Age spots appear almost in everyone as he or she gets older. Age spots are tan, flat, brown light-to-dark brown patches on the skin. As a rule, they are associated with cumulative exposure of the sun because ultraviolet rays tend to activate melanocytes (the skin's pigment producing cells) and they start producing more pigment (melanin) in certain areas of the body. According to dermatological researches these spots are not harmful or cancerous but still people who spend too much time on the sun risk to get skin cancer.

So, age spots are often considered to be a signal to underlying, more serious health problems.

Causes of liver spots (or age spots) are evident: excessive sun exposure and age. At the same time they may stem from a build-up of wastes inside the human body. Darkened cells are estimated as a signal of free radical damage in the organism. This damage produces different waste materials throughout the body (including liver and brain). So, age spots may affect internal structures including retina and heart muscle. Some medical expert believe age spots can occur due to smoking, poor diet, incorrect meals, poor liver function and lack of exercise.

There are several steps to be considered and taken into consideration if you have age spots or seem to have them in future.

First, it is necessary to prevent age spots from getting larger and increase in size. When you go out - use a sunscreen paying particular attention to such areas as hands ad face. The chosen sunscreen should be able to block the influence of both UVA and UVB rays. Make sure that its sun protection factor is not less that 15. No doubt, covering your body with clothing is better than any sunscreen cream. To prevent growing of age spots wear a long-sleeved blouse and a hat.

If you would like to fade your age spots you can apply on them some lotion and alpha-hydroxy cleanser. At night such creams as Ambi or Esoterica may be applied. The mentioned remedies are known to restore skin and fade it to its uniform color. It is also very important to eat enough fruit, vegetables, grain cereals, nuts and seeds because they contain much protein. At the same time try to void all kinds of animal protein, caffeine, fried meals, tobacco products, junk foods and sugar.

Nowadays some people are not ready to keep up with the problem of age spots and even ask the surgeon to remove them with laser. Age spots can also be treated with freezing, skin sanding, electric needle or acids. However, all the mentioned methods usually cause a superficial skin destruction: scars or white spots may be frequently left. Much more precise and safe method is laser one. It is considered to be less damaging to the human's skin and usually doesn't damage normal surrounding skin.

But the best treatment of age spots is their prevention. It's a common knowledge it is better to avoid direct sunlight at all or use strong daily sunscreens. Unfortunately, for the majority of people it is late for prevention that's why they use a number of treatments available in different dermatological clinics.