Sun Damage

Long-term exposure to the sun is the single biggest factor contributing to visible signs of aging and other facial skin problems. Sun damage can lead to uneven pigmentation, deep wrinkles, leathery skin, and skin cancer. The best defense against sun damage is by preventing exposure to the sun's ultraviolet rays through the use of sunscreen and protective clothing. A cosmetic dermatologist can provide highly effective treatments to minimize the visible signs of sun damage and restore smoother, healthier looking skin.

Aging skin changes

A very few fortunate adults have skin that hardly seems to age at all, and stay clear of serious blemishes and wrinkles in skin well into old age.A lady who has cared for her beautiful skin for 75 years, but now is showing the inevitable signs of aging: dry skin that wrinkles skin.

GET RID OF SKIN DAMAGE

Reader's Question: I have a few brown spots on my face. Are these cancer? If they're not cancer, what can I do to get rid of them?

Sue's Response: Unfortunately for all of us, melanocytes just can't stop working overtime. As I've discussed in

previous posts, melanin (released by melanocytes) is a key component of our bodies' defense against sun exposure. This is why darker people burn less easily after sun exposure and why lighter people are most often affected by skin cancer. However, a newly darkened area on your skin doesn't always turn out to be melanoma.

These dark patches on the skin are called solar lentigenes, hyperpigmentation, or less formally, sun spots. These discolorations are not cancerous and don't cause negative effects on your skin health. If you neglect sunscreen or have neglected sunscreen in the past, chances are you have a few of these sun spots on your face, neck and hands. People with darker skin tones may experience these solar lentigenes as patches of ashy or gray skin.

Your mother may have referred to them as "liver spots," but these darker areas have no connection with liver function. Instead, they are mostly the result of sun damage, much like a freckle that appears after a summer in the sun. Occasionally, these darker patches appear on the face and neck as a result of hormonal changes (most often due to pregnancy) and also appear after cuts and blemishes heal on darker skin.
Melanocytes release melanin when it gets triggered by an enzyme known as tyrosinase. Melanin-inhibiting ingredients most often attempt to stop this enzyme before it spurs an increase in melanin production. There are a few topical methods of fading the spots, but the most effective way involves a combination of sunscreen, tretinoin and hydroquinone.

Melanin-Inhibiting Ingredients

You've heard this before, but it bears repeating: Using sunscreen every day and avoiding any unnecessary sun exposure will not only prevent further damage but also allow your skin to repair itself to an extent. Use a broad-spectrum sunscreen that blocks both UVA and UVB rays by looking for both physical (titanium dioxide or zinc oxide) and chemical (avobenzone) sunscreens. Without sunscreen, other methods of fading these spots will have little benefit since those treatments will not cancel out your continuing exposure to the sun.

Kojic acid, a by-product of the fermentation process of Japanese sake, shows some improvement in fading the skin because it inhibits tyrosinase. However, the ingredient is known for its instability in cosmetic formulas. Tretinoin (known by its brand name as Renova) also shows some improvement in fading sun spots. Azelaic acid, derived from grains such as wheat and rye, also shows promise in terms of fading hyperpigmentation.
Resolved Question
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How to get rid of age spots/dark blemishes from sun damage?
I have a couple on my forehead from the sun..tried a few over the counter products..not working. Anyone know of a natural remedy they have tried?
11 months ago

ANSWERTry the complexion clarifier or the skin refining scrub, both available at www.romancing-the-soap.comThey're organic, only herbal ingredients, BUT they must be fresh. I learned the hard way.... only www.romancing-the-soap.com carries the most potent natural products (maybe because the site is owned by a doc?)Check it out. It performed nothing short of a miracle on my skin (the complexion clar