It is possible to lighten dark skin patches and remove age spots.
In order to understand how that is possible, it helps to understand what causes the darkness in the first place.
There are several possible causes.
Hormones Hormonal changes during pregnancy and possibly during menopause may stimulate the skin to produce more melanin.
Melanin is the pigment responsible for the skin's color.
The more melanin produced, the darker the skin's color will be.
If hormones are to blame, the hyper-pigmented areas are usually patchy or blotchy in appearance.
In some cases, the patches are quite large.
Melanin is actually a hormone.
It responds to other hormones in the body and melanin production is affected by changing hormone levels.
Aging Process As we age, the skin-cell-production process slows down.
The cells in the outer layer may appear darker simply because they are older.
They are in need of being replaced.
Another factor that accompanies the aging process and can cause visible pigmentation changes is decreased collagen content.
Collagen in the skin's layers helps to create the translucent appearance.
As collagen decreases, the majority of the complexion appears lighter in color.
Any pigmented spots will appear darker, as a result.
Alcohol and other Toxins It is surprising that some of the products designed to remove dark age spots contain alcohol and other toxins that can stimulate melanin production and cause the problem.
For example, hydroquinone is an ingredient in many of the products.
Sometimes it works, but in some cases it causes hyperpigmentation.
Excessive alcohol consumption is known to increase a person's risk of age spots.
Chronic excessive alcohol intake interferes with the body's absorption of nutrients from foods.
To complicate matters, people who drink frequently often eat less food or less nourishing foods.
Skincare products containing alcohol can also cause free radical damage or stimulate melanin production.
Your skin's natural reaction to toxins is to stimulate melanin as a protective measure.
Melanin has some antioxidant activity.
The body's ability to absorb nutrients decreases with age anyway.
This is one of the reasons that the body's antioxidant capacity reduces.
Antioxidants are our only defense against free radical damage.
All toxins, whether we consume them or are exposed to them in other ways can cause free radical damage.
Sun Exposure All people who want to lighten dark skin have one thing in common.
They have had some exposure to sunlight.
While toxins, free radical damage and other things can stimulate melanin production, the primary cause of melanin production is exposure to sunlight.
Sun exposure is also the primary cause of age spots.
It is usually involved in freckles and other pigmentation issues.
Not only does sun exposure stimulate melanin production.
It stimulates the production of free radicals.
So, it is problematic in more ways than one.
People who make the effort to remove dark age spots and then go back to spending too much time in the sun will soon see the spots return.
Now that you know more about melanin, my next article about how to lighten dark skin age spots will make more sense.
The next step is to learn about the solutions.
See the author box below for more information.