Age spots can occur anywhere on the body, most commonly affecting the backs of the hands, shoulders, and the face of people over 55. They are the result of excess pigment in the areas they affect, and are caused by exposure to the sun. In people who tan frequently, they occur more often, and are likely to occur earlier. There are numerous treatments to lighten age spots. Some of these are home based remedies, and over the counter (OTC) treatments. Others involve prescription creams and solutions, or skin treatments at a dermatologist or plastic surgeon’s office.

Home remedies to lighten age spots include using lemon juice, onion juice or castor oil. None of these are thought particularly effective. Yet they might be a good place to start since they are unlikely to damage the skin around the age spots.

Most often, women or men may first turn to OTC remedies to lighten age spots. Most of these focus on applying some form of acid. Citric acid peels, or moisturizers containing vitamin C may slightly lighten age spots. Alpha hydroxy acid, commonly called Retinol or Retin-A is now available in weaker OTC forms, and may be strong enough to lighten age spots that are minimal. Other OTC moisturizers or gels containing beta hydroxy acid or lactic acid might prove somewhat effective.

The gold standard prescription ointment treatment to lighten age spots is hydroquinone, which bleaches the skin. Hydroquinone is not suitable for everyone, and works best on people with light skin. People with darker skin may end up with lighter or darker spots on the face, and may be better served using the newly developed Kojic Acid. This works in much the same manner as hydroquinone, but won’t result in problems for most people with darker skin.

Doctor’s office treatments to lighten age spots are usually one of three methods. Doctors can use laser resurfacing, intense pulsed light, or chemical peels. Chemical peels, especially surface ones, may need to be repeated a few times before being effective. Laser resurfacing is more common, but can sometimes result in skin that appears too light, or in light spots on the skin, instead of dark ones.

Intense pulsed light therapy is the newest form of treatment to lighten age spots, and many prefer it because it requires very little recovery time. It delivers light to all the skin layers and may also improve the look of broken blood vessels and spider veins. The procedure usually has to be repeated several times for best results.

Whatever treatment you plan to use to lighten age spots, you will have very little positive effect without appropriate protection from the sun. You must wear sunscreen on all areas of exposed skin whenever you plan to be outdoors. Continued sun exposure will continue to form age spots, and generally renders any treatment useless.