Age spots and dark spots
Methods to remove age spots and dark spots that are valuable to know
Age spot and dark spot problems can show up sooner than you expect… mine showed up on my hands when I was 20 years old…
Types of chemical peels possible for this work
Alpha-hydroxy acids (AHA)
Lactic acid (extracted from milk)
Glycolic acid (extracted from sugar cane)
Mandelic acid (extracted from bitter almonds)
Malic acid (extracted from pears and apples)
Citric acid (extracted from oranges and lemons)
Tartaric acid (extracted from grapes)
Beta-hydroxy acids (BHA) – Salicylic acid is used in cosmetics and is extracted from willow bark
Trichloroacetic acid (TCA)
Phenol (carbolic acid)
Lactic acid, fruit acid, and nut acid AHA peels are very gentle
Chemical peel treatment
Basically all peels remove an outer layer of skin. The question is… how deep a peel is necessary to remove your age spot (liver spot) locations… It is a raised area of skin as well as a dark pigment spot. If you do a light peel and the liver spot is not gone… you have do a second one or go to a medium one. I have been using medium peels, so I went straight to medium peel and solved the problem. I did have one spot on each hand that I did an additions spot peel. These 2 remaining spots were extremely trivial and I could have stopped before them.
Sensitive area
You may want to use a numbing cream before doing a chemical peel. That is something that I have never done. I have done many peels now and I have no problem with them. Usually my salicylic peel is like the level of a light sun burn for me and I do medium level peels. With experience, I have also found that when tea tree oil is included, the effectiveness is the same, but the burn feeling is trivial.
The best choice chemical peels for getting rid of dark spots…
Lactic acid, glycolic acid, salicylic acid, and TCA are very good choices for lightening an age spot or dark spot. Lactic acid and glycolic acid peels are also a gentler than the other AHA peels, so this may be a better choice for sensitive skin. TCA is good when the dark pigment spot goes deeper into the skin. Age spot pigment does not go very deep, but they can go deeper as they get older. I succeeded with my medium Salicylic acid peel very well for my age spots that started 30 years prior… that might help with your choice.
If you do not care about the raised shape, just lighten that freckle color…
There is another choice… just lightening the dark pigment spots…. You can use a topical fading cream. Hydroquinone is an ingredient that is common to these creams. Newer regulations are saying that this ingredient is no longer approved of by the FDA, but this seems to be a legal technicality caused by a legal change in the system. There are also studies that say it might be a carcinogen.
Another choice here is vitamin A cream… and it comes with so very many benefits. I don’t know how long this takes to lighten freckles… I do use it regularly, but never for this purpose.
Hydroquinone
Hydroquinone can be derived from bearberry extract, licorice extract, tara tree & African potato extract, mallow flower, peppermint, lady’s mantle, eurasian primrose, speedwell, lemon balm and yarrow. It works by inhibiting the pigment process for the pigment cells. This has been the ingredient of choice for over 20 years. It is possibly still in some creams, but it is unclear whether it should be present or should be used. Arbutin is a derivative of Hydroquinone that is also in the same problems.
Natural DIY solutions
There are natural DIY items used for lightening the skin… like lemon juice for instance. Lemon juice is probably a combination of citric acid peel effect plus bleaching effect. This would be far more irritating for skin than Vitamin A cream and probably an actual peel treatment. I think the benefits from the others choices like this would be trivial if any. I would advise against this type of treatment.
Vitamin A usage
Vitamin A is a method that I would think would be very slow for getting rid of liver spots. There are a multitude of benefits to vitamin A usage though. It is very good for the health of your skin and a very gentle skin spot solution. Some of those benefits are that it boosts collagen production, causes the shedding of dead skin, promotes better healing and more blood vessels. Improvements that vitamin A bring to the skin also make it healthier in a way that keeps it young looking.
Vitamin A can cause skin irritation, but choosing a gentler form of vitamin A may solve that problem. You could also use something calming for your skin with it.
If you want to know more about Vitamin A creams… go HERE
Red freckles
Another issue is… red freckles (cherry angiomas). These are raised like a red mole, often even higher level than a liver spot. They have an area of blood vessels collected beneath that red spot. The chemical peel will NOT remove these, just reveal them when they are the spots left behind. The battle against can leave a scar. It is not a small fight. They can be forced to recede and fade by electrical means, freezing, burning, or surgery.
Red freckles are locations that have a lot of blood flow that are too close to the surface of our skin. This is not just an annoying spot on the surface, but a place that can get injured and bleed easily and badly. It is not a good situation, but you have to convince your body to reroute this blood in a deeper, safer path. That is a tricky task, but the fact that it is so small is in our favor.
Where I got red freckles
My locations for these spots is where the edge of cloths hit, like the edge of my bra or pants waist band… Maybe this is after many decades of movement at those locations.
My red freckle experience
I have been throwing all my home methods at my red freckles. Only 2 large ones remain, the rest I left behind. I have used a simple 9V battery electrolysis device, peels, and dermabrasion. All that I have accomplished is a reduction in color and size. Maybe someone else could accomplish better than me on this task…
UPDATE: I found a video by JMG Enterprises that tells how to get rid of red freckles. After using his method, I am about 99% healed! IT WORKED! I used this on my 2 big red freckles and felt like it was going to make a difference, so the next day I did my middle sized red freckles. They all look great now! The biggest one was big in both diameter and height. I am impressed! I don’t think there will be a scar either. It is just light pink skin.
Scar reduction/elimination
I am not worried about scars because I have improved many scars more serious than what can happen against red freckles. I use Collagen Induction Therapy on them and it works just great for me. If you have scars that you don’t like, you might want to consider it.
Melanoma
Please make sure that you are dealing with age spots. If you have ANY concern about it not being just an age spot… see your doctor. You need to make sure that these are not instead melanoma, which can be dangerous to your health. Melanoma can be asymmetric, have poorly defined borders, have variance in color, or bleed easily.
My fast and effective solution has been a chemical peel
My first areas of visible sun damage have been hands and then my fore arms. A peel has been successful at getting rid of my age spot locations.
Peels will leave your skin on your hands very smooth in texture. This may be a less textured smoothness that you may or may not like.
If you want to know more about my favorite chemical peel that I use… go HERE
These options are also good options against pregnancy mask and dark spots as well as age spots…
