Are you beginning to notice flat brown spots or blemishes on your skin? These may vary in color, from tan, brown, or black, and appear all over the skin, including the face, hands, chest, and more. While there can be many reasons why your skin may develop blemishes, spots of this nature can often be associated with aging. Also known as liver spots, solar lentigo, or freckles, age spots can develop, most notably in places that get more sun exposure.
While these are usually harmless, they can be very noticeable, especially on people with fair skin. For those who are starting to notice age spots pop up or develop in clusters or a large quantity across the skin, there are ways you can address this!
In fact, as one of the most common facial skin concerns among older patients, both male and female, there is a wide variety of treatment options available to you. From serums, moisturizers, creams, and topical solutions to medical-grade services like chemical peels, laser skin resurfacing, and cryotherapy our facility offers a wide range of customized solutions. Residents of Grand Rapids, Detroit, Kalamazoo and beyond, are invited to schedule a consultation at the Bengtson Center for Aesthetics & Plastic Surgery.
What Causes Age Spots?
As the name suggests, age spots are blemishes on the skin that appear as we age. They are caused by overactive pigment cells, which are naturally stimulated by ultraviolet (UV) light. UV rays, which are prevalent in sunlight, increase melanin production, which gives skin its color.
There is no real pattern to how age spots appear, although they tend to develop more prominently in areas that get frequent direct exposure to the sun. These freckles or skin blemishes go by many names, including lentigo, due to the spots resemblance to lentils in color. Lentigos can grow very slowly, becoming darker or more prominent over many years or appearing suddenly in a new area. You can prevent new age spots from forming by visiting one of our aesthetic consultants to develop a customized skincare routine, invest in high-quality products, and always use sunscreen, even on a cloudy day.
Some skin blemishes and freckles can fade away on their own, but age spots caused by the overactive pigment cells in the skin typically will not disappear over time To hide them, many of our Grand Rapids age spots patients, especially women, tend to opt for makeup solutions.
Foundation and concealer combinations, for example, can help to blend them away, so it looks natural. This approach can be tedious, however, and make-up often doesn’t last through the whole day. Cosmetic solutions are an excellent option for those who want to reduce age spots by treating the skin. Creams, serums, and topical treatments are also an option, and you can find medical-grade treatments at our facility. However, for the most effective form of therapy, skin resurfacing is usually the best approach.
Skin resurfacing is a technique that uses different methods, such as exfoliation or lasers, to help buff away the skin’s outer layers, which tend to be full of dry, dead, flaky skin.
For patients looking to treat age spots Grand Rapids plastic surgery clinic and med spa, Bengtson Center, offers different skin resurfacing and refinishing treatments to help reduce or eliminate age spots in certain areas. Some of the treatments available, singly or in combination with one or more others, include:
With so many options available, it can be overwhelming to know which treatment will help address your unique concerns best. Ultimately, the final decision will be up to you after you go through each treatment option’s benefits with Dr. Bengtson, Dr. Alfonso or their aesthetic expert team members.
Laser resurfacing and refinishing can be an excellent solution for pigmentation-related issues. Chemical peels can also help reduce the appearance of age spots while smoothing your skin to look more youthful. Patients can also opt to combine these or enhance them further with services like microneedling or cryopen. Schedule a consultation at our facility to learn more about which treatment is right for you.
2155 E Paris Ave SE
Suite 100, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49546
Plastic Surgeons Dr. Bengtson and Dr. Alfonso, along with the team at the Bengtson Center for Aesthetics & Plastic Surgery, provide advanced surgical and cosmetic treatments for patients from Grand Rapids, Birmingham, Detroit, and Kalamazoo, Michigan.
Fees & Financing
2155 E Paris Ave SE
Suite 100,
Grand Rapids Michigan 49546
Monday 8:30am – 5pm
Tuesday 8:30am – 7pm
Wednesday 8:30am – 5pm
*Open select Saturdays. Please call the office for details.
Thursday 8:30am – 7pm
Friday 8:30am – 5pm
*Saturday 9am -12pm
Sunday Closed
*Open select Saturdays. Please call the office for details.
