One of the draws of living in Southern California is the sunny, warm weather that we enjoy year-round. Alongside the draws are the drawbacks, and photoaging is a big one. From wrinkles to age spots, sun exposure can turn smooth, unblemished skin into a patchwork of lines and areas of hyperpigmentation.
In fact, exposure to the sun’s ultraviolet rays is responsible for 90% of visible changes in your skin.
If your skin is plagued by age spots (also called liver spots), the good news is that the team of skincare experts at Orange Coast Dermatology offers a complete range of solutions that can clear your skin. Let’s take a look.
One of the quickest and easiest treatments for age spots is cryotherapy, a technique in which we flash-freeze the area of skin that contains the age spot with liquid nitrogen.
This takes us mere seconds to perform, and you might feel a quick sting when we freeze your skin. From there, the area initially darkens, and the outer layer sheds, revealing smoother, more even skin coloring.
Our practice is equipped with some innovative laser technology that can make quick work of age spots.
For example, our intense pulsed light (IPL) system can target and clear age spots using specific wavelengths of light energy. As with cryotherapy, after the IPL treatment, your age spot may first darken before it flakes away.
We can also turn to skin-resurfacing laser technologies to clear away age spots.
Another great technique for getting rid of age spots (and improving your skin’s tone and texture at the same time) is through microneedling. With this technique, we use fine needles to break up surface concerns such as age spots. When the needles penetrate your skin, regeneration begins as collagen production ramps up, lifting and tightening your skin from below.
We often use chemical peels to remove age spots and other surface blemishes. As the name suggests, we use chemicals to peel away the outermost layer of your skin, revealing more youthful, less blemished skin beneath.
Before laser resurfacing technologies, we had microdermabrasion, which is still a great treatment for age spots. With microdermabrasion, we gently scrub the skin’s outer surface to create a smoother, more even tone.
Lastly, we can prescribe medications that work quickly to remove age spots. Please bear in mind that there are plenty of over-the-counter options, but these work quite slowly, if at all. To really get rid of age spots, you need medical-grade products that work much faster and more effectively.
As you can see, we offer plenty of treatment options for age spots, and we’re sure to have one that’s ideal for your goals.
To sit down with one of our skin care experts to discuss the best approach to your age spots, contact one of our offices in Rancho Santa Margarita, Orange, or Mission Viejo, California, today to schedule an appointment.
