Age spots and what some people call “sun spots” can be a serious nuisance to the skin and make even the healthiest looking person appear years older than they actually area.  Before I can delve into just how you can get rid of age spots, it’s probably beneficial to explain how you can prevent age spots.

The sun is the biggest single source of causing age spots and other forms of semi-permanent skin damage, especially on the face and neck.  Your pigmentation can change quite rapidly due to overexposure to the sun, and it’s something that builds up over time as you spend hours, days, and eventually, weeks basking in the sun, whether it is on purpose or not.  Some people will go outside, lather up with oils and creams, in an effort to change their skin to the darkest color possible.  While this can lead to a short term “killer tan” as some people would say, it can also lead to long term damage in the form of wrinkles and sun spots.

Most people will agree it is nearly impossible to avoid the sun.  No matter what region of the world you live in, the sun shines in some form or another and it’s impossible to avoid it, even in winter months.  There are a few ways you can protect yourself from the sun, of course, the most obvious being using sunblock.  In addition to using an spf sunblock, you can wear protective clothing such as hats, sunglasses, or even a bandana wrapped around the face if you are standing in line or in another situation where you are going to receive direct sunlight.  Of course, if you are wearing sunblock on a daily basis, which is recommended, especially if you live near the equator, try to find something without any odor or that is light in volume.

Now that we’re straight on how to prevent age spots, sun spots, and one I didn’t mention earlier, liver spots, it’s time we address the topic at hand:  how to get rid of them.

Let’s start out by listing a few methods that MAY work to get rid of sun spots.

1.  Wrinkle Creams. Most anti wrinkle creams are marketing themselves as an “end all” formula to get rid of wrinkles, fine lines, dark under eye circles, and now, yes, age spots.  While anti wrinkle creams may conceal the appearance of sun spots or damage, they will NOT remove them nor treat them therapeutically.  Any wrinkle cream marketed as such is simply lying or making up claims that they cannot back up.  Look on for a new anti wrinkle solution if there are strong claims such as “age spots” in their list of claims.

2.  Chemical Peels. These are becoming very popular, because they work.  Performed by a Doctor, these peels are invasive, that is a serious “kicker” to some people, and there can be some pain when it’s performed, but it’s all for a purpose.  Chemical peels work to burn off and kill the skin cells on the first layer of skin, allowing new skin that was not damaged underneath to reach the surface, revealing a new look.  One person who I asked recently about chemical peels said “it’s like a giant exfoliation project.”  Interesting….

One downfall to the chemical peel process is that the entire face needs about a week to slough off the dead skin cells and essentially come back to normal.  So if you choose to use this method, be sure you select to do this on a week where you don’t have any important meetings or events planned!

3.  Skin brighteners. Usually containing hydroquinone, a skin brightener can essentially lighten the skin.  This includes moles, freckles, and of course, age spots.  However, skin brighteners have some drawbacks.  For starters, while skin brighteners do work, it will take several weeks for results to appear.  Then, once results are achieved, they can vanish quite rapidly once the affected area is exposed to the sun.

One proven method to get rid of age spots is microdermabrasion.  This process uses a metal brush which drags very fine teeth across the skin, which removes dead skin cells.

Whatever method you use, just keep in mind that it requires patience.  Just like the age spots did not appear overnight, they won’t vanish overnight as well.

by Brad Schwartz

Tags | get rid of age spots, get rid of sun damage, get rid of sun spots