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What are age spots?
 
Liver spots?
Brown spots?
Sun spots?
What causes age spots?
How can I remove/get rid
of them?
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cancerous?
Does tanning impact age
spots?
Do they need to be treated?
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What is melasma?
What are white spots?
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American Academy of Dermatology
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American Society of Plastic
Surgeons

What are Age Spots?
   Age Spots are caused by sun exposure, not aging
   Have brown spots checked for skin cancer
   Lasers can readily remove age spots

What is an ‘Age Spot’?

The term ‘age spots’, or lentigines, refers to the brown spots we see on sun damaged skin. They tend to appear on the areas of the body which receive the most amount of sun, for example on the hands, face, shoulders, and arms. If you have any brown spots appear on your skin, it's important to have it checked by a dermatologist as it may be skin cancer. Generally age spots are a form of hyperpigmentation caused by sun damage to the skin.

What is Happening in the Skin?

There are a couple different types of brown spots that people get on their skin. There are solar lentigos (age spots) and freckles (known as ephiledes). These come from the sun and that's because the sun damages the melanocytes, which are the cells in the epidermis (the skin's surface layer) that produce melanin pigment. Most of the cells in our epidermis are skin cells that form the dead skin layer as well as keratin that protects us from the outside world, but one in every tenth or twentieth cell is a melanocyte which produces melanin pigment and transfers this brown pigment to our skin cells to help protect us against the sun.

Some people, like me, have almost no melanin pigment and our skin does not do a good job of protecting us from the sun. Dark-skinned people do a much better job of protecting themselves from the sun. When the sun attacks me and other light-skinned people, my body does not know how to respond properly. As a result it can cause abnormal melanin pigment in the form of freckles and brown spots.

Sun Spot is More Accurate

‘Age Spots’ actually have nothing to do with how old you are, they have to do with how long you've been in the sun. I prefer the term ‘sun spot’ rather than ‘liver spot’ or ‘age spot’ because that is what they are from and is more appropriate.

Age spots are usually readily removable by a variety of lasers. More information is available at How can I remove age spots?

For more information see: Laser Treatment for Age Spots, & Choosing a Doctor









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Last Modified: Febuary 20, 2008

Frequently Asked Questions
What is hyperpigmentation? What is Ultraviolet Light?
What is hypopigmentation? What are the five signs of sun-aged skin?
What is the Stratum Corneum? What is Melanin?
What is the Dermis? What is Cryotherapy?
What is the Epidermis? What are Seborrheic Keratosis?
What is photo-damage?
The information contained in the above article is purely for educational purposes and is not intended to provide any medical advice. Always consult with your physician before having any medical procedure performed.
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