Any fair-skinned person that has spent a bit of time outdoors wants to know how to fade age spots. What follows is a step-by-step program that will help.

Stay out of the Sun

Staying out of the sun is always step one, because the spot was most likely caused by UV rays from the sun. UV triggers the production of melanin. Melanin is actually a hormone responsible for the skin’s color. Sometimes, the melanin producing cells or melanocytes become damaged. So, instead of even production, you get “uneven” production and clumping. It’s not unlike a freckle.

If you protected the area completely from UV, it might start to lighten on its own, in eight weeks or so, but maybe not. It really depends on how much damage has been done to the melanocytes. But, regardless, the first step for how to fade age spots is to stay out of the sun. The best way to do that is to wear protective clothing, like a hat with a wide brim, or to use a sun block containing zinc oxide. Other sun-screening ingredients are not as effective.

Avoid Smoke and Pollution, if Possible

If the spot was not caused by the sun, the most likely cause was smoke or environmental pollutants. These things would not naturally trigger melanin production, but they can cause the production of free radicals, which can damage the melanocytes.

Free radicals can also lead to skin aging. People that smoke cigarettes look older and have more wrinkles than those who don’t. Not only are these two steps important for how to fade age spots, but they will also help insure that the spot does not return.

Check the Ingredients in Your Skincare Products

Petroleum based alcohols, such as ethanol, methanol, isopropyl and denatured alcohol, can cause hyper-pigmentation when applied directly to the skin. These are relatively common ingredients in cleansers, aftershave and some other health and beauty aids.

Use mild, all natural cleansers and moisturizers. The moisturizer that you choose could be the key step in how to fade age spots.

Use a Good Cream

There are a number of natural ingredients that even out pigmentation. If you want all-over whitening, look for cyperus rotundus extract. Don’t buy hydroquinone. It’s not safe, no matter what some sources say and it can make the problem worse.

If you simply want to even out pigmentation, follow the steps above and use a night cream that contains Shea butter, coenzyme Q10 and bioactive keratin. Each of these has been shown in separate studies to even out pigmentation, reduce brown spots and reverse sun damage.

In addition, these ingredients will improve firmness and moisture content. They will reduce wrinkles and sagging. They will improve your skin’s health, in many ways. If you haven’t always been as good to your skin as you could have been, it deserves some good treatment, for a change.

So, that’s how to fade age spots in four simple steps. Be patient, it will take a few weeks, but the effect should be permanent.

Valerie Rosenbaum studies anti aging skin care products and the ingredients used in them like Phytessence Wakame. She believes the best skin care products are clinically tested by independent labs. Visit http://www.DefendYourSkin.com if you have fine lines, wrinkles or age spots and want to do something about it today.

Once you’re over the age of 55, it isn’t unusual to want a home remedy for age spots. Whether or not these remedies will be effective depends on a number of variables. There are certainly some things that you can try, but first and foremost, you need to be cautious when you are out in the sun.

Even though they are most often seen in older people, they really have nothing to do with age. Despite the fact that they are commonly referred to as liver spots, they have nothing to do with the health of your liver, either. They are really nothing more than adult freckles, caused by overexposure to the sun.

They are harmless, not indicative of skin cancer. But, the damage that causes them also plays a role in skin cancer. So, if you do see a sudden change in the color or size of a spot, you should report it to your doctor, immediately.

Using a home remedy for age spots will only be effective if you protect the affected area from sunlight. You can do that buy wearing protective clothing, such as a hat, if the spot is on your forehead or face. You can also use a zinc oxide sun-block, but those other sunscreen ingredients are not as effective. Some of them could actually increase your risk of skin cancer.

If you are a woman and the spot is on your face, choose a foundation that contains zinc oxide. There are several brands that contain it. The SPF rating of your makeup really doesn’t mean much. By the time that you are on your way home from work, any of them will have lost their effectiveness.

The only home remedy for age spots that is not a commercially manufactured product, but might be effective is fresh lemon juice. It is acidic enough to peel of the outer layer of skin. That may work, but it might also cause redness, itching and irritation. In order for it to work, you would need to dab it on the spot with a cotton-ball twice day. It will take about 6-8 weeks, but if you avoid exposure to the sun during that time, you should start to see it fade away.

Even a commercially produced home remedy for age spots will take 6-8 weeks to work, because that’s how long it takes for the outer layer of epidermis to be replaced. That’s right. Every couple of months, your outer layer of skin is completely replaced. Thousands of your skin cells are sloughed off every day. New ones are produced by specialized mother cells in the deepest layer of the epidermis.

In a young healthy person, it takes only 28 days for those new cells to reach the surface, but the process slows down greatly, with age. Now, if you are interested, there are some new anti-aging creams that can speed that process up again. Once you learn about that, you might not be interested in a home remedy for age spots and you might not ever need one again.

Valerie Rosenbaum studies natural skin care products and the ingredients used in them. She believes the best skin care products are clinically proven to be effective. Visit her website http://www.DefendYourSkin.com if you have fine lines, wrinkles or age spots and want to do something about it today.

If you are wondering how to eliminate age spots, you might be interested in learning more about what causes skin aging. A major reason that the skin begins to look older is oxidative stress. We could not survive without oxygen, but some oxygen species cause damage.

That’s what scientist call them; oxygen species. Most often, we here them referred to as free radicals. They are actually oxygen (and sometimes nitrogen) molecules that have lost an electron. If an antioxidant like coenzyme Q10 is present, it will voluntarily give up one of its electrons. If not, the radical will become frenzied and start to damage the cells and fibers that are responsible for the skin’s strength, thickness and firmness. Eventually, this molecular damage results in visible wrinkling and sagging.

Overexposure to the sun causes overproduction of free radicals. So does exposure to things like cigarette smoke and air pollution. Those things can also cause hyper-pigmentation, in other words, age spots. So, if you want to eliminate age spots, you have to recognize the importance of free radicals and the role that the sun plays in producing them.

That doesn’t mean that you have to give up your love for the great outdoors. You just need to protect your skin. Don’t rely on those disappearing sunscreens to help. Some sun screening ingredients have been shown to cause damage similar to what is caused by free radicals.

Wear protective clothing, like a hat with a wide brim. If there are areas that you cannot protect with clothing, use a zinc oxide sun “block” and reapply it regularly. If you’re spending the day at the beach, invest in a beach umbrella. The shade is your friend if you want to really eliminate age spots.

What about those age spot removers that you see advertised on TV? Most of them contain hydroquinone. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it makes the problem worse. That may depend on how much time a person spends in the sun or it may be due to the chemical structure of the ingredient. An increased risk of skin cancer has been associated with hydroquinone. We don’t know if the risk is due to the chemical, itself, or to consumer misuse.

There are some completely safe and natural ingredients that have been shown to even out pigmentation and eliminate age spots. You could use a night cream that contains high quality Shea butter, for example.

Shea butter has a “healing quotient” due to the antioxidants and other nutrients that it contains. It is nearly identical to the natural moisturizer produced by the sebaceous glands within the skin. So, it is readily accepted and quickly absorbed without causing a greasy feeling. It has been said that Shea butter can literally transform the skin’s health and appearance, with regular use.

You might also look for a moisturizer that contains natural coenzyme Q10. It has been shown to reverse sun damage, even reversing wrinkles over the course of six weeks. Basically, nourishing ingredients and avoiding the sun will help you eliminate age spots faster and more effectively than any hydroquinone cream.

Valerie Rosenbaum studies anti aging skin care products and the ingredients used in them. She believes the best skin care products are clinically tested by independent labs. Visit http://www.DefendYourSkin.com if you have fine lines, wrinkles or age spots and want to do something about it today.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?Eliminate-Age-Spots—Simple,-Safe-and-Effective-Creams&id=2270545

When you are looking for a face lotion to reduce age spots, most sources will suggest creams containing hydroquinone and they call it “safe”. That seems like a contradiction. How can a face lotion reduce age spots, safely, when it is accompanied by the risk of adverse reactions and long-term damage?

The ingredient has been banned in several countries, because it may increase a person’s risk of cancer. It should have been banned years ago, because it can cause the opposite effect of increased pigmentation. Complaints about a hydroquinone face lotion to reduce age spots include darkening and too much lightening of the area. Obviously, the effect that it has cannot be controlled. It’s too unstable.

So, how can a face lotion reduce age spots safely and effectively? If it contains an extract from the cyperus rotundus root, a well-known medicinal plant among traditional healers, it can lighten and even out pigmentation, by inhibiting melanin production. But, if you like your skin’s color, other than the spot, beware. By inhibiting melanin production, it will lighten your skin’s tone. If you don’t want to be “whiter”, you might want to choose something else.

How can a face lotion reduce age spots without inhibiting melanin production? That’s a good question, since the spot is a melanin clump, similar to a freckle. Here’s the answer.

Creams that contain a proprietary ingredient called Cynergy TK have been shown to increase the production of superoxide dismutase and glutathione within the skin’s cells. These antioxidants will help reverse brown pigmentation caused by UV exposure or environmental pollutants.

You might also look for a face lotion to reduce age spots that contains coenzyme Q10. Another antioxidant, COQ10 has been shown in clinical studies to reverse sun damage. Sun damage is what caused that spot to appear in the first place. You probably spent too much time outside, without protection, either over the course of several years or during a single trip to the beach.

Can a face lotion reduce age spots without bleaching? If you are fair skinned, you will undoubtedly notice that you skin looks lighter. How much lighter depends on how much or how little time that you spend in the sun. If you are still thinking that a tan is attractive, consider this. Fair skinned people that spend enough time in the sun to acquire a tan have far more wrinkles than people that limit sun exposure.

Basically, you might not need a face lotion to reduce age spots if you had spent a little less time in the sun or you had made efforts to protect your skin. If you are saying, “Wait, but I always wore sunscreen.” That’s not surprising. Most sunscreens are actually ineffective. Only zinc oxide is truly effective and people don’t like it, because it doesn’t disappear.

So, can a face lotion reduce age spots, safely? Yes it can, as long as it contains the right ingredients. Read the label carefully, before you buy face lotion to reduce age spots. That’s the best advice.

Valerie Rosenbaum studies anti aging skin care products and the ingredients used in them. She believes the best skin care products are clinically tested by independent labs. Visit DefendYourSkin.com if you have fine lines, wrinkles or age spots and want to do something about it today.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?Hydroquinone-in-Face-Lotions-to-Reduce-Age-Spots-is-Not-Safe!&id=2270541

To remove age spots on hands, you need to do two things. Protect them from the sun and use a nourishing lotion on them. Here you’ll learn why sun protection is important and what ingredients your moisturizer should contain.

Most people are aware that overexposure to the sun contributes to the formation of cancerous growths. Some people are unaware that too much sun contributes to wrinkling, sagging and the formation of heavily pigmented areas that are generally referred to as age spots.

People that are concerned about too much sun exposure will usually take the time to protect their faces and other parts of their body, but most people pay little attention to the backs of their hands. Yet, their hands are exposed whenever they are doing anything outdoors, unless they wear gloves. Your best bet is to try to stay out of the sun for a while, while you begin to use a nourishing lotion that helps fade them.

To remove age spots on hands, US dermatologists are still recommending creams containing hydroquinone, even though its use for skin whitening has been banned by countries in the European Union. Hydroquinone is a common irritant and allergen that is a probable carcinogen. It contains benzene, which is known to cause cancer. There should be no reason to risk your health in order to improve your appearance and there isn’t. There are effective alternatives that are completely safe.

The way that hydroquinone worked to remove age spots on hands was to inhibit production of melanin, the element responsible for skin pigmentation. Melanin production is stimulated by repeated exposure to UV rays from the sun. Its production greatly increases when the skin is burned by the sun. The whole process is affected by age. It doesn’t seem to work quite as well. That is why protecting your hands from further sun exposure is so important.

If there is no way to completely avoid exposure, apply a sun block containing zinc oxide to the backs of your hands. Other sun-screening agents are less effective. Some of them, like avobenzone, are like hydroquinone, derived from benzene. Studies have shown that other sunscreens derived from benzene cause damage to DNA strands within the skin’s cells. That makes them probable carcinogens.

Once you have a plan for avoiding the sun, you can safely remove age spots on hands within six weeks. Many people report improvement within the first two weeks, depending on the lotion that they use. The most effective ingredients seem to be nut-grass root extract, the protein keratin and coenzyme Q10.

The use of a night cream, containing Shea butter, increases the effectiveness. By itself, high quality Shea butter has been known to remove age spots on hands in 4-6 weeks. So, it really depends on how fast you want to see a difference.

Nut-grass root extract inhibits melanin production, but without causing irritation. Coenzyme Q10 reverses sun damage. The protein keratin, in its most active form, stimulates the production of antioxidants within the skin.

These ingredients make up some of the best, most effective anti-aging creams on the market. They will work to remove age spots on hands, reduce wrinkles and improve firmness. It is possible to look as young as you feel, again.

Valerie Rosenbaum has deeply studied natural skin care products and the ingredients used in them. She believes the best skin care products should be clinically proven to be effective. Visit her website http://www.DefendYourSkin.com if you have fine lines, wrinkles or age spots and would like some simple, natural solutions that work.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?Remove-Age-Spots-With-Chemicals-Banned-in-Europe?-What-Dermatologists-Dont-Share&id=2239083

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