Age spots

fonki

Any suggestions in how to get rid of age spots?

curlypearl

Get a prescription for tretinoin which is the generic version of retin-A.

There are also over the counter age-spot reducers which contain less potent amounts of retinoic acid which is similar to Retin-A. Any drugstore will carry a bunch of different age-spot reducers.

A dermatologist can give you a "chemical peel" but be careful to go to someone good and start with a light peel. Don't get a heavy duty peel if you have never done it before.

Wear sunscreen after you have been "peeled" or used tretinoin or the drugstore version. Read up on both a chemical peel and tretinoin (retin-A) so that you understand the advantages and possible disadvantages of each.

I think age spots can be lasered off but I don't know anything about that. In general, I believe "less is more." In other words, be gentle with your skin.

caramix3a

They're usually related to earlier unprotected sun exposure - a kindlier name for them is "sun spots". To me, the term "age spots" conjures up some depressingly spotted old lady who has tanned in Miami forever, etc. Anyhow, it really depends on how bad and how extensive they are. If they are very early, quite light ones that are also not large, an OTC product may help fade them, but for anything extensive, darker or larger, curlypearl is right about going Rx. Rx retinoids(at a strength that is suitable for one's skin type - if one has somewhat reactive the way I do, a low-strength one is best to start with, and go SLOW and be patient)is gold-standard in general for anti-aging. Add in Vitamin C at night(seems to work best then for general lightening, daytime it works more as an anti-oxidant), and niacinamide. Niacinamide is derived from a B vitamin and there's been extensive research on this as a possible alternative skin lightening agent that has none of the problems associated with hydroquinone. Hydroquinone, either Rx(which is usually 4% and more)or OTC(2%) can and does work(especially the Rx)but some people report that they get rebound pigmentation almost the minute they stop using it, despite excellent sun protection and sun avoidance habits. Others are very happy with the results. Currently I'm doing the PocketDerm protocol that has tretinoin, Vitamin C, and niacinamide - I've been on this a couple of months now and my skin texture is starting to improve. It WILL take longer for noticeable-in-photos improvement of spots though, although they are starting to look a tiny bit better already. I'm willing to be patient!:)