Age Spots and Sun Damage

You notice them on the back of your hand at the steering wheel, or in a holiday photo: small brown spots that were not there ten years ago. Sun spots are the most satisfying pigmentation we treat on Wimpole Street, because they respond fast and stay gone when you protect the skin.

At a glance

  • Types Solar lentigines, actinic damage, freckling, uneven tone
  • Treated at Wimpole Street, London
  • Course 1 to 4 sessions
  • Essential Daily SPF, permanently
  • First step Assessment and lesion check

What it is and why it happens

Age spots are really sun spots, a record of ultraviolet exposure, which is why they appear on the face, backs of the hands, chest and forearms while skin that has spent its life under clothing stays clear.

Ultraviolet stimulates melanocytes to produce pigment as a protective response. Over decades, some of those cells become permanently overactive and deposit pigment in defined patches. The clinical name is solar lentigo, and the everyday names, age spots, liver spots and sun spots, all describe the same thing.

Here is the good news. Unlike melasma, which is hormonally driven and chronic, sun damage responds quickly to treatment and tends to stay gone provided you protect the skin afterwards. Discrete spots often clear substantially in one or two laser sessions.

Regents Park Aesthetics checks every lesion closely before treating, and points you to a dermatologist wherever a second look is wise, so every spot treated is ready to treat.

A close view of sun damage and uneven pigment on the cheek
Know your type

Which type is yours?

Solar lentigines

Defined brown spots, face and hands

Solar lentigines

The classic age spot: a discrete, evenly coloured brown patch with a clear border, on skin that has seen sun. The most straightforward pigmentation to treat and the one that responds fastest to laser.

Diffuse sun damage

Uneven tone and mottling

Diffuse sun damage

Generalised patchiness rather than defined spots, often with roughened texture. Responds to a course rather than a single treatment, and to resurfacing as much as to pigment-targeted laser.

Freckles

Small, scattered, darken in summer

Freckles

Genetic freckling that darkens with sun. Harmless and often loved, so many people keep them and simply protect the skin. Treatable whenever you would like them lighter.

Actinic keratoses

Rough, scaly, sometimes tender patches

Actinic keratoses

A medical change from cumulative sun exposure, best looked after by a dermatologist. Your clinician spots them at the assessment and points you to the right door.

How we assess and treat

Every pigmented lesion is examined closely before treatment, in good light and with care, so your plan starts from a clear picture of your skin.

Your clinician looks at the shape, border, colour and size of each spot, and anything best seen by a dermatologist is referred, so everything treated in clinic is ready for treatment.

We also confirm it is sun damage rather than melasma, because the two have quite different treatment plans. Symmetrical patches across the cheeks and upper lip that appeared alongside a hormonal change point to melasma, which has its own gentler approach.

Once the diagnosis is clear, this is one of the most rewarding things we do.

Clinic brochure and skincare products on a treatment room counter
Your options

Which treatment for your type of sun damage?

As a guide, this is how we typically match each type to a treatment. Your own plan is always confirmed at consultation, and where a type is best seen by a dermatologist, your clinician points you to the right door.

Type
Recommended treatment
Why
Diffuse sun damage
Treats the whole photoaged field rather than chasing spots one at a time
Actinic keratoses
Assessment and referral
Pre-cancerous and a medical matter, so these are assessed before anything else

Treatments that address it

Chemical Peels Ideal for diffuse mottling and uneven tone. A course lifts surface pigment and improves texture at the same time, and it is the most accessible option, from £120. CO2 Laser Resurfacing Where sun damage has roughened the texture as well as the colour, resurfacing addresses both. Five to seven days of downtime, and results measured in years. From £300. ZO Skin Health Tyrosinase inhibitors, retinoids and antioxidants to fade existing pigment and slow new formation. The maintenance phase keeps skin clear for the long term.
Practitioner applying a chemical peel mask with a brush ZO Skin Health bottles and jars displayed on a shelf in the clinic
£120 £300 On consultation
Diffuse tone, mild damage Damage plus texture Prevention, maintenance
4 to 6 1 to 2 Ongoing
24 to 48 hours 5 to 7 days None
Acne, congestion Lines, scarring Barrier, tone

Can you treat it at home?

Sunscreen is the star here: the entire prevention strategy and most of the maintenance. Broad-spectrum SPF 50 daily, on the hands and chest as well as the face, reapplied. Hands are the easiest place to forget, so keeping SPF by the door or in your bag keeps the results there looking fresh.

Actives that work: tyrosinase inhibitors such as prescribed tyrosinase inhibitors; vitamin C for antioxidant protection and mild brightening; retinoids to speed turnover; niacinamide to interrupt pigment transfer. Prescription-strength options are available through the clinic.

Give topical treatment a few months, because established pigment fades gradually and consistency beats strength.

Skip sunbeds, harsh scrubs and lemon juice, which inflame the skin and encourage more pigment. Any spot you would like removed is best looked at in clinic first.

A woman applying sun protection outdoors in summer
Questions, answered

Frequently Asked Questions

Cumulative ultraviolet exposure. Some melanocytes become permanently overactive and deposit pigment in defined patches, which is why spots appear on the face, hands and chest and never on skin kept covered.

Solar lentigines are harmless. Your clinician examines every spot before treatment, so you start with peace of mind.

Defined spots respond fastest to Q-switched laser, often clearing substantially in one or two sessions. Diffuse mottling responds better to a course of peels.

One to four for defined spots. Four to six for a peel course treating diffuse tone.

Peels from £120, CO2 laser from £300. We quote a plan rather than a session.

Treated spots stay gone. Daily SPF keeps new ones from forming, so it is the one habit that protects the result.

Age spots are discrete, driven purely by ultraviolet, and respond quickly. Melasma is symmetrical patches driven partly by hormones, is chronic, and needs a gentler approach altogether. Telling them apart is the first step of every plan.

Yes, and hands respond well. Daily SPF on the backs of the hands keeps them clear.

Yes, for a few days, then it flakes or fades. That is the treatment working rather than a problem.

Tyrosinase inhibitors do, slowly, over months. Consistency matters more than strength. Nothing topical works as fast as laser on a defined spot.

Yes, with careful assessment and conservative settings. The laser targets pigment, so every darker skin tone starts with a patch test to set it perfectly.

Regents Park Aesthetics

Feel like yourself, on a good day.

A medically led clinic where every plan starts with an assessment and every injectable is placed by a medical professional, so the result looks like you on your best day.

Address19 Wimpole Street, London W1G 8GE
Telephone020 7580 4813