More than 85 million people in the country are affected by skin diseases. If you’re concerned about the state of your skin, it’s time to consider assessing some of your specific issues.
For example, you might have noticed a number of small, dark spots on your skin. These livers spots will become more common as you grow older. Now, they might be something else, and that is why it is so important to own a well-lighted mirror, to really understand with what you’re dealing with. Go to Mirrorank to find the best ones, at the moment. They’re also common in younger people who spend a lot of time out in the sun.
Prefer a smooth, clear complexion? Keep reading to discover how to get rid of age spots. With these tips, you can keep these benign, pigment spots at bay.
Don’t let the sun ruin your skin. Instead, learn how to remove those skin spots with these eight easy tips.
1. Sunscreen
Wearing SPF 30 sunscreen every day can help prevent age spots from getting dark in the spring or summer. Before you head outside, prevent new age spots from forming by protecting your skin. Sunscreen is the best over-the-counter option to minimize your current age spots as well.
You don’t want the liver spots you already have to appear darker. Make sure your sunscreen is easier SPF 30 or higher. You can also use a moisturizing sunscreen to keep your skin hydrated.
Are you outside a lot throughout the day? If so, you risk sweating your sunscreen off.
Make sure to reapply your sunscreen as needed, whether or not you plan to spend more time outside.
Skin spots form when your body produces too much melanin—a pigment that grants your skin its color. Exposing your skin to too much sunlight encourages it to produce excess melanin. In order to prevent future age spots, you need to avoid the sun’s ultraviolet rays.
Otherwise, your skin will produce more melanin, which will make your skin spots even darker.
Age spots usually appear on areas of the skin that are often exposed to sunlight, including your:
- Face
- Arms
- Back
- Backs of the hands
- Shoulders
- Tops of the feet
You might notice lone age spots or a few clustered together. While they vary in size, they usually range between 0.2 and 2.0 centimeters in diameter.
Remember, it’s not enough to learn how to get rid of age spots. By using sunscreen, you’re preventing future spots, too!
2. Non-Prescription Lightening Creams and Serums
You can also find lightening creams over-the-counter. These creams can help reduce age spots by suppressing melanin production. However, non-prescription lightening creams work best on lighter, new age spots.
If you plan on searching for lightening creams, consider looking for active ingredients such as:
- Hydroquinone
- Glycolic acid
- Kojic acid
- Licorice root extract
- Niacinamide
Hydroquinone is ideal for lightening. However, it’s almost known for acting a little harsher on the skin. If you have sensitive skin, it could trigger reactions such as skin irritation or rebound pigmentation.
You can also try products with tranexamic acid, which offers less irritating lightening capabilities. Products with glycolic acid and hydroquinone, on the other hand, can help exfoliate your skin.
You might want to add a vitamin C serum to your routine as well. Vitamin C is an antioxidant, meaning it can protect your skin from sun damage and help prevent dark spots.
3. Prescription Fade Creams
If these over-the-counter options aren’t working, consider a prescription topical drug instead.
prescription fade creams can help slowly lighten age spots. However, these work over the span of a few weeks to months. If you’re looking for faster results, don’t forget to wear sunscreen!
Speak with your dermatologist about a prescription fade cream that contains hydroquinone and tretinoin. The hydroquinone will slow the production of melanin. Meanwhile, the retinol cream tretinoin will improve your skin texture.
The combination can help reduce the pigmentation from your liver spots.
While side effects are minimal, it’s still important to make note if you experience any after using a fade cream. The most common side effects include dryness, redness, or itching.
4. Intense Pulsed Light
There are also in-office treatments available that can help you discover how to get rid of age spots. One of the common treatment options available is intense pulsed light or IPL.
IPL treatments use light to target brown pigments on your skin. The pulsed light will destroy the pigment. After about a week, the age spots will darken before sloughing off altogether.
Most people need about four or more treatments to see results.
One of the advantages of this treatment option is they’re quick, easy, and require no downtime. The treatments are also fairly pain-free!
5. Laser Treatments
If you’re exploring in-house treatment options, consider laser treatments as well.
The success of these treatments depends on your skin color, skin tone, and location of your age spots. However, this is often the preferred option among many dermatologists. Laser treatments offer quick recovery times and long-lasting results.
For example, you might use a laser that uses ultra-short picosecond pulses to break up skin pigmentation particles.
There are also fractional lasers that used focused beams of light to deliver heat to the skin. The heat vaporized the pigmented skin cells and encourages collagen to remodel, which can help your skin look tight, smooth, and youthful.
You can learn more about liver spot removal through a laser treatment here.
6. Cryotherapy
If the heat doesn’t appeal to you, consider cryotherapy to remove your liver spots.
During this procedure, liquid nitrogen is applied to your existing age spots. The freezing agent will freeze and destroy pigment-making cells. Then, the spots will flake off.
7. Chemical Peels
Chemical peels can also reduce the appearance of your age spots. Your dermatologist will apply an acid to the treatment area, which burns the outer layer of your skin. Once the outer layer sloughs off, a new layer will take its place.
Side effects include drying skin and peeling.
8. Dermabrasion
Dermabrasion treatments involving sanding down the surface area of your skin. As with chemical peels, a new layer of skin will take the top layer’s place.
You might experience temporary redness and scabbing after your treatment.
Microdermabrasion, on the other hand, is less intense. These treatments will require more in-office visits before you see results.
How to Get Rid of Age Spots for a Smoother Complexion
Say goodbye to those liver spots! With these eight treatment options, you can discover how to get rid of age spots with ease.