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How to Prevent Age Spots

Excessive exposure to the ultraviolet rays of the sun is more likely to cause the unattractive blotches called age spots. This is why age spots are also called sun spots. Other factors that make you more liable to age spots (no matter what your age is) are smoking, a diet high in refined sugars and fats, a lack of vitamins and over intake of poor quality saturated oils.

Age spots occur when our skin produces too much lipofuscin, a dark substance that colors our skin pigment. Unattractive age spots can start appearing as early as the late twenties but are most common after 55 years of age.

Age spots are also known as liver spots. Other common names for age spots are brown spots, lentigo and sunspots.

Like other skin conditions, age spots are much simpler to prevent than to cure. Consuming a diet rich in orange, vegetables (carrot and yams) and green leafy vegetables (collard greens and watercress) may help reduce your chances of developing these spots. These food items are rich in antioxidants that help fight against damaging free radicals that are developed as the result of excessive exposure to the sun. The food items that are rich in Vitamin A and carotene also help keep your skin in proper condition and more resistant to ultraviolet rays.

There are numerous products available in the market that can fade them to make it less noticeable. The active ingredient in these over the counter products is a chemical called hydroquinone. Hydroquinone is a mild bleaching agent that helps to fade the appearance of all kinds of dark skin discolorations including age spots, scars and freckles. Some prescription versions of this cream also include topical vitamin A, which can also help to lighten the look of ugly age spots.

If your age spots are particularly unpleasant or forming in an unwanted place where they are too noticeable (such as on the face) there are some slightly more invasive ways to cosmetically treat the problem. One of the most famous cosmetic treatments for age spots is a chemical peel. These peels contain anywhere from 70% to 80 % glycolic acid and remove layers of skin to diminish the appearance of the spots.

Another option is laser resurfacing. In this method, the age spots are literally burned away using a sophisticated targeted laser. However, this treatment only results effectively on very white skin with very dark age spots. This is because laser treatments need a distinction of colors (black on white) to do their job well. Darker age spots on dark skin do not respond well at all to these treatments. Black or dark brown age spots on fair skin respond well to this treatment.

Even though most age spots are harmless blotches, the early stages of skin cancer can misguide as innocent looking dark spots. Your physician or a dermatologist should verify any spot that enlarges, thickens, changes color, itches or bleeds. Unevenly shaped dark spots that change in color or increase in size could be the early warning sign of serious skin cancers.

One cost effective and normal way to reduce age spots is to simply stay away from the sun and wear long sleeved shirts. You should always take measures to protect all of your exposed skin if you know you are going to be in a place where there is likely to be a lot of ultraviolet light.