How To Get Rid of Age Spots at Home—and Prevent Them From Coming Back
A doctor reveals the sneaky triggers (hint: it's not just the sun)
Key Takeaways
- Vitamin C may help fade existing age spots; sunscreen helps prevent new ones from forming.
- UV exposure is the primary driver of age spots, so daily SPF 30 or higher is essential for prev
- Not all brown spots are age spots. See a derm if you notice changing, itching or bleeding.
Have you noticed a few dark spots popping up on the back of your hands, your chest or along your cheekbones? Age spots (sometimes called sun spots) are one of the most common skin changes women see after 40, and the encouraging news is that there’s a lot you can do to soften the ones you have and prevent new ones from settling in. We asked Felice Gersh, MD, board-certified integrative gynecologist and founder of the Integrative Medical Group of Irvine, to walk us through how to get rid of age spots safely.
What are age spots?
“Our skin changes as we age,” Dr. Gersh says. Those flat brown patches have a proper medical name: solar lentigines. “They develop after years of ultraviolet exposure,” she explains. “UV light creates oxidative stress and inflammation in the skin, and over time, pigment can become unevenly distributed, leaving flat brown patches on the face, hands, chest and other sun-exposed areas.”
Translation? All those breezy afternoons in the garden and years of driving with your hand resting on the steering wheel are finally showing up.
What causes them (besides the sun)
Here’s a piece of the puzzle that surprises so many of us: UV rays aren’t the only reason age spots appear.
“Estrogen can cause patchy skin darkening,” Dr. Gersh says. “It is a protection gone awry. Women may notice this during hormone fluctuations in perimenopause.”
Your gut plays a role, too. “Gut imbalances, common as we age, can also cause changes that show up on skin,” she adds. So if you’ve been dealing with digestive troubles, that could be part of what you’re seeing in the mirror.
How to prevent new age spots from forming
“The best treatment is prevention,” Dr. Gersh says. Her go-to habits to ward off age spots:
- Wear sun protection every single day. That means using a broad-spectrum SPF 30 or higher, even in winter and on cloudy days.
- Cover up when you can. A wide-brim hat and lightweight long sleeves make a real difference on longer days outside when it comes to protecting your skin from UV rays.
- Eat with your skin in mind. “Improving gut health and reducing body inflammation may also help prevent future spots from forming, so eat a diet with plenty of antioxidant-rich plants,” Dr. Gersh advises. Think berries, leafy greens, tomatoes and other colorful vegetables.
How to get rid of age spots you already have
One of the best at-home treatments for age spots is an ingredient you may already have on hand.
“I’m a big fan of using topical vitamin C,” Dr. Gersh says. “It helps neutralize damaging free radicals and can reduce excess pigment production.”
Her simple advice to get help rid of age spots: Smooth on a well-formulated vitamin C serum in the morning, then follow with your sunscreen. That one-two combination helps lighten existing hyperpigmentation while shielding your skin from further damage—the kind of double-duty step we can actually stick with even when life gets busy.
Tip: If treating age spots at home hasn’t lightened them as much as you’d hoped, talk to your dermatologist. There are professional treatments available that may help, and she can pinpoint which might be right for you.
When to see a dermatologist
Age spots are usually harmless, but not every brown spot is an age spot. “Check with a dermatologist about anything that changes or looks suspicious,” Dr. Gersh urges. Any spot that grows, shifts color, becomes irregular in shape or starts to itch or bleed also deserves a professional set of eyes.
The bottom line on how to get rid of age spots
Whether you want to fade every last spot or leave them be, Dr. Gersh says both paths are perfectly valid. “There is no single standard for what beautiful skin looks like,” she says. “I want women to feel comfortable and confident in their skin at every age. For some women, that means embracing every change. Other women may want to slow the visible signs of aging. Both are perfectly reasonable.”
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