The deposits of melanin happen due to several reasons – skin irritation, hormone imbalance, or sun exposure. It leads to the darkening of the skin, which is melasma or hyper-pigmentation. It presents in a large area on the skin, and its colour changes or forms spots that are Dark Age Spots.
Types of Dark Age Spots
Several types of dark spots – solar lentigines, freckles, and post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation – are there.
- Solar lentigines – These spots get worse with extreme sun exposure and do not fade with age. They increase with age and can be more significant in comparison with freckles.
- Freckles – These are brown, small, flat dots on the skin exposed to the sun. They usually appear on lighter skin. However, they can appear on dark skin too. These spots get darker in summer due to their association with the sun. With age, they fade.
- Post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation – It is the blackening of the injured skin, which occurs due to the recovery from a skin problem, like rashes, and acne. It can lead to having purple or reddish-brown spots.
You, as a victim, should consult a dermatologist for the evaluation of the dark spots. With this, you will know your melasma and spots that are not malignant. Despite the name, Dark Age Spots have no so much association with ageing and maximum sun exposure. The ageing process of our body is the result of exposure to particular elements for a more extended period.
With your age, you have more spots, even if your skin tone is medium to dark. Often termed as age spots, dark spots make people believe that they have such spots due to the ageing of their skin. It is only half true.
Usually, dark spots appear later in your life. They are results of not applying sunscreen in your youth. With age, your hormones change which causes changes in your skin.
How to Prevent Dark Age Spots?
- Try to find out the root cause. It can be irritants present in several skincare products. For instance, AHAs can cause your skin to inflame. Your skin tends to have maximum pigmentation when your red and raw skin has more exposure to the sun. Other causes can be the picking pimples and the use of physical scrubs.
- Prevention is better than cure. It is hard to prevent Dark Spots. You can take preventive steps like no physical touch to acne or pimple prone skin and the use of an SPF. Make sunscreens as your best friend. Buy a sunscreen product with a higher SPF, Sun Protection Factor.