Sun spots. Age spots. Liver spots. Solar lentigines. Whatever you call them, you probably wish you didn’t have them. These flat, usually tan or dark brown spots are signs of cumulative sun damage and are most common on areas of the body that see the most sun, like the face, neck, chest and hands.
“When it comes to unsightly sun spots that make us look and feel older than we are, the most effective therapy is prevention,” says dermatologist Helen Torok, M.D., Medical Director for the Dermatology & Surgery Center at Trillium Creek in Medina, Ohio. That means wearing broad spectrum sunscreen with an SPF of at least 15 every day, staying out of the sun during peak hours, and wearing sun protective clothing and a hat when possible.
But once unsightly spots pop up, you don’t have to feel marked for life. With the right at-home or in-office care, age spots can be effectively erased. To find out which spot-removing treatment is right for you, check out what the experts had to say.
Torok’s prescription for at-home spot removal starts with twice daily applications of a lightening cream. Neova Intense Brightening Complex ($49, nextderm.com) is an OTC serum made with undecylenoyl phenylalanine, which blocks melanin synthesis, and botanical skin lighteners like licorice root, so it’s powerful yet gentle. Another cream to try is Obagi Nu-Derm Clear (obagi.com), a prescription-strength product that includes the controversial ingredient hydroquinone. Though there are some safety concerns surrounding hydroquinone, many dermatologists still suggest products that contain it for short-term use because they’re highly effective at lightening sun spots.
A DIY peel regimen can also help fade spots. Peels made with glycolic acid increase cellular turnover, which means darker pigmented skin sloughs off at a faster rate. Boosting exfoliation with regular at-home peels will, over time, reveal the healthy, even-toned skin below the surface.
Torok also advises using products that are loaded with antioxidants and collagen-boosting ingredients. Applying these on top of your lightening cream can help fight the additional signs of sun damage, like wrinkles and sagging, that often accompany sun spots.
Dermatologists have many ways to remove sun spots in their anti-aging arsenal, including several types of lasers. The Pearl laser, for example, removes most traces of sun damage in a single session, according to dermatologist Debra Jaliman, M.D. assistant professor of dermatology at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City. “During this treatment, the top layer of the skin is gently removed to reveal smoother, even-toned skin,” she says.
While a Pearl treatment is relatively painless, afterward, your skin will look like it’s suffered a sunburn and there will be some flaking a few days later, so you might want to take a week or so to recover at home.
Intense pulse light (or IPL) therapies simultaneously fade dark spots and reduce skin redness in as few as two treatments. IPL works by delivering high intensity pulses of light to the lower layers of skin in order to heat up and destroy pigmented skin cells.
Though IPL is considered a lunch hour treatment, according to Jaliman, brown spots may appear slightly darker for anywhere from 1 to 2 weeks after the treatment before they gently flake away and disappear.
If you’re looking for an option with even less downtown, try a YAG laser like MedLite. Unlike other lasers, it removes spots on both light and dark skin tones and it’s non-ablative, so it doesn’t remove any skin. Instead, it heats up the lower layers of skin to stimulate collage as well as breakdown sun damaged tissue. It can take four to six treatments before you notice a difference in your complexion, but you can get back to your normal life the same day you see your dermatologist.
Megan O'Neill is Beauty Editor at EndlessBeauty.com
