Age spots, liver spots, senile lentigines, or solar lentigines: call them what you will, but these are a common problem, and often times people have a genetic predisposition to getting age spots. The most obvious causes are skin damage from either age or exposure to the sun. They most often appear on the hands, face, back, and feet. Getting rid of age spots takes patience, like getting rid of scars or getting rid of wrinkles, the processes that remove age spots from your skin are controlled by your body and nothing more can be done than to help your body regenerate itself. However, one CAN prevent and thus get rid of age spots that way.
Thus, the focus of this article will be the prevention of age spots and the treatment of age spots still possible at home. At the end of this article I will outline some of the more common medical age spot treatments, usually performed by dermatologists or cosmetic surgeons. As always, to the right you have a couple of natural age spot treatments. But let’s start with getting rid of age spots at home.
A quick fix for age spots?
If you want to spare yourself the expenses associated with the various creams and home remedies to get rid of age spots, then make an appointment to have them removed at your local aesthetic laser clinic. This also helps you avoid any difficulties or side-effects that may happen with said creams/home remedies. Professionals are trained to watch for those difficulties.
Who gets age spots?
People from the ages of 40 and beyond are more susceptible to age spots, and are generally the people looking to get rid of age spots, because around the ages of 40-50 the skin tends to regenerate itself more slowly. Slower regeneration, coupled with a slowing metabolism, causes age spots, wrinkles, scars, fat, and other blemishes to occur more often and more noticeably.
Best Ways to Get Rid of Age Spots
Want to get rid of age spots? Then you’ll stay out of the sun.
That’s right, all the evidence is in and a majority of sun spots are caused by over exposure to the sun, which damages the skin, leaving it more susceptible to erratic pigmentation. Spots caused by over exposure to the sun are a lot like your typical scar, where pigmentation, like scar tissue, builds up to help protect and absorb the sun light. That is, after all, one of the functions of skin pigmentation: to protect us from the sun.
Of course, staying out of the sun completely isn’t possible, so if you want to prevent sun spots, wear protective clothing or sunscreen.
Long sleeve shirts, turtle necks, and long pants or skirts are your best bet for avoiding sun exposure, but sometimes it’s simply too warm outside to wear these things. If that’s the case, then it’s time you found yourself a sunscreen with a high SPF rating that you could imagine yourself wearing every day—you know, something that smells nice or doesn’t smell at all, something that won’t make you smell like a beer soaked sorority girl on spring break. Which, hey, may take you back to younger times.
The market for Alpha Hydroxy Acid (AHAs) is starting to see a huge growth in the fight to get rid of age spots and other skin disorders.
Considered by most dermatologists as the age spot creams, AHAs are acids derived from certain fruits and dairy products, which are applied to the skin topically. AHA creams are used to treat not only age spots but scars, wrinkles, and acne as well. These creams and the alpha hydroxy acids in them work to disintegrate the cellular binding mechanisms in the upper epidermal layers, allowing dead skin cells that have built up while you’ve aged to slough off and let newer skin cells take their place.
Retinoids, derived synthetically from Vitamin A, have been used to get rid of age spots for quite some time.
Vitamin A is an essential human nutrient, which is used by the body to regulate the growth rates of our skin cells, particularly skin cells closer to the surface. As it turns out, Vitamin A in higher dosages applied directly to the skin causes your body’s natural exfoliating process to accelerate, where old skin cells are replaced by new skin cells. Old skin cells dry out and slough off, leaving your skin free of liver spots or age spots, wrinkles, and scars. You can find Derma E Vitamin A and Green Tea moisturizer at Amazon.
While chemical peels are a certain way to get rid of age spots, they are usually performed by a doctor.
There are, however, certain formulas available over-the-counter that you can use as chemical peels. You should consult your pharmacist or drug store manager about which chemical peel formula is right for you, or better yet, have your doctor or a dermatologist do it for you. Personally, I would rather not undergo a chemical peel skin treatment because they always use harsh chemicals to wound the skin, forcing it to peel away. That’s gross.
Cosmetic Skin Treatments for Age Spots
Soft Tissue Augmentation
A process where collagen (usually produced by cows) is injected into the skin to help improve the appearance of skin. As a naturally occurring substance in our bodies, collagen is the binder that helps in the construction of new skin cells.
Microdermabrasion
A process I’ve mentioned in a number of our skin treatment articles. A metal brush with very fine teeth is applied to those areas that have been distorted by scars or age spots, pulling the dead skin cells away, allowing new skin cells to take their place.
Natural Treatments for Age Spots
Non-Ablative Skin Rejuvenation
A relatively new, non-invasive procedure that uses natural pulses of light to activate dying skin cells, causing them to act more like younger skin cells. The low levels of light stimulate energy in the existing cells, much like photosynthesis in plants. It’s definitely an interesting technology, and something worth looking into. Ten to eight repetitions of this procedure followed with applications of vitamin rich skin creams should have you seeing results.
Cocoa Butter
Cocoa butter has been used to protect skin in harsh environments for a while now. Though it doesn’t actually block out the sun’s rays, it’s an ingredient in many natural or organic skin treatment products. I’m a big fan of cocoa butter. Amazon has some good choices, like this for certified organic Cocoa Butter.
