Age spots, also referred to by some as "sun spots," are both cosmetically undesirable and potentially dangerous conditions that you should be aware of. As you get older, your body is exposed to greater and greater degrees of sunshine and ultraviolet radiation. The skin's natural reaction to sun exposure is to produce additional melanin, a chemical that helps to protect the skin from this potentially harmful radiation. If you've spent a lot of time in the sun, the skin may have developed too much melanin in certain spots. The result is a buildup of this darker, tougher skin that is called a sun spot.
Sun spots are both visually unappealing to many people and a dangerous precursor to skin cancer. For this reason, it's important to consider techniques for age spots removal, even if the appearance of the spots does not bother you. Microdermabrasion is one of the most effective treatments.
How Microdermabrasion Works
Microdermabrasion is the process of bombarding the tiny spots that have excessive melanin with a powerful stream of crystals that are nearly microscopic in size. The result is that the crystals help to rub off or abrade the melanin on the surface layers of the skin. With several repetitions of treatment, the melanin will be significantly reduced or even completely eliminated from the area of the skin, and your skin will be able to regrow collagen and develop tenderness and elastic qualities once again.
The Procedure
The procedure of microdermabrasion itself is relatively painless and quite easy to perform. Microdermabrasion procedures can oftentimes be done right in a dermatologist's office. However, it's likely that you'll need between 5 and 10 individual treatments for each sun spot. Depending upon the number of spots that you have, where they're located on your body and how large they are, microdermabrasion can therefore take a significant amount of your total time and be quite expensive.
Effectiveness
Microdermabrasion is the leading method for removing undesirable and potentially dangerous age spots. This procedure is approved by doctors around the world and is considered to be safe and effective. There are creams and other ointments that claim to provide microdermabrasion treatments for use at home, but these range in terms of their effectiveness and are generally less effective than a dermatologist's procedure.
People who've undergone microdermabrasion typically report that the procedure itself is rather painless. There are occasionally mild side effects immediately following each individual treatment, including itching, rashes and other discomfort. It's also important that you protect the age spots themselves from sun exposure while you're in the process of treatment. Still, most people can return to their daily activities immediately after each microdermabrasion treatment procedure is completed.
If you have age spots and are concerned about the appearance of your skin and the potential for skin cancer, speak with a dermatologist today to learn about how microdermabrasion can lower your risk for potentially fatal conditions and help to improve the appearance of your skin.
