The answer is probably yes. But before you start trying to erase anything, see a dermatologist. What people casually call an “age spot” could be one of several different skin changes, some of which require medical attention rather than a brightening serum.
Here’s how dermatologists recommend identifying age spots, treating them, and preventing more from appearing.
But people often use “age spot” to describe all sorts of marks that become more common over time. These can include seborrheic keratoses, which are benign growths that may look raised, waxy, or “stuck on,” as well as actinic keratoses, precancerous growths that are often rough or scaly. More concerningly, certain skin cancers—including melanoma—can resemble an ordinary brown spot.
Pay close attention to a spot that appears suddenly; changes in size, shape, or color; becomes raised; or starts itching, bleeding, crusting, or refusing to heal. Dufner also recommends using the “ugly duckling” rule: If one spot simply looks different from all of its neighbors, it deserves professional attention.
How to fade age spots at home
Once a dermatologist has confirmed you’re dealing with harmless age spots, you can try fading them at home. Just prepare to be patient: Topical treatments are “a slow game—think months, not days,” Dufner says.
Start with one active ingredient rather than assembling an elaborate—and potentially irritating—skin-care chemistry experiment. Because older skin tends to be thinner, drier, and more fragile, Dufner recommends beginning slowly, moisturizing regularly, and scaling back if your skin becomes irritated.
Don’t pick, scrape, burn, or attempt to freeze a growth at home, either. These approaches can cause “chemical burns, infection, scarring, or permanent pigment changes,” Murphy-Rose says. Plus, you could inadvertently remove a lesion that should have been biopsied.
Which in-office treatments work best?
In-office procedures generally work faster than topical products. For true age spots, “the heavy hitters are lasers and light-based treatments,” Dufner says. These procedures target excess pigment and can clear spots more quickly and completely than creams. Depending on your skin and the extent of the discoloration, a dermatologist might use a laser to treat a few defined spots or a light-based treatment to address more widespread, freckle-like sun damage. Other options include cryotherapy, which freezes individual spots with liquid nitrogen, and chemical peels.
None of these procedures is automatically the best choice for everyone. An overly aggressive treatment—or a laser used at the wrong setting—can cause irritation, scarring, or unwanted dark or light patches.
Age matters, too. Mature skin may bruise or tear more easily and take longer to heal. “Gentler is smarter,” Dufner says. A dermatologist might use lower laser settings, introduce topical ingredients more gradually, or allow additional healing time between treatments.
Can you keep age spots from returning?
Consistent sun protection can, however, reduce additional UV damage and help keep existing pigmentation from becoming darker. Murphy-Rose recommends applying a broad-spectrum sunscreen with an SPF of at least 30 every day, as well as wearing hats and sun-protective clothing. Even after an age spot has been removed, she says, new ones “can develop if the skin continues to receive significant UV exposure.”
Her advice is simple: “Treat the spot, then protect your skin from the sun so you don’t keep making new ones.”
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