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The Patient’s Guide™ to Age Spots is the most respected online publication on hyperpigmentation providing information about age and sun spots, skin treatments, and laser medicine. Our mission is to provide you with unbiased, accurate information about age spots and sun damage, as well as potential treatments.
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Age Spot Removal: Getting Rid of Sun-Related Spots
  • Most ‘Age Spots’ are Sun Spots
  • Lasers are the Ideal Treatment
  • Get Checked for Skin Cancer

    • Most ‘Age Spots’ are Sun Spots

    A lot of my patients ask me about age spots, but what they are really mostly asking about are sun spots. There are some age spots which are these stuck-on appearing bumps, which look almost as if you could pick them off with your finger. Those are called seborrheic keratosis, and those are bumps that come around middle age, and we’re not quite sure what they are from. They’re warty-like growths which can be frozen off.

    Generally though what most people are asking about when they ask about age spots are really sun spots. They are either freckles, which we call ephelides, or they are solar lentigos. These spots are caused by the sun and tend to accumulate with more sun exposure and tend to grow if we don’t treat them.

    Lasers are the Ideal Treatment

    Lasers are ideal for age spot removal. Because the melanin pigment is designed to absorb light, almost any color of laser light can be used to take away brown spots. There are a number of lasers which may be used for this. For example, the Q-switched lasers are very safe and treat the surface of the skin. In my office I use the 532nm Nd:YAG laser, which is a green light laser. You can also use the 1064 Nd:YAG laser which is an invisible, infrared laser. You can use the 755nm Alexandrite Q-switched laser or the 694 Ruby Q-switched laser. One can use the Perfecta, which is a pulsed-dye laser with a compression hand piece. There are also the Intense Pulsed Light sources. IPLs are good at removing brown spots.

    Get Checked for Skin Cancer

    The most important thing prior to getting your brown spots or liver spots lasered off is to go to the dermatologist and get looked at. This is especially important if you’re being treated by a non-dermatologist. The reason for this is that some brown spots may look perfectly harmless to you, but may actually be cancers or pre-cancers and need to be evaluated by a dermatologist.

    If you get these treated with laser, the danger is that they will be partially removed and the doctor won’t be able to tell if it’s cancerous or not. So it’s extremely important to be seen by a dermatologist to have those checked. If they are benign, you can safely have them removed.

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    A variety of laser devices may be used to remove sun spots, explains Dr. Bernstein in this video
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     Laser Treatment didn't work all that well

    I had laser treatment on my face to get rid of some light ag...[more]
    Raleigh, NC

     Age Spots No More

    I had age spots on my hands and on my face. I am 50, but tha...[more]
    Tampa, FL

     Laser Treatment Worked For Me

    I was feeling so old after my 60th birthday. Things were sta...[more]
    Burbank, CA
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    Ask The Doctor
    Q: What is Hyperpigmentation?
    Hyperpigmentation is the darkening of skin caused by an... [Read More]
    Q: What is photo-damage?
    Photo damage or sun damage is the process by which the... [Read More]
    Q: What is Hypopigmentation?
    Hypopigmentation is the loss of color in the skin due to the... [Read More]
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