Have you started noticing brown spots appearing on your skin?  Are they more noticeable after a summer in the sun?  

These may be sun spots - otherwise known as solar lentigines.  While these are benign, non-dangerous spots, it is important to have a qualified physician examine your skin to ensure your skin lesions are indeed benign.  

Sun spots or solar lentigines are flat brown spots on the skin surface.  They are caused by an increased deposit of melanin, or pigment, in the skin.  Ultraviolet rays from the sun, stimulate the melanosomes (pigment producing cells) to produce more melanin.  If the melanosomes produce the same amounts of pigment all over the skin, it causes a tan.  Over time, with more sun exposure, the melanosomes stop functioning as well, and some areas are overstimulated to produce pigment.  This results in brown spots on the skin, and uneven skin tone.

While these spots are often called age spots or liver spots, they can happen in younger persons with excessive sun exposure or tanning.  

How do you treat sun spots?  How do you even your skin tone?  

1. The first step is to ensure you are preventing further sun damage by limiting your time in the sun, wearing a broad spectrum suncreen, and seeking shade during peak sun hours.

2. See a qualified physician to ensure your brown spots are indeed benign solar lentigines.  There are many other causes of brown spots on the skin, and it is important to get them assessed to ensure they are benign.

3. Sun spots can be treated with laser treatment quickly, comfortably and effectively.  At DermaSpa we treat sun spots with laser treatment for excellent results.  These results may take 2-4 laser treatments spaced 1 month apart.  There is no downtime after these laser treatments - you can go back to your normal activities (but avoid sun exposure!)

4. We also recommend a good skin care regimen to even your skin tone and maintain your skin.  This skin care regimen may include the Obagi NuDerm System, or other skin care products which help to reset the melanosomes and remove irregular pigmentation.

5. Maintenance requires prevention of further sun spots - be careful about sun exposure and ensure you are using a broad spectrum medical grade sunscreen appropriately.

6. Follow up:  At DermaSpa we use the Visia Imaging System to assess your skin beneath the surface and diagnose sun spots.

We can see the sun damage clearly with this imaging system, as it shows us the layers of the skin we cannot see with the naked eye.  At your follow up appointment we reassess your skin, and show you the improvement in your sun damage both at and beneath the skin surface.  

Do you have questions about sun spots or irregular pigmentation?  We would love to hear from you!

Until then, be sun safe and skin smart!