How to Get Rid of Sun Spots: A Dermatologist Weighs In on What Works and What Doesn’t
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Sunlight has many benefits. It helps your body make vitamin D for healthy bones, lets you enjoy outdoor games and beach trips, makes errands easier, and even helps treat some skin issues. But excessive exposure causes sun damage—and sun spots are often an early sign.
Though usually harmless, sun spots can be bothersome because they often appear in prominent places. Worse, they can linger or become more noticeable with continued UV exposure. If you’re wondering how to get rid of sun spots, this guide is for you.
What causes these blemishes? Are there scientifically proven ways to deal with them? When should you see your dermatologist about these dark spots? Let’s walk through the essentials.
What Are Sun Spots?
Sun spots are known by different names, including age spots, liver spots, and brown spots. Doctors refer to this skin condition as “solar lentigines.” Sun spots are areas of hyperpigmentation that typically develop on sun-exposed sites in people with fair skin.
How Do Sun Spots Form?
Your skin consists of multiple layers containing different types of cells. Keratinocytes make up most of its protective outer portion. Melanocytes produce melanin, the major pigment that gives your skin its natural color. Healthy skin ordinarily renews itself every few weeks to replace old, dead skin cells. Interruption of this process can lead to skin texture and pigmentation problems.
Besides giving your skin its color, melanin helps protect your skin cells, especially their DNA, which contains the instructions they need to function and support normal skin renewal. Melanocytes produce more melanin when UV rays from the sun reach your skin. Keratinocytes also release chemicals that cause oxidative stress, signaling melanocytes to produce even more melanin.
Too much sun exposure eventually damages the DNA of your skin cells. As a result, melanocytes not only produce more melanin but also increase in number and develop structural abnormalities—similar to how UV kicks off skin cancer changes. Meanwhile, keratinocytes undergo alterations that can make your skin feel rough. Together, these effects lead to the formation of a sun spot.
Long-term sun damage can cause premature skin aging. Note that UV phototherapy and regular tanning bed use can put even skin that’s normally covered by clothing at risk.
How Do You Tell Sun Spots Apart from Freckles?
Age spots are flat areas of skin discoloration that may be as small as 1 millimeter or grow several centimeters across. They can be light brown, dark brown, or, in rare cases, almost black. Their edges have an irregular contour but are easy to distinguish from the surrounding skin. Some of these dark spots can merge in severely sun-damaged skin.
Freckles, medically known as ephelides, arise when melanocytes produce extra melanin but don’t increase in number or acquire structural abnormalities after sun exposure. Like age spots, they’re flat and have well-defined, irregular borders. But freckles are usually smaller—measuring about 1 to several millimeters wide—and are red to light brown in color.
That said, it can still be difficult to distinguish these pigmentation issues based on appearance alone. Additionally, having freckles doesn’t prevent you from developing sun spots in the same locations. That’s why your dermatologist looks at other clues to identify them correctly.
For example, the formation of freckles is influenced more by your genes. You’re more likely to have them if they run in your family. In contrast, age spots are linked more closely to accumulated sun damage than to heredity. These differences explain why freckles can appear as early as 2 years of age, while age spots usually show up much later, often after age 50.
Freckles also tend to darken during the summer and fade in the winter, while seasonal changes generally have little effect on sun spots. Both freckles and sun spots are more common in people with fair skin. However, sun spots can also affect individuals with slightly darker skin tones.
Both pigmentation issues can lighten as sun exposure decreases or melanin production slows with age. However, sun spots are much less likely to improve on their own because the DNA damage driving their formation is often permanent.
Age Spots vs Freckles vs Early Melanoma vs Advanced Melanoma
How Do You Distinguish an Age Spot from Skin Cancer?
Skin cancer can take many forms. Some types can even look like sun spots in their early stages. But these conditions behave differently over time.
Sun spots can stay the same for years or change very little with limited exposure to harmful UV rays. On the other hand, skin cancer can keep growing once it appears, regardless of UV exposure. It may also cause an open sore, a lump, or both.
Age spots may sometimes be confused with a common mole or a cancerous pigmented lesion known as melanoma in its early form. When in doubt about any skin blemish, it’s always best to consult a board-certified dermatologist.
How Do You Prevent Sun Spot Formation?
Prevention is normally easier than treatment when dealing with this skin concern. Research consistently shows that sun protection is the most effective way to minimize sun damage and its complications, including the appearance of these dark spots.
You can start by wearing a wide-brimmed hat, choosing clothing that covers exposed areas, and seeking shade when possible. Since harmful UV rays are present throughout the day, applying a broad-spectrum sunscreen should be part of your daily skincare routine. Tinted sunscreen may offer extra benefits if you have a medium skin tone.
If you’re receiving UV phototherapy for another skin condition, such as psoriasis, you should discuss your UV dose with your dermatologist. They can optimize your treatment while minimizing potential side effects.
What Are the Best Treatments for Age Spots?
Various products and procedures are currently marketed for hyperpigmentation, but only a few are backed by strong scientific evidence for improving sun spots. That’s partly because not every skin discoloration evolves in the same way. Research-supported sun spot removal options fall into two main categories, as explained below.
Topical Therapy
Among skin-applied medications, the combination of mequinol and tretinoin has the strongest evidence for treating sun spots. Mequinol disrupts pigment formation in melanocytes. Tretinoin is a retinoid that helps restore normal skin growth and speeds up skin renewal, allowing hyperpigmented, sun-damaged cells to shed more quickly. This combination gradually lightens age spots and has been shown to work better than either ingredient alone.
Since the formulation contains tretinoin, it’s available only by prescription. Like other vitamin A–like drugs, tretinoin can cause skin irritation and increased sensitivity to sunlight. Retinoids may also affect an unborn child’s development, so they’re generally avoided during pregnancy.
Other skincare actives that have been studied for improving age spots include the following:
- Hydroquinone, which also inhibits pigment formation
- Glycolic acid, an exfoliant that removes dark spots
- Vitamin C, which reduces pigment production through its antioxidant effects
- Niacinamide, a vitamin that decreases the transfer of melanin to surrounding skin cells
- Resorcinol, a phytochemical that suppresses melanin production and promotes skin renewal
- Azelaic acid, a wheat-derived acid that slows pigment formation and reduces inflammation-related skin darkening
- Kojic acid, a fermentation byproduct of certain fungi that blocks melanin production
- Other retinoids, including retinol, adapalene, and tazarotene, which work similarly to tretinoin
Of these ingredients, only hydroquinone requires a prescription. The rest can be purchased as over-the-counter formulations. Although these actives have been studied for various pigmentation disorders, more research is needed to confirm their effectiveness for sun spots.
In-Office Procedures
If you’re looking for faster results, you may ask your dermatologist whether an in-office procedure is right for you. Among the best-supported sun spot removal methods are laser therapy, intense pulsed light, chemical peel application, and cryotherapy.
Fractional CO2 laser treatment removes damaged surface skin using powerful light beams. Chemical peels employ medical-grade acids to remove the outer skin layers. Both improve sun spots by causing skin resurfacing, a process that replaces old surface cells with younger, healthier ones.
Pulsed dye laser treatment, intense pulsed light, and cryotherapy act on excess melanin. Pulsed dye laser uses highly energetic, focused-type light rays. Intense pulsed light delivers a broad mix of light types, though it’s less aggressive than lasers. Cryotherapy freezes skin cells with liquid nitrogen.
All of these procedures enhance skin tone and texture by relying on your body’s ability to heal and replace treated tissue with healthier skin. Laser resurfacing generally provides the best cosmetic results. But factors like your medical history and the treatment’s availability in your area can make other options more suitable for you. Your dermatologist may also recommend combining different treatments to help you achieve the best possible outcome.
Do Home Remedies Work?
Alternative therapies that have been studied for sun spot removal include aloe vera gel, apple cider vinegar, arbutin, castor oil, dandelion root extract, and vitamin E, among many others. While some have shown promising results in laboratory or small-scale studies, there isn’t enough scientific evidence to recommend them as effective solutions for this skin condition.
Additionally, keep in mind that not all so-called “natural” at-home treatments are safe. Unprocessed plant-based products can irritate sensitive skin, which can make hyperpigmentation worse if you have a medium skin tone. Always consult a qualified health professional before trying these quick fixes.
Taking the Next Step
Age spots are often a mere cosmetic concern and don’t directly affect your overall health. You only need to use sun protection daily, make good skin care a habit, and follow your dermatologist’s recommendations to deal with these blemishes.
But while this skin condition isn’t dangerous, it’s still a sign of long-term sun damage. Visiting a qualified medical professional for unwanted pigmentation is always a good idea if it affects your self-confidence, doesn’t respond to prescribed treatments, appears alongside high-risk lesions like actinic keratoses, or exhibits skin cancer red flags, such as rapid growth or easy bleeding.
Age Spots Making You Feel Old? Speak with One of LA’s Best
At BHSkin Dermatology, our award-winning cosmetic dermatology specialists are among California’s leading experts in treating skin discoloration and other complexion concerns. We take pride in helping patients feel more confident with proven approaches for a wide range of conditions that cause skin darkening. Visit our Glendale or Encino office or use our telederm platform for your initial consultation.
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Author: Don Mehrabi
Don Mehrabi, MD, FAAD, is LA's leading board-certified dermatologist is the president of BHSkin Dermatology and proud father of 3 wonderful children. He treats patients in both Encino-Tarzana and Glendale. This blog builds on medical studies combined with Dr. Mehrabi's first-hand experiences from his practice.
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