What causes age spots and how can I get rid of them?

Posted on 06 Aug, 2012

Age spots, also known as lentigines, are the brownish coloured spots that appear on your skin over time. They don’t just crop up on their own, but are a result of excessive exposure to the sun over the course of your life.

When your skin is exposed to UV rays from the sun, the melanin pigment in the skin absorbs the sunlight. As you age, however, your skin’s natural ability to protect the skin from UV damage diminishes, meaning that age spots can develop.

Preventing age spots

The way to prevent age spots is obvious. You should wear sun lotion and shield your skin from the sun as much as possible.

Treating existing age spots

Of course, the prevention method for age spots only applies to people of a younger age who haven’t yet developed age spots. If you have them, the only effective way to remove them is by visiting a laser treatment clinic.

Laser treatment is able to target the pigment in the skin and clear your age spots. Clinics may use a variety of techniques to remove your age spots, from photo rejuvenation treatment to laser therapy and microdermabrasion.