Sun Damage & Age Spots Therapy
Is a Freckle a Sun spot?
Yes! People are not born with freckles or sun spots; rather, they are born with the tendency to make them.
Freckles are the initial manifestation of sun exposure and sun damage in people with fair skin types. They are round with smooth borders and usually appear in childhood after the skin is exposed to sun. As we age, those cute little dots found on cheeks and foreheads morph into tan or brown spots with irregular borders…and so a sunspot is born.
Sun Spots (Lentigos)
Sun spots are also called lentigos because they resemble small beans or lentils. Sun spots occur most commonly on the face, chest, arms, back and legs. They increase in number and size with age, depending on the person’s skin type and the amount of sun exposure they have endured.
Melanocytes, the pigment producing cells in the skin, are stimulated by the sun’s ultraviolet radiation to overproduce melanin. Like a callous, this is the skin’s way of protecting or shielding the skin’s deeper layers from injury. This protective mechanism can manifest as a suntan, a freckle, or a sunspot aka age spot.
Age spots, more accurately called sunspots, are usually harmless, they don’t disappear in the winter, and sadly, they don’t go away unless they are treated. Sunspots can be unsightly and contribute to the aged appearance of sun-damaged skin.
Sun Damage & Age spots: How do we heal these marks of time?
Topical creams containing Hydroquinone and Retin-A work together to slow down the production of abnormal pigment produced by melanocytes. Topical Vitamin C (L-Ascorbic Acid) such as IS Clinical’s Super Serum and Retin-A have been shown to scavenge free radicals; repair cancer-causing DNA mutations caused by the sun’s UV rays, and soften fine lines and sunspots.
Photorejuvenation aka IPL treatments are the “Gold Standard” for treating freckles, sunspots, age spots, facial veins, and most forms of sun-damage. A series of three to six, 15-minute treatments can eliminate 85-95% of sunspots.
Photodynamic Therapy (PDT) using ALA Levulan dramatically reduces sun spots, age spots, freckles, acne, & acne scarring, in a single treatment. PDT also reduces pre-cancerous skin lesions and non-melanoma skin cancers. A vial of this clear painless solution also improves skin texture, wrinkles and fine lines, pore size, and all aspects of sun damage. To learn more about PDT and skin cancer or sun spot treatments see our PDT page or schedule a skin rejuvenation consultation today.
Fraxel™ Laser Treatments for Sun damage and Sun spots
Sunspots and freckles can be reduced with pigment-specific lasers. If you want to reduce the appearance of your sun spots and sun damage, schedule a consultation with Dr. Kimberly Moskowitz at the Cosmetic Vein & Laser Center.
Read the article published by Dr. Moskowitz “When Does a Freckle Become a Sunspot”
