How to Get Rid of Age Spots Fast!
“Finding The Best Age Spot Treatments That Work”
It's difficult to find the best way to get rid of age spots. You want something that works quickly...so how do you choose the right product? – Or, have you tried just about every type of treatment to get rid of liver spots only to see little or no results? If you want a more youthful, clearer complexion without age spots, don't give up, there are safe natural products that will diminish and fade your brown spots or liver spots for good. You'll look and feel younger and have more confidence in your appearance.
I have tested and reviewed the top 15 skin whitening products...you can read about it here: skin whitening cream.
What Are Age Spots or Liver Spots?
Age spots, commonly known as liver spots, are simply a change in the color of your skin. Usually appearing small and round, an age spot often ranges from a light to dark change in the skin pigment.
The epidermis or outer layer of skin contains a dead layer of skin cells, keratin that serves as a shield and melanin, which is responsible for the color of your skin. When areas of your skin become darker, as with the appearance of brown spots, its known as hyperpigmentation – a term that refers to any change in skin color, including increased Ephiledes or freckles.
Symptoms of Age Spots
Called an age spot because they usually occur in adults over 40, technically, they are not a sign of aging skin such as wrinkles and crow’s feet.
The flat, painless age spots appear on areas of skin that receive the most sun exposure:
- Face, including cheeks and forehead
- Shoulders and upper back
- Back of hands
- Forearms
- Top of feet
The spots themselves are round or oval in shape and range in size from as small as a freckle to upwards of more than one centimeter wide, seeming larger if clustered together. Since liver spots are located in areas noticeable to others, it’s common to feel self-conscious – especially regarding these spots on the face and hands.
What Causes Age Spots?
These spots are appropriately called sun spots or solar lentigines because, in most
cases, the change in skin color is associated with sun exposure.
Melanocytes, located in the epidermal or top layer of skin, are responsible for the melanin we produce. If you have very fair skin, your body produces very little melanin; and if you have darker skin, the melanocytes produce a large amount of melanin and guards against hyperpgimentation.
The lighter your skin, the less natural defenses you have against the sun’s UV rays. Since heredity plays a part in determining skin shade, it also plays an indirect role in your chances of developing sun spots.
Even if you don’t sunbathe or tan, the most likely places to develop freckles and sun spots, remain your face, arms and hands.
Does Tanning Cause Liver Spots?
Whether you bask outside in the summer rays or use artificial beds and sunlamps, tanning increases your likelihood of developing dark spots on your skin.
Images of beautiful celebrities sporting a perfect tan has conditioned us to believe the results of tanning make our skin appear healthier. In fact, when melanocytes produce extra melanin and cause the skin to turn “tan,” it’s actually your body’s attempt to defend and protect your skin from harmful UV light. Tanning causes repeated damage to the epidermal cells over time and leads to brown spots.
Prevention of Spots Is Possible
The best prevention of sun spots is maintaining healthy skin. Rather than force your body to create a protective “tan,” take steps to shield yourself from UV rays:
- Wear SPF-15 or greater sun-block all-year round – I was surprised when I first learned that the sun could harm my skin in the warmest and coldest months; the sun’s UV rays are also just as powerful on windy days.
- Avoid ultra light-weight and transparent clothing – the sun can penetrate through any material you can see through.
- If tolerable, wear long sleeves and pants.
- Wear a wide-brimmed hat – caps and visors leave your ears and neck exposed; brims less that 3 inches will not adequately shade your face.
- Choose sun-glasses able to block/absorb 99% UVA and UVB light; a polarizing lens offers added protection, while reducing glare.
- Stay Indoors between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. – when the sun emits rays at maximum strength.
Also learn to accept the beauty of your own natural skin tone. If you prefer to wear make-up, look for beauty products that contain SPF protection, gentle moisturizers, blend to your skin tone, and enhance your best features.
Finally, I would like to suggest to eat fresh, unprocessed foods, drinking plenty of water, get adequate rest and maintaining low stress levels will help your skin and overall health.
Can Sun Spots be Dangerous?
The simple answer is no. No evidence exists that sun spots develop into cancer cells, as is the case with certain moles; even though age spots are called liver spots, there is no connection with the liver or liver disease.
If you have any doubts about the dark spots on your skin, seek medical advice. Certain skin conditions, also caused by sun exposure, can be mistaken for age spots. Lentigo maligna melanoma is one example; like most skin cancers, LMM can be treated with early detection.
When to See a Doctor
If you have a sign of something more serious, I recommend making an appointment with a dermatologist – a doctor that specializes in treating skin disorders – if you have unusual changes in your skin; point out new spots and moles that:
- Look abnormally dark, compared to others
- Appear or change suddenly
- Grow wider or become raised
- Contain irregular edges
- Change in color or have multiple colors
- Feel painful, itch or bleeds
Signs of melanoma and lentigo maligna, these early indicators of skin cancer are often easily addressed at your appointment.
Medical Treatment for Liver Spots
Most likely, a dermatologist will spend your appointment discussing medical options to remove age spots such as prescription creams, chemical peels, freezing or crynotherapy, laser therapy, soft-tissue augmentation and micro-dermabrasion.
- Chemical Peels – ranging from $600-$900 per treatment, the outer layer of skin is burned off with acid and, as you slowly heal, new cells form. Peeling only the surface layer requires far more treatments than targeting multiple layers of skin at once; however, the latter is more painful and involves a longer healing time.
- Cryotherapy – applying liquid nitrogen to remove sun spots can make them lighter, but comes with a risk of permanent scarring and/or discoloration; priced around $125 for sun spot removal treatments that target a cluster or large age spot, as a comprehensive means to get rid of age spots sessions range from $300 to $2000.
- Laser Treatments – the most expensive liver spot remover, with treatments from $300 to $5000 per session, and most effective means to get rid of age spots, lasers target specific areas of hyperpigmentation, without the risk of damage to the epidermis. Multiple sessions are required.
- Soft-Tissue Augmentation – at an average of $850 per injection, collagen, a natural “filler” often taken from bovine, is inserted into the affected areas; if effective, this age spot treatment lasts three to six months.
- Micro-dermabrasion – also known as resurfacing, a metal brush is used to “sand” off the top layer of skin off and force your body to replace the “wounded” epidermis; estimated costs of $75-$400 per treatment, expect a week or more of painful recovery after each treatment.
Keep in mind: these expensive, often painful, multi-session elective procedures to get rid of age spots are rarely covered by insurance.
The Risks of Using Hydroquinone
The first choice cream for age spots recommended by dermatologists contains retinol or hydroquinone. Hydroquinone is an effective bleaching component to get rid of age spots; on average patients see dark spots begin to lighten within four to six weeks and have optimum results in four to six months. However, currently banned by the FDA in OTC products because of possible carcinogenic effects, hydroquinone comes with many risks.
In addition, as a means to get rid of spots hydroquinone also increases your sensitivity to UV rays and damages your natural collagen. Signs of aging skin sometimes begin when collagen loses its elastic property.
To get rid of age spots, Hydroquinone works as a skin lightener; but the substance itself, a phenol that comes from coal tar, possesses many toxic properties. Hydroquinone is so powerful, creams containing as little as 3.5% can cause mild to severe side effects such as burning and redness, dry skin, blisters and thyroid disorders.
Also avoid products with mercury and steroids – substances of which their health risks are far greater then the potential of removing the spots. Given the number of safe alternatives that can make your sun spots disappear, I can’t think of any benefits to using creams that contain harmful, toxic components.
Best Natural Treatments
Whitening cream for age spots made from natural ingredients offers the best and safest means to get rid of age spots.
A number of effective, affordable age spot removal products exist on the market; when researching products, look for those that contain ingredients such as Hydroxy Acids, Kijoc Acids, Arbutin or Bearberry extract, Lemon juice and vitamins B3 and C.
If you have ultra sensitive skin, you might want to consider herbal products that contain Aloe Vera, Rose, Chamomile, Calendula and other soothing compounds.
The Best Product to Get Rid of Age Spots
My former clients got the best results with “Meladerm Pigment Reducing Complex”. An all-natural treatment for sun spots, Meladerm works effectively and quickly to lighten the skin. I actually tested and reviewed the top 15 skin whitening creams on the market and found that Meladerm worked the best. You can read about it here: “Finding The Best Skin Whitening Cream”.
The makers of Meladerm took great care in developing a product that would work to remove age spots, while also supporting healthy skin with ingredients that soothe and moisturize. You should start seeing visable results in just 14 days. Meladerm Pigment Reducing Complex is ideal for removing sun spots, but you should also purchase an SPF-15 lotion to apply to your skin during and after treatment.
Meladerm is proven to get rid of age spots and reduce hyperpigmentation. Keep in mind it takes time to heal years of sun damage, but you will ultimately return to a natural, healthy younger clear complexion without sun spots.
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