Having bronze and even-toned skin as a summer sun souvenir can seem like a beautiful and attractive skin quality at first, but too much sun exposure can lead to life-long skin damage. As you age, the years of tanning and sun-basking may appear as brown discolorations across your face, hands, chest and back. These sun spots or age spots appear when melanin, the pigment that darkens skin to protect against UV rays, builds up in high concentrations. UV rays are produced by the sun in different forms, some affecting your skin differently than others. Your skin is reacting to naturally protect you from further damage, but because of this defense, your skin will appear uneven and generally undesirable as far as skin complexion goes.
The best way to treat sun spots is, of course, by avoiding them in the first place. They are caused by only one thing, and that is direct exposure from the sun. Minimizing the amount of exposure you have to the sun between 10am and 4pm, when the sun’s rays are at their strongest and have the potential to do the most damage, is one of the best ways to avoid sun spots. Choosing a sunscreen that is at least 30 SPF and marketed as “broad-spectrum” is another effective tact because this type of sunscreen will protect you from both damaging A and B ultraviolet rays.
If it’s too late and dark, sun spots have already made their appearance; there are several ways to treat them. Using a daily serum or lotion containing ingredients that slow melanin production such a soy, vitamins A and C, have shown promising results within about three months. To fade sun spots, a strong topical medicine made with hydroquinone and other skin-bleaching agents can aid in treating sun spots, however laser treatments have been proven more effective in ablating them and constant sunscreen application over the spots once they are faded or erased is essential to their reappearance.
New York City and Long Island located Dermatologist, Dr. Cameron Rokhsar is a leading authority in laser skin treatments. He has instructed more physicians on the fractional laser, Fraxel than any other physician in the world. As a professor of dermatology at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, he has a precision and patience when working with aging skin. His experience with skin renewal with the use of laser technology will prove to be effective and with satisfying results.