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Housecall, our weekly general-interest e-newsletter, keeps you up to date on a wide variety of health topics with timely, reliable, practical information, recipes, blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts and more. Our biweekly topic-specific e-newsletters also include blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts, and other useful information that will help you manage your health.
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Prevention
By Mayo Clinic staffTo help avoid age spots, minimize your sun exposure. If you must be in the sun, use a sunscreen with a sun protection factor (SPF) of at least 15. It should be a broad-spectrum sunscreen, which means it blocks both ultraviolet A (UVA) and ultraviolet B (UVB) rays.
- Avoid the sun during high-intensity hours. The sun's rays are most damaging from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Reduce the time you spend outdoors during these hours.
- Wear protective clothing. Cover your skin with clothing, such as long-sleeved shirts, long pants and wide-brimmed hats. Also, keep in mind that certain clothing styles and fabrics offer better protection from the sun than do others. For example, tightly woven fabrics are better than loosely woven fabrics.
- Use sunscreen. Apply sunscreen liberally 30 minutes before going outdoors so that your skin has time to absorb the sunscreen. Then reapply according to the directions on the label — usually about every hour.
References
- Schaffer JV, et al. Benign pigmented skin lesions other than melanocytic nevi (moles). http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Dec. 3, 2008.
- Ortonne JP, et al. Treatment of solar lentigines. Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology. 2006;54:S262.
- Farris PK. Combination therapy for solar lentigines. Journal of Drugs in Dermatology. 2004;3:S23.
- What you need to know about moles and dysplastic nevi. National Cancer Institute. http://www.cancer.gov/pdf/WYNTK/WYNTK_moles.pdf. Accessed Dec. 4, 2008.
- The sun and your skin. American Academy of Dermatology. http://www.aad.org/public/publications/pamphlets/sun_sun.html. Accessed Dec. 3, 2008.
- Habif TP. Light-related diseases and disorders of pigmentation. In: Habif TP. Clinical Dermatology: A Color Guide to Diagnosis and Therapy. 4th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Mosby; 2004. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/112580021-4/0/1195/130.html?tocnode=51442208&fromURL=130.html#4-u1.0-B0-323-01319-8..50021-2--cesec13_2361. Accessed Dec. 4, 2008.
- Alpha hydroxy acids. Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database. http://www.naturaldatabase.com. Accessed Dec. 4, 2008.
- Draelos ZD. Skin lightening preparations and the hydroquinone controversy. Dermatologic Therapy. 2007;20:308.
- Chawla S, et al. Mechanism of tyrosinase inhibition by deoxyArbutin and its second-generation derivatives. British Journal of Dermatology. 2008;159:1267.
