One of the most complex-to-treat dermal concerns, age spots and pigmentation are the cosmetic consequences of frolicking in the sun, and consequences are never fun. Age spots are not a malfunction or biological mistake though; those pigmentation patches are proof that the body has attempted to protect itself from future sun damage. No one expects you to revel in your body producing age spots, but it might help to know there’s genuine bio-logic there.

Direct sunlight containing UV rays, speeds up the production of melanin which can become clumped when panic-produced in high concentrations or from years of compounded sun exposure, resulting in a deterioration of the skin barrier. All age spots aren’t created equal though, most are brown patches but the skin can also form tiny red age spots called cherry angiomas made up of red blood vessels, again a reaction to historical sun worship.

Once you’ve retrieved yourself from that internet rabbit hole of searching the best age spots removal treatments, you’ll find yourself facing two avenues; creams and lasers. For those looking to approach fading age spots naturally, there are a host of skin lightening creams on the market to help with that. Understandably, topical creams to remove age spots feels like a more natural route although admittedly, these formulas often involve bleaching chemicals, whitening agents or employ various acids to strip the epidermis.

Age spot creams can help reduce, fade and correct pigmentation but in the most part, pigmentation treatments work on a preventative approach, limiting the body’s natural melanin production. Hero skincare ingredients like Niacinamide, Retinol and Vitamin C are all bona fide skin brighteners worthy of your daily skincare routine to improve skin tone, treat dullness and generally make skin more fresh n’ juicy but sadly they’re not going to make much headway on years of pigmentation build-up.

For the most natural approach to age spot reversal, you could raid the kitchen cupboards and get scrubbing with lemon juice, apple cider vinegar and potato starch but more likely you’ll just end up with sore, inflamed skin and smelling like the local chip shop.

Time to bring in the big guns; cryotherapy, microdermabrasion, microneedling and chemical peels are all widely administered but in-clinic lasers have been shown to be the clear leaders at blasting away age spots. Only blasting is the operative word here; an intensely powerful beam of light is focused on the age spot, the brown pigment absorbs the light energy and gets very hot for a fraction of a second and that light energy taken in is enough to break up the pigment.

The US, being far more entrenched in ‘derm life’ than we Brits, have many more treatment options but still the NdYAG and Fraxel lasers are considered the best lasers for age spot removal whichever side of the Atlantic you reside. However, all clinic lasers come with the side-effect of a hefty level of pain. Then there’s the swelling, bleeding, oozing and a full week of hiding out whilst your poor skin crusts over in a bid to heal itself.

Also worth noting, is the cost of age spot laser removal; the initial consultation and each resulting session costs around £200 (300$), meaning the end bill is likely to be four figures.

When it comes to tackling sun induced brown spots and pigmentation, you have to get deep if you want to be meaningful. Pigmentation forms in the very base layers of skin, so a treatment able to get down that far is going to produce much better results. Enter the LYMA Laser - the world’s most talked about cosmetic laser, the safest laser for dark spot removal to use at home and entirely pain free.

LYMA founder Lucy Goff, explains just how that’s possible, “Existing at-home laser devices use a light that’s around five milliwatts in strength. However, our international team of scientists engineered a Laser that’s artfully diffused by internal lenses so even though it’s a hundred times more powerful, it’s completely cold and rigorously proven to be entirely safe for use at home. Unlike any other at-home laser, the LYMA Laser has the power to reach the base levels of skin where it re-scatters the pigmentation so you get a much more even skin tone.”

Whether it be the backs of hands, across the décolletage, the cheeks or anywhere else on the body, the LYMA Laser can be safely used to fade out even the most established sun induced pigmentation.