Your skin, however, isn’t as fond of the sun or the outdoors. And it shows this with freckles and age spots all over your face, arms, and back.
But you don’t have to come into 2022 holding onto your age spots. Come see us at Dr. Jensen’s and we’ll put our Cynosure laser on the job of removing them in a completely non-invasive manner.
What causes brown spots to form?
Brown spots are caused by excess melanin in the skin. Excess exposure to the sun’s ultraviolet radiation causes a local proliferation of melanocytes and the accumulation of melanin within the skin cells. While sun exposure is the most common cause of brown spots, they can also be a result of simple aging of the skin. Human skin tans basically as a defense mechanism against the sun, stimulating the melanocyte cells to produce more melanin and darken the skin. Age/sun/brown spots are a microcosm of this process. They are simply deeper in the skin, so they don’t peel off in the way tanned skin eventually does.
Brown spots usually form on areas of the skin that receive the most sun: the face, neck, décolletage, back, shoulders, arms, legs, and feet.
How do lasers remove brown spots?
To remove the brown spot, the excess melanin that is giving the spot its color needs to be broken up. The most effective way to do this is through the use of laser energy. Dr. Jensen is a believer in the Cynosure laser for these jobs. When the laser energy is directed onto the surface of the skin with the brown spots, the energy is absorbed by the melanin in those spots. The energy converts to heat at the site of the spots, causing the melanin to break apart. The body then removes the melanin, and the spot disappears or dramatically lessens in appearance.
The process is similar to using a laser for tattoo removal where the laser energy targets a particular color in the tattoo, breaking up the pigment. This process is repeated with the various colors in the tattoo.
How many treatments are needed to remove the spots?
Depending on the individual, laser brown spot removal can be very effective with from one to four sessions. Many of the spots will be removed in just one treatment.
Winter is a great time to start paring back your assortment of hyperpigmentation areas. Schedule a laser age spot treatment with our Cynosure laser at Dr. Jensen’s. You’ll love how it improves your skin’s appearance. Call us at (385) 424-4567 to schedule your session.