After many years of sun exposure, ultraviolet light can leave dark, flat, oval-shaped brown or black spots on the skin, called solar lentigine. Many people also call them sun spots, liver spots or age spots, since they generally appear after age 40. Although they are medically harmless, you may wish to remove the spots for cosmetic reasons. Depending on the severity of the sun damage, you may be able to use an at-home treatment, or you may a need a more expensive treatment from your doctor, a dermatologist or a physician at a medical spa.
Step 1
Apply a cream containing tretinoin, hydroquinone and an alpha hydroxy acid, such as glycolic or lactic acid, every night before bed. Use it for at least three months. Made especially for dark skin, hydroquinone bleaches the skin to lighten sun damage. Apply the cream to clean skin.
Step 2
Burn away the outer layer of skin with a chemical peel performed by a doctor. The chemical peel uses acid to remove the topmost layer of skin. New skin forms underneath. Wear sunscreen every day after the peel for at least six months. Prepare dark skin for the chemical peel by using a hydroquinone cream for four weeks before your treatment.
Step 3
Sand down the surface layer of skin with a treatment of dermabrasion by a doctor. While new skin forms, you may experience redness and scabbing. While dermabrasion can work for people of all skin tones, the procedure may cause discoloration in some dark skin.
Step 4
Reduce the added pigment with cryotherapy. Your doctor will apply a freezing agent to sun-damaged skin. The targeted areas of skin will heal lighter. However, you may experience permanent scarring or discoloration, causing your dark skin to look lighter.
Step 5
Reverse the sun damage with laser therapy. Your doctor will target the dark-pigmented areas over a period of several sessions. The sun damage will fade gradually over a period of weeks or months. However, dark skin puts you at a higher risk for side effects from laser therapy.
Step 6
Target the sun damage with intense pulsated light therapy, also known as IPL photorejuvenation, performed by a doctor. IPL therapy works similarly to laser therapy; however, the results may not be as dramatic as laser therapy.
Tips and Warnings
- Prevent sun damage by wearing sunscreen with a sun protection factor of at least 30, wearing protective clothing and avoiding the sun at peak hours between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Discuss all possible side effects with your doctor. In many cases, having dark skin puts you at higher risk for adverse side effects, namely skin lightening or discoloration. Doctors must determine patient suitability for treatments on a case-by-case basis.
- See your doctor if the sun damage has extra-dark coloration, rapidly increased in size, an irregular border or unusual coloring, including two tones. These are signs of the skin cancer known as melanoma.
Things You'll Need
- Bleaching cream
