“Out, out damn spot!” Many of us have quoted Lady MacBeth when looking in the mirror. Dark spots on the skin have several different causes. Some people get spots referred to as “sun spots”. These spots typically appear due to sun exposure. Other people have dark spots cause by injuries to the skin. This includes acne, wounds, surgical scars and even stretch marks. Another form of “spots” is freckles. While some love their freckles, others do not. No matter what type of dark spots you have, we have a treatment to help you get rid of them.
IPL – Our Intense Pulse Light treatment is one of the best and fastest ways to get rid of dark spots. In the week after an IPL treatment, the dark spots come to the surface of the skin and flake away like dry skin. This treatment has virtually no downtime, with only some redness immediately after the procedure. However, the spots treated will become darker over the next several days until they flake off. It is relatively quick. Treating the full face takes less than an hour. It is recommended that patients have 3-5 treatments about four weeks apart for best results.
Chemical Peel – Chemical peels are a great option for patients with a light skin tone. Chemical peels help slough off the top layers of dead skin on the face and can aid in reducing the appearance of darks spots. However, for patients with olive or darker complexions, chemical peels may not be the best option, as they can cause hypopigmentation, which is the permanent lightening of the skin.
Hydroquinone – Hydroquinone is a topical cream that lightens dark areas on the skin. Over time this treatment will fade away dark spots like acne scars and sunspots. While hydroquinone is offering over the counter is a low concentration, most patients find that a prescription cream works best.
PicoSure Laser – Laser resurfacing done with the PicoSure laser is another great option to get rid of darks spots fast. For patients with freckles, the PicoSure laser is a good choice to reduce the appearance of the freckles with no downtime.
Fractional Laser – This laser is a more intense option for dark spot removal, however it can be the best option for certain conditions. For patients with freckles, scars and stretchmarks, this laser will provide the best outcome. However, there is usually some downtime with this laser.
If you have dark spots on your face, back, hands or other areas, schedule a free consultation with one of our skin care experts at The Skin Care Center at Gulf Coast Plastic Surgery to see what treatment plan is best for you.
