Liver Spots May Be Unsightly But They Are Harmless

Call them liver spots, age spots or their proper name solar lentigines, the only difference is what we call sun spots, those small brown dots that seem to appear one day on the back of your hand or neck or on your face, just when you don’t want them to. Are they cancerous or precancerous, only as visit to your doctor or a dermatologist will give you this information.

Still, there are ways you can tell if the brown spot you are looking at is a liver spot. First, look at it closely and see if it is smooth with well-defined, rounded edges. If it is, then the chances are good that all you are seeing is an age spot.

Next, look and see if it is multi-colored such as black and brown or brown and red and if it is in any way misshapen. If it is, then it could be a precancerous growth that should be removed. If, on the other hand, it has been in the same position on your body for a number of years and its overall shape hasn’t changed, then it’s probably just a type of non-cancerous cyst. If it bothers you can have it removed via cold therapy or by more standard surgical techniques.

If you look a the growth and it appears irregularly shaped and appears to be growing rapidly, then a trip to your dermatologist is a must as this could be a budding problem that you can put down quite quickly with cryotherapy (cold surgery) that cuts out the problem area and leaves only good skin.

For the most part, though, the liver spots you see – also known as lentigines or solar lentigo – are little more than your skin’s defense against the sun. The skin has an interesting property that allows it to protect itself in the sun. It is the pigment called melanin and exists in the area between the skin cells and surface. If your body senses too much exposure to the sun, the melanin collects and protects your skin from damage. That’s why we get great looking tans as teens that aren’t quite a great looking when you get older.

The pigment seems to go away after some time, but make no mistake about it and as we age our bodies do funny things. In a sense your skin becomes ultra sensitive to light and sun and as it senses light or sun in an area liver spots can suddenly appear. They are typically brown or brown and black and smooth. They usually appear after the age of 40 and can actually make you look older than you are, liver spots can be just as aging to your appearance as wrinkles.

This can prove a problem if you are a younger person who suddenly develops older looking hands and arms. A person who may not have your experience, but who doesn’t have liver spots can earn a job that should rightfully be yours. Indeed, it is probably best for the company that you get it because you have the experience needed to keep things on an even keel.

So, what can you do about it if you find you have liver spots developing? There are several quick remedies that should help in the short run, but you will likely need medical intervention in the long run.

There are some mild liquid lighteners that dissolve the pigments away and return your skin to a more youthful look. However, remember these are just temporary fixes designed for short-term use. A longer-term solutions is one of the skin-bleaching creams that combines a depilatory that will take off the aging layers of skin, as well as the pigment, leaving you with smoother younger skin. Again, though, this is temporary. For real success, you will need a powerful liver spot removal cream.

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