The passing years, combined with normal wear and tear, can age your entire body, including your skin. Age spots appear as patches of brown skin on your hands, arms, face and other areas that receive regular exposure to sunlight. Although quite common, these spots can make your hands look old and dingy. Because these spots may resemble other skin conditions, ask your doctor to examine your spots and rule out any serious problems. After receiving a medical diagnosis, you can lighten your spots and minimize the possibility of future brown spots.
Step 1
Apply a skin cream that contains hydroquinone. You can find nonprescription strengths in the skin care aisle of many department stores and drugstores. Apply this cream to your clean hands once or twice each day, according to the package instructions. Dry your hands gently before dotting the cream onto the brown spots on your hands. Tap the cream into the skin gently to encourage absorption.
Step 2
Cover your hands when you go out in the sunlight. Repeated exposure to sunlight can cause an increase in age spots. Make it part of your daily routine to wear gloves in cold weather or apply a layer of sunscreen on warm days, especially while using bleaching creams. These creams can make your skin sensitive to the sun’s damaging rays.
Step 3
Make an appointment at a medical spa or skin care salon for a chemical peel, laser therapy or dermabrasion treatment. A cosmetic procedure performed in many salons, dermabrasion lightly sands down the surface layer of your skin, revealing a fresher layer beneath. Laser therapy uses rays of light to break apart the pigmented tissues that form dark spots on your hands. Laser therapy may take a series of sessions to provide adequate results. Chemical peels use acidic ingredient to burn the outer layer of skin. Medical spas often use stronger ingredients than beauty salons to accomplish quick cell renewal.
Step 4
Schedule an appointment with your doctor to freeze the skin, removing the most stubborn brown spots. Known as cryotherapy, freezing your brown spots involves applying a small amount of a freezing agent, such as liquid nitrogen to the discolored area. Use this procedure only after other methods fail to remove your spots. Cryotherapy can lighten spots of skin or permanent scarring and discoloration. Select a doctor that has plenty of experience using this type of treatment.
Warnings
- Have your doctor check any new spots on your skin, including ones that may resemble age spots.
Photo Credit
- old hands typing image by Allyson Ricketts from Fotolia.com
