Sun Spots: What can you do?
What are sun spots?
This is obviously not a medical diagnosis but a lay term used for flat brown (pigmented) marks on the skin which have been caused by cumulative sun damage.
What causes them?
UV radiation from the sun causes cumulative harm including damage to cellular DNA. Ultimately, almost every change we see in the skin including cancer, can be linked to sun damage.
How do they differ from freckles?
Freckles are trivialised by many people including doctors. This is in part, because they start appearing from the first 1-2 years of life. They may be more prominent in the summer and then fade or persist indefinitely. Either way, they are still cause by UV radiation and are the skin’s response to this trigger. Typically, freckles are seen in those with fair skin as they lack the natural pigment for protection and the freckles are simply the natural defence response. I am often told by patients: “I have had these all my life”. My response: “you did not come out of your mother’s womb with those freckles….the sun caused them”.
How can you prevent them?
Following ‘sun-safe’ advice….we all know it now: wearing a broad-spectrum SPF, seeking shade when possible, avoiding prolonged sun exposure between 11am – 3pm etc. The biggest problem I find is that people have many misconceptions about sunscreens. Your product should always have a good quantity of minerals like Zinc Oxide or Titanium Dioxide. If the percentage is not shown on the bottle, do not buy it! Aim for at least 5%. CellDerma has three amazing suncreams on offer, check them out here: https://www.cellderma.co.uk/SPFs
What are the best home treatments to target sun spots?
There are a number of good skin brightening products on the market that work really well on superficial pigmentation. Liquorice, alpha-arbutin, kojic acid and many other natural ingredients can be effective BUT the right molecular delivery technology must be part of the formulation to get those ingredients to the cells one is targeting. This is why so many products on the market will be pretty useless. We have a range of effective products in clinic but will prescribe based on the assessment findings. CellDerma has launched a very powerful pigmentation range, in early 2021; I have trialled these in clinic and seen highly impressive results.
What are the best in clinic treatments to target sun spots?
Most pigmentation within sun spots, will be sitting deeper in the skin and requires clinical treatment. Patients deserve customised treatment protocols and we usually combine modalities to achieve the best pigmentation clearance as possible. However, my favourite has to be Lumecca by InMode. This is considered by many, to be the most powerful and effective IPL system in the world yet has surprisingly little or no downtime for most patients. Some may have redness and darkening of the skin for 1-2 weeks before they see their new brighter skin. Just a few sessions can take 5-20 years of sun damage away! Our patients are literally blown away by the results.
