How Do You Get Rid of the Appearance of Age Spots?
Key takeaways:
Age spots on the skin from sun damage are common, especially for people over 40.
Sun protection is key to preventing new age spots, as well as preventing existing ones from worsening in appearance.
Three people share the methods they use to fade age spots.
As you get older, you may notice the appearance of dark or brown age spots on your face, your arms, or the top of your hands. Age spots can also show up on your legs, your back, and other parts of your body. Age spots are typically the result of years of exposure to ultraviolet light from the sun or other sources.
You can’t go back in time and apply more sunscreen to prevent age spots. But you may be able to fade dark spots using various methods.
Here’s how three people reduced the appearance of their age spots and took steps to protect their skin from further sun damage.
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Vitamin C and sun protection made a difference
Jackie Rogers, 55, sees the effects of long-term sun damage on the tops of her hands and her face, arms, and chest. Not long ago, brown (hyperpigmented) age spots began appearing in those areas, says Jackie, a skin care specialist in Sarasota, Florida.
“When I hit 55, I started to see the spots popping up,” she says, explaining that she didn’t wear sunscreen during her childhood in Pennsylvania, and Florida’s bright sun makes her age spots stand out even more. “The ones that concern me most are on my face.”
Over the years, she’s experimented with various skin care products. Jackie spent about $600 on department store skin care products for age spots, but didn’t see an improvement. Now, the main strategies she uses to fade dark spots are applying a high-quality topical vitamin C oil and wearing sunscreen.
“This vitamin C oil has a concentration of 25% vitamin C,” says Jackie, noting that most vitamin C skin products on the market have a lower concentration. In particular, the oil she uses contains tetrahexyldecyl ascorbate, a potent form of vitamin C. It also contains organic ingredients, including evening-primrose oil, rose hip oil, and vitamin E.
Jackie is also diligent about applying a “clean” sunscreen, meaning one without chemical components. After applying the vitamin C oil and sunscreen daily to her face, hands and other areas for a couple of weeks, Jackie says, she’s seen a significant improvement in the appearance of her age spots.
“I’ve practically gotten rid of the brown spots on the back of my hands using the SPF and being diligent about applying the vitamin C serum every night,” she says, estimating that the spots on her hands have faded by at least 50%. “It’s going to take a long time to get them to go away altogether, but the improvement was amazing.”
Should you wear sunscreen every day? Dermatologists say yes. Review the benefits of sunscreen, here.
Does vitamin C have anti-aging benefits? Learn what the science says about topical vitamin C’s antioxidant effects.
What is gua sha? Find out more about the massage technique and if it can really scrape away illness.
Experimenting with gua sha helped
Growing up, Tana Parry, a 49-year-old licensed esthetician in Shawnee, Kansas, spent most summer days at the pool. She never wore sunscreen, she says. Then, she used a tanning bed in her home for 20 years.
Beginning in her 30s, age spots started appearing on Tana’s face and body. Progressively, her freckles also grew larger and started blurring together.
“My skin looked dirty,” Tana says. “Worse than my face was the skin on my arms and chest.”
She tried laser treatments and chemical peels for 5 years, but nothing provided lasting results. “Some worked better than others,” she says of the treatments. “But the spots will come back unless [they’re] always worked on.”
As an esthetician, Tana was familiar with gua sha, an ancient Chinese massage technique. Gua sha involves using a smooth-edged jade or quartz tool to gently scrape the skin. Some people use the technique to boost the skin’s immune function and improve the appearance of facial wrinkles and other issues. Though, there isn’t substantial scientific evidence that gua sha works to reduce wrinkles or age spots.
While most reports of gua sha improving skin appearance are anecdotal, Tana decided to give it a try, using a gua sha tool for one session on a dark spot on her chest. She used a slightly more aggressive gua sha technique than she uses on her clients, aiming to slough off old skin so new skin could grow. She applied a moisturizer as a barrier. Then, she scraped the tool at a 45-degree angle in all directions. A month later, her skin has healed and the spot is almost gone, she says.
“I wouldn't tell anybody to do gua sha without doing some research. If you go crazy, you can cause damage,” Tana says. “There are some great Chinese medicine healers on Instagram with videos of how to do it. I’d also use a [moisturizer] that provides the skin with a lot of concentrated nutrients.”
A costly journey to a better solution
Over a 5-year period in her 30s, Leslie Merriman, who owns a facial treatment spa in Washington, D.C., spent between $5,000 and $8,000 on laser treatments and chemical peels. At first, the treatments helped with the appearance of age spots on her fair skin. But they always came back and, in fact, eventually got worse, Leslie says.
“In my 40s, all of it was back, plus extra,” she says, describing how her arms and chest — where her skin is wrinkled, blotchy, and spotted — still show a lot of sun damage. “My face, for the most part, has been easy to keep clear from visible sun damage. But it’s a constant job.”
Eventually, Leslie quit the peels and laser treatments. And since then, she’s had success reducing age spots on her face using an FDA-approved microcurrent device. Microcurrent devices deliver a low-level electrical charge to facial muscles. The charge is meant to improve blood circulation and stimulate tissue repair in the skin.
Leslie uses the device three times a week. She also applies a vitamin C serum that contains plant-based ingredients, including extract of radish root, grape and sunflower. And she makes sure to protect herself from further sun damage, which she sees as crucial.
“Now, I rely on sun protection clothing and minimize my time in direct sunlight,” Leslie says. “SPF usually gives me horrible acne breakouts, so I haven’t been the most dedicated wearer of [sunscreen]. I focus on protective clothing and daily repair of the damage.”
Frequently asked questions
Natural, at-home remedies probably won’t help you get rid of age spots. Though, you may be able to fade the spots with lemon juice, oatmeal, green tea extract, potato or cucumber slices, or buttermilk.
There isn’t an age spot remover that’s considered to be the “best.” Though, the best way to keep age spots from getting worse is sun protection and sun protective clothing.
If you’ve spent decades in the sun with little or no sunscreen on, age spots can appear as you get older. To prevent more age spots, use adequate sun protection.
Bottom line
Everyone’s skin is different. These techniques to fade dark spots may help, but there’s no guarantee they’ll work for all types of sun-damaged skin. If you want to reduce age spots, talk to a healthcare or skin care professional about the safest methods to improve spots on your skin.
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