What is an age spot, anyway, and why must we women over a certain age be marked with them on our hands, face and chest so that everyone can see how old we aren’t?
If you ask me, it’s worse than getting branded by Nathaniel Hawthorne’s dreaded Scarlet Letter. I’d much rather have a nicely embroidered “A” on all my clothing than Age Spots all over my face, hands and legs. Did you know that these things are sometimes called senile freckles? The only good thing about that name is the the supreme irony of it. Whoever coined the term got senile spots too, if he lived long enough, and I certainly hope he did.
Putting revenge aside and moving on: Right away, the whole concept of age spots brings up three questions and each begs for immediate answers:
1. What is an Age Spot, Liver Spot, Senile Freckle or Solar Lentigo? (A spot by any name looks just as unsightly.)
2. Why do they appear?
3. What makes them disappear?
An Age Spot AKA liver spot, is just a collection of dark pigment called Melanin that concentrated itself in one spot (pardon the pun). The collection is superficial, meaning it doesn’t go down that deep into the skin. So only the top layer or epidermis gets affected.
Why do these buggers appear? Because they just do—that’s the best answer I’ve got for you. There is some controversy as to what causes age spots, and depending on who you want to believe, there are various solutions that can alleviate the problem. The most common answer declared that these spots are caused by our very own Sun, though they have not yet been linked by scientists to Sunspots. In other words, age spots have been linked to Ultra Violet Radiation (UVB) but Sunspots have not yet been linked the suns’ age. Go figure!
In plain language, if you go out in the sun when you are younger for long periods of time, you are more prone to getting spots as you age. If you go out in the sun many times for long periods, you are even more prone. If you live near the equator and go out in the sun for long periods and do it often, you are certain to get age spots on any exposed areas of your epidermis, even on your back and neck.
Young children can get them, too, after short exposure, though this rarely happens; and rarely do people get them in non-sun exposed areas of their bodies. All you fair skinned Scandinavian Nudists beware!
Which brings me to this stage of my explanation: It is time to differentiate between age spots and freckles. Freckles happen on light skinned people and are caused by melanin pigments that have been called to action by sunlight. Old age spots happen in older folks due to a ‘ceroid’ pigment build up.
Ceroid pigment build up is often attributed to free radical destruction within the human body, and can be the result of pre-oxidation of fats in the cells, instead of the liver. Oxidation actually belongs in the liver.
Eating rancid fates, exposing yourself to environmental pollutants, and experiencing common hormonal overloads that come with menopause…all of these and more can contribute to a sluggish liver.
You see, folks, a sluggish liver is more inclined to produce liver spots, though, most experts swear that a liver spot was so named only for its color and not because the liver is at fault in the matter.
Whether the liver actually makes spots is irrelevant, though. All I know is the liver sometimes has trouble processing pathogens and waste materials that the billions of body cells throw off, and this happens more as we age—so you be the judge.
Now we come to the most important question: What are we going to do about these gnarly little dark spots? We can’t deny their existence like we do with some things, so here’s what I think: We give our livers a break—take a liver supplement such as Sam-E to help this overworked organ process toxins—that’s the first plan of action. Second step is to buy a topical age spot cream with certain non-toxic ingredients that bleach out the melanin.
Now, we could do more invasive things like skin sandings, electric needles and laser blasts, but most of us aren’t inclined to risk destroying our skin any further with the kinds of treatments that could leave permanent scars and unsightly white spots where there was once dark. I don’t think we want to trade one problem for its exact opposite.
All in all, age spots are a small thing, considering the myriad of complex and difficult life issues on the table; but they represent a much larger and more difficult issue of being human—growing old it’s called.
Aging affects all of us every day on many levels, and a small thing like age spots adds tons to the load. So let’s lighten our loads, Ladies!
Let’s not worry about the little things in life that affect us so profoundly every day, every time we look in the mirror. Age spots or liver spots are not so difficult to address. All we really need to do is neutralize them with a dab of skin lightening cream and get on with our lives.
