Women ages 30 and older are growing increasingly aware of new wrinkles with each passing year. Yet, evidence suggests that sun spots may have as much of an impact on age-related appearance as wrinkles.
Nearly 63 percent of women older than age 35 experience sun or age spots, discolorations and uneven skin. The dark side? The problem reflects your apparent age — or lack of youth.
“Getting a clear, even skin tone without discoloration is just as important as wrinkle-fighting to achieving a rejuvenated, youthful appearance,” says Dr. Ellen Marmur, prominent New York City dermatologist and author of “Simple Skin Beauty.” “To some patients, it’s even more important.”
Dermatologists like Marmur call it hyperpigmentation, but its various types are commonly known as age spots, sun spots, liver spots, freckles and melasma, brown patches of skin triggered by a hormone imbalance. Age spots, sun spots and liver spots are all the same ailment — pouches of melanin where the skin pigment has overproduced and dumped uneven amounts, the majority of which are a result of sun damage.