Call them what you may, but age spots (or liver spots, senile lentigines and solar lentigines) are not only unsightly but often a symptom of poor skin care. Fortunately, that also means there are a number of ways you can prevent and get rid of them.
The most obvious and perhaps important method of prevention is staying out of the sun. We’re not talking about walking around with an umbrella on rainless days, but wearing sunscreen on warm sunny ones when you know you are going to be outside would be a good positive step toward age spot prevention. If you don’t protect your skin, your body will protect it for you, but in undesirable ways.
Overexposure to the sun can cause irregular pigmentation like liver spots from the body’s natural desire to protect itself. By wearing sunscreen you are circumventing that kind of undesirable involuntary protection.
Those already seeing age spots develop in common areas like the hands, back, neck and feet need not fear, as there are a few popular and effective products on the market. One particularly popular type of products are AHAs (Alpha Hydroxy Acids). AHAs are topically applied creams that are useful not only in treating age spots but other skin issues like wrinkles, acne and scars. Essentially what these creams do is remove dead skin cells so newer ones can form those layers instead.
Chemical peels are another option in treating age spots. While there are over-the-counter treatments available, it would be wise to seek out a doctor first as they can perform these treatments themselves with often better results. One should be aware that these treatments are more invasive than AHAs, because instead of naturally replacing dead skin cells with newer ones chemicals are being used to peel the skin.
Two alternatives to creams and peels are soft tissue augmentation and microdermabrasion. Both are fairly invasive (like a chemical peel), so should perhaps be a last resort rather than a first line of attack. Microdermabrasions work by pulling dead skin cells away from areas where age spots exist, making way for newer skin cells. This is achieved by running a very fine-toothed metal brush through those areas.
Soft tissue augmentation involves a collagen injection into the plagued area of the skin. The intended result is fresher looking skin. Collagen is a natural substance, and it serves as a binder in the skin to develop new cells.
No matter what option you consider, make sure you are considering these options with your physician or dermatologist. After all, we pay them to know our bodies better than we know them ourselves.
The most obvious and perhaps important method of prevention is staying out of the sun. We’re not talking about walking around with an umbrella on rainless days, but wearing sunscreen on warm sunny ones when you know you are going to be outside would be a good positive step toward age spot prevention. If you don’t protect your skin, your body will protect it for you, but in undesirable ways.
Overexposure to the sun can cause irregular pigmentation like liver spots from the body’s natural desire to protect itself. By wearing sunscreen you are circumventing that kind of undesirable involuntary protection.
Those already seeing age spots develop in common areas like the hands, back, neck and feet need not fear, as there are a few popular and effective products on the market. One particularly popular type of products are AHAs (Alpha Hydroxy Acids). AHAs are topically applied creams that are useful not only in treating age spots but other skin issues like wrinkles, acne and scars. Essentially what these creams do is remove dead skin cells so newer ones can form those layers instead.
Chemical peels are another option in treating age spots. While there are over-the-counter treatments available, it would be wise to seek out a doctor first as they can perform these treatments themselves with often better results. One should be aware that these treatments are more invasive than AHAs, because instead of naturally replacing dead skin cells with newer ones chemicals are being used to peel the skin.
Two alternatives to creams and peels are soft tissue augmentation and microdermabrasion. Both are fairly invasive (like a chemical peel), so should perhaps be a last resort rather than a first line of attack. Microdermabrasions work by pulling dead skin cells away from areas where age spots exist, making way for newer skin cells. This is achieved by running a very fine-toothed metal brush through those areas.
Soft tissue augmentation involves a collagen injection into the plagued area of the skin. The intended result is fresher looking skin. Collagen is a natural substance, and it serves as a binder in the skin to develop new cells.
No matter what option you consider, make sure you are considering these options with your physician or dermatologist. After all, we pay them to know our bodies better than we know them ourselves.
