just develop age spots all over again. Use a sunscreen with a high SPF, and avoid sun exposure. If you have had age spots removed on your arms, legs or back, sun protective clothing can help keep them from coming back.
Ed Nichols is a health and medical writer. For more information on anti-aging, age spots, sun protection and other skin care issues, please visit http://www.healthyu-skin.org
For age spots info, please see http://www.healthyu-skin.org./aging_skin_spots.htm
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