What Can A Medical Spa Do For Age Spots?

If you're beginning to notice age spots on your face, you might figure you're doomed to live with them forever and just cover them up with makeup. But thankfully, this is not the case. There is plenty that the average medical spa can do to diminish the look of your age spots. Here are some of the top treatments they may recommend.

Chemical Peels

A chemical peel is when your practitioner applies a strong chemical solution to your face, causing the outer layers of skin to peel away. There are three depths or intensities of chemical peel: light, medium, and deep. For age spots, a light or medium chemical peel will usually do the trick. This won't erase your age spots completely, but it should make them a lot less obvious. You can have another peel every couple of months, as needed, to touch up your results. Your skin will be a bit sensitive for a few days after each peel, and you'll need to protect it from UV light, but other than that, side effects are rare.

Intense Pulsed Light Therapy

Intense pulsed light therapy, also known as IPL, is becoming common in the medical spa industry as of recent years. This therapy involves exposing your skin to pulses of light at a very specific wavelength. The light helps break up extra melanin, which is the pigment in your skin that causes the age spots. Your body will the discard the broken-down melanin in the days following treatment. For mild age spots, one IPL treatment may be all you need. But you can choose to undergo three or four treatments, spaced a month or so apart, if you'd like more dramatic results. IPL may make your skin dry for a few days, but that's really the only side effect.

Laser Skin Resurfacing

If your age spots are really dark, then IPL and chemical peels may not do enough to diminish them. Your med spa practitioner may instead recommend laser skin resurfacing. With this therapy, a laser is aimed directly at the age spots. It not only breaks down melanin, but damages the outer layer of skin just enough to trigger the body to heal the area. As the skin heals, it tends to come back lighter. Laser skin resurfacing can cause moderate redness and peeling afterwards, so you'll have to be gentle with your skin for a week or so post-treatment.

Whether your age spots are mild, moderate, or severe, rest assured that there is a med spa treatment out there for you. Go to sites that give more info on med spa treatments to learn what option you want to use.