7 Ways to Avoid the Dark Skin Spots Known As "Age Spots"

Beauty is serious to many people nowadays so a brown skin spot is truly a dreaded sight. Since many wrongfully associate them with 'getting old', our foremost purpose is to get rid of the "age spots", incorrectly believing that simply the number of years we've lived is the reason we have them. But it isn't, and that understanding is important to know if we wish to prevent a dark skin spot from appearing in the first place.

They're actually brown "sun" spots and are caused by excessive, persistent sun exposure on your skin. Too much sun will bring about dark spots over time, but it's the persistent exposure - not merely living on this planet a few decades that causes brown spots on your delicate skin. As proof, realize that there are 20-30 year old sun fanatics who are the sad 'owners' of brown skin spots.

Then, too, aging skin has less capacity to regenerate from mistreatment of any kind, thus rendering our skin even more vulnerable to sun damage.

Now that we comprehend the "why" of our despised spots, we will know how to avoid producing any more, (if we already have some) and how to make sure that we don't get any more of the ugly little things. The famed 'southern belle' had a point ... she was passionate about staying out of the sun so her skin never browned and aged. We can be absolutely certain that she didn't have sun spots in her later years.

Dark Skin Spots Prevention

#1. Stay far away from the sun! Deplorable as it might seem, nevertheless the spots on your skin are caused by the sun's ultraviolet rays so if you don't ever get them in the first place, you won't have to inquire about how to fade out sun spots 20 years (or two years!) from now - cuz you won't have any!

#2. If you're a genuine sun lover and totally refuse to avoid those UV rays, then at least think about restricting your hours. Because if you really want skin sun spots, then spend time outdoors during peak hours:

+ 10AM - 4PM in the spring, summer and fall
+ 10AM - 2PM in the winter

#3. Whenever you're attending a barbecue, swim party or other outside fun time, spend some time in a shady area. An umbrella, a pergola or a shady tree is a marvelous substitute for full sun and just might avoid skin spots treatment in your future.

#4. For optimal sun protection, choose lightly colored clothes whose fabric is a tight weave - even if the temperatures are high, higher and highest. The light color reflects the sun's rays, instead of absorbing them and tightly woven cloth keeps out the sun's risky UV rays, in contrast to loosely woven garments.

#5. If you do go out in the sun, even if it's simply to mow the lawn, rather than bake in the sun for a sultry tan, use a high quality sunscreen. Frankly, this is a toughie because I've never found a sunscreen I genuinely like since nearly all of them are filled with dangerous chemicals. 'Broiling' our skin is such a terrible thought that the short-term results of the chemicals are probably a better choice.

Two more advantages of sunscreen is that you will forestall any more sun spots on your body - and keep the ones you already possess from becoming darker. Simply remember to sporadically re-apply your sunscreen since sweating or water will wash its protection off your skin.

An SPF [Sun Protection Factor] of 15 should be ample if your outdoor exposure will be fairly brief.

Longer exposure - the pool, the tennis court - needs at least 30 SPF for safety.

It's important to apply your sunscreen a half hour or so before going outside.

#6. Wear a hat. I've recently become aware that that my baseball cap is a pretty dreadful choice. Choose a hat with at least a four inch brim.

If your hat is made of straw, or a wide-weave fabric, then know that you might get burned, in spite of your best intentions. If you are serious about the best possible hat protection, then buy a hat with an inner liner constructed of sun-resistant material, and also provides a wide brim.

#7. And it's important to remember your lips: they are very vulnerable to dark skin spots. Yuck! Lipstick is minimal protection, but unless your brand has a high SPF - and some do - it truly isn't much protection. And besides, when we're outside we're often working, playing and sweating and so our lipstick wears off leaving 'naked lips. Some lip balm is helpful, but remember this vulnerable area when in the sun.

Now that we can understand the cause of the dreaded dark skin spot, it's not hard to avoid looking "spotted" as we age, because the remedy is simple: if you don't want brown spots on your skin, avoid sun exposure as much as possible.