Removing Age Spots

Age spots, also going by the names sun spots or solar lentigines can affect almost everybody. The skin’s exposure to the sun is one of its primary factors. The good news is, there are many ways to remove age spots. There are home treatments as well as professional treatments. But before we go on, let’s review the origin of age spots.
A person’s skin color is established by the amount of melanin he or she produces. Melanin protects us from ultraviolet radiation from the sun, although this is not at all dangerous. Too much ultraviolet radiation can damage skin cells, and worse it could also lead to cancer. Spots are formed when used melanin accrues.
Age spots can also be mistaken for skin cancer, so before taking any steps in removing them, consult a dermatologist. The following treatments can be tried if it is already confirmed to be age spots.
HOME MADE TREATMENTS
• Mix apple cider vinegar and onion extract, each with proportional amounts. pat a cotton to the mixture and apply it on the age spots.
• Aloe vera extract or aloe vera in gel or juice form can also be rubbed or applied directly to the affected areas. Application is done twice daily.
• Lemon juice has characteristics that can help in lightening age spots. Get the extract of the lemon and apply this as a sort of astringent. Just remember that if you have something to do outside, don’t apply lemon juice on your skin for it will easily burn.
• You can also use castor grease.
Home made treatments however take time to be effective and they may not be effective for you at all. So, you may try more efficient alternatives.
OTHER TREATMENTS
• Microdermabrasion/dermabrasion – The idea of this method lies on stripping of skin using a coarse sander. This is a rather poor choice because of the soreness and slow healing time.
• Chemical peels is another alternative when it comes to removing age spots. This process uses some chemicals, specifically glycolic acid.
• Laser treatments are probably the most effective and of course, expensive way to get rid of age spots. The main advantage of laser treatments is that it does no harm to nearby cells which are not affected by age spots. You can almost feel no pain when you got through this treatment.
Now, if you already got rid of your age spots with the treatments mentioned above, its time to give your skin “maintenance”. Try to avoid getting too much exposure to the sun especially when it’s sunny. Use an umbrella whenever you go out on a sunny day. You won’t want these age spots to come back, do you?