Age Spots - Why You Get Them And How To Get Rid Of Them

Age Spots - Why You Get Them And How To Get Rid Of Them
Age spots ? as the name implies ? are thought by most
people to be a sign of skin aging. Those little brown
patches that pop up on your hands, arms, back, and chest
are definitely not a welcome sight. But are they really a
part of the aging process and can you do anything about
them?

Heavy sun exposure and your genes determine whether you get
sun spots and how early it happens. More delicate or more
susceptible skin will see the earlier development of age
spots - in some cases from your thirties onwards. What is
fairly certain though is that somewhere along the line, you
will see the results of sun exposure in your face and body
- and it may not be pretty.

So - despite their name and contrary to popular belief, age
spots aren't caused simply by your skin getting older.
They are the visible effects of sun damage - if you lived
to be 100 years old and had never been exposed to the sun,
you wouldn't have a single age spot.

Most age spots are painless and harmless, so there's no
need to worry about them as a health risk. Of course -
just because age spots are unlikely to damage your health,
that doesn't mean you're happy to live with them.

Blemishes on the skin can cause you to feel less happy
about your appearance and undermine your overall
self-confidence - and nothing adds more years than lack of
confidence about how you look. Age spots are naturally
associated with age and you may be self-conscious about
them simply because of that.

But the good news is you don't have to put up with them if
you're unhappy - taking action to deal with something so
apparently trivial as age spots can be a huge boost to your
self-esteem. Age spots can be treated with increasing
success nowadays and you have a range of options to choose
from.

To start with, you may want to consider a fade cream which
is simply a topical anti aging skin treatment that contains
a skin bleaching agent ? in the US this is usually
hydroquinone. The level of the active ingredient is
important - the fade cream will not work effectively if it
contains only a small amount of the key active ingredient.
The effect of a sufficiently strong fade cream will be to
lighten the age spots gradually over time so they become
less noticeable.

Other ingredients are used in fade creams outside the US
where there is a bit of controversy about the effect of
hydroquinone on skin cell health. Other topical creams are
based on vitamin A (Retinol),Vitamin K, glycolic acid and
licorice extract - again used at high enough doses to help
lessen the appearance of the sun spot over time.

What is important in using any type of cream for age spots
is that you keep going even if you don't get an instant
result. The formulation of these creams is meant to be
effective over a fairly long period of time when used as
recommended. Failing to follow the instructions provided
by the manufacturers will mean a less successful outcome.

If you want a more instant result - you may prefer to opt
for a chemical peel - perhaps after an initial application
of a good fade cream. Chemical peels that use glycolic
acid work by removing the outer layers of skin and the age
spots together. Bear in mind that a chemical peel may not
work instantly to get rid of all your age spots. You may
need repeated treatments in order to completely remove them.

A more effective and much more long term treatment to
consider is laser resurfacing which works in a simular way
to a chemical peel by removing the outer layers of skin
with the age spots. Laser treatment is extremely effective
and likely to be much more long term than a chemical peel
but it can be costly.

Prevention is always better than cure - especially if you
spend a small fortune on treating your age spots. The best
way to prevent age spots recurring is to use an effective
sunscreen or sun block.

An anti aging moisturizer with a broad spectrum sunscreen
should be an essential part of your daily skin care
routine. The result will be younger looking skin - less
wrinkled, smoother and free of age spots.

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Eileen Gravelle is an author and web publisher who writes
extensively on all aspects of anti aging. Her website:
http://www.simplyantiaging.com is a complete anti aging
resource with articles, practical advice, product reviews
and celebrity features for women in their forties and
beyond who want to look younger and feel great as they get
older.