化妝品警察寶拉.培岡破解美容誤區(qū):
治療老年斑需要特殊的祛斑,美容或其他的號稱能去掉褐斑的產(chǎn)品?

Myth: Age spots are best treated with specialty skin lighteners, whiteners, or products claiming to get rid of brown skin discolorations.

Fact: First, the term age spot is a misnomer. Brown, freckle-like skin discolorations are not a result of age in the least, but a result of years of unprotected sun exposure. Just compare parts of your body that haven’t seen the sun (like your backside or the inner part of your arm) with parts of your body that see the sun on a regular basis. The parts of your body that don’t see sun will have minimal to no skin discolorations. And keep in mind that the aging rays of the sun also come through windows!

As you might suspect by now, the primary way to reduce, prevent, and possibly even eliminate skin discolorations is the diligent, daily application of a well-formulated sunscreen, and because the back of the hands can show the most damage because they are exposed to the sun the most, be sure to reapply every time you wash your hands (sunscreen does wash off). No other aspect of controlling or reducing skin discolorations is as important as being careful about not getting a tan and never exposing your skin to the sun without using a sunscreen that has an SPF 15 or greater (and greater is usually better). And make sure that the sunscreen includes the UVA-protecting ingredients of titanium dioxide, zinc oxide, avobenzone (which can also be on the label as butyl methoxydibenzoylmethane), Tinosorb, or Mexoryl SX (which may also be on the label as ecamsule). A sunscreen with only titanium dioxide and zinc oxide as the actives can have more impressive results.

Using skin-lightening products, especially those that contain hydroquinone (which is the most effective skin lightening ingredient available in some countries), exfoliants (which help remove built up layers of skin), or getting certain laser, intense pulsed light, or radio wave treatments from a dermatologist or plastic surgeon can be extremely helpful but without also using a sunscreen daily will prove to be a waste of time and money.