The 10 Best Age Spot Treatments Can Help Fade Unwanted Pigmentation—Here's What Dermatologists Recommend
When I was tasked with finding the best treatments to combat age spots, I’ll admit: I didn’t know if I was the woman for the job. While I’m sure I have age spots (I am old enough to remember watching Spice World on VHS, after all), they haven’t been a top concern in my skincare routine. But, as it turns out, I've actually been using ingredients that minimize hyperpigmentation all along. Indeed, many of us have probably been inadvertently using age spot treatments, and if you haven’t been, you should consider it.
“Most people can benefit from using [age spot] treatments because they target some of the same skin concerns that many demographics may also have,” such as uneven tone and dull texture, explains board-certified dermatologist Rachel Nazarian, MD. Age spots are pigmented lesions that develop over time due to sun exposure. Ranging in tone from light brown to dark, they’re a form of hyperpigmentation, similar to post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation (PIH) and melasma.
There is one big difference between age spots and, say, PIH, however: While one can be reasonably confident that, if you can just keep your vitamin C and sunscreen on your face—and your fingers off of it—your PIH will fade in a few months, age spots can prove a much tougher adversary, taking longer to fade and requiring more aggressive treatment. As such, when it comes to topical approaches, it’s important to manage your expectations. They’re “not like the stronger, procedural, and medical grade options,” says Dr. Nazarian. However, “when used diligently, improvement can be noted with OTC options with continued use.”
Still, there are plenty of OTC options available that can help you fade age spots. Scroll on to discover 10 of the best age spot treatments, with guidance from the professionals on how to use them effectively.
Retinoids
Real ones know that in the realm of skincare, there’s very little retinol can’t do. (Honestly, it could probably do a lot outside of skincare, too; maybe I’ll ask it to do my taxes.) The two below are top-tier cell-turners.
“This product uses a form of retinol called retinaldehyde that, with time, can lighten dark spots and help even out skin tone,” says Dr. Nazarian. Plus, “it's generally more tolerable than the prescription forms, making it a good option to use nightly.” Here, it’s boosted by barrier-improving niacinamide and hyaluronic acid, famed for their hydration benefits.
As the name suggests, this is another retinaldehyde—only this time, adapinoid, another gentle form of retinol that fades dark spots and smoothes wrinkles, is thrown into the mix, too. The ingredients also include pomegranate peel extract, which helps to soothe with its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. Simply put: Expect some of that retinol brightening, without all that retinol burning.
Glycolic Acid
With its grade A (as in alpha hydroxy) exfoliating skills, glycolic acid is superior at “evening out skin tone, stimulating collagen production to help with fine lines, and improving glow in skin that is dull,” as board-certified dermatologist Sumayah Jamal, MD, previously told Marie Claire.
No exaggeration: There is always a box of these powerful peel pads on my skincare shelf. The combo of glycolic acid, pore-clearing salicylic acid (which will pop up a few times on this list), and gentle but highly effective mandelic acid leaves my skin looking like I just turned up the brightness settings IRL.
I’ll warn you right off the bat: The Ordinary’s AHA/BHA Peeling Solution isn’t for the sensitive-skinned among us. But if you can tolerate it for less than 10 minutes—and never go over 10 minutes—this bright-red mask will leave your skin noticeably brighter after just one use; at least, it always has for me. Use it once (max twice) a week, and watch the blend of glycolic, lactic, and salicylic acids do their thing.
Kojic Acid
A bit of an if-you-know-you-know ingredient among skincare aficionados, kojic acid provides brightening and exfoliating with a gentler touch—but it still puts up an extremely impressive fight against dark spots like hyperpigmentation, melasma, and, of course, age spots.
Along with kojic acid, Dr. Idriss’ Major Fade features niacinamide and alpha arbutin, a compound of hydroquinone. In developing this one, the doctor was inspired, in part, by her own experience with melasma—so she’s speaking (and formulating) from experience.
K-beauty takes all skincare seriously, but it takes cultivating a bright, even skin tone very, very seriously. (It’s a cornerstone of “glass skin,” after all.) In this serum, one of the category’s buzziest brands blends kojic acid with turmeric—an anti-inflammatory with its own brightening properties—niacinamide, and vitamin E.
Tranexamic Acid
Deemed “every beauty editor’s holy grail brightening ingredient” by this very publication, tranexamic acid is fabulous at stopping unwanted pigmentation from forming in the first place.
We haven’t seen them on the list yet, but gluconolactone and azelaic acid—the other star ingredients in Farmacy’s Brighten Up Toner—have pretty impressive brightness-boosting properties of their own, serving as great exfoliators. Plus, azelaic acid has proven itself adept at inhibiting melanocytes.
If you read all of the info thus far and thought “okay, but can I use both kojic and tranexamic acid,” have I got news for you. Eadem’s The Mark is a gel treatment containing five percent tranexamic acid, 1 percent kojic acid, and one percent alpha-arbutin. The resulting gel-cream formula works fast to fade post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation, melasma, and age spots.
Salicylic Acid & Vitamin C
While “salicylic acid is great for improving skin discoloration from age spots,” Dr. Nazarian says, it’s important to use it in conjunction with preventative ingredients, too; “otherwise you'll never catch up,” she says. Enter vitamin C.
This classic pick does the multitasking for you. The formula brings together salicylic acid with vitamin C—“which can block pigment formation and decrease the development of additional melanin in response to sun and environmental triggers,” says Dr. Nazarian—and niacinamide. Thus, it uses “many pathways to decrease and prevent dark spots, age spots, and redness, which are often seen together in aged skin.”
Another one-two punch of vitamin C and salicylic acid, La Roche-Posay’s Vitamin C Serum also includes neurosensine, a soothing ingredient; unsurprising, given LRP’s sensitive-skin bona fides. (It also pops up in the brand’s Toleraine range.)
What Ingredients Are Best for My Age Spots?
Ingredients-wise, “look for retinoids, glycolic acid, kojic acid, tranexamic acid, and even hydroquinone,” says Dr. Nazarian. And don’t be afraid to mix and match (deliberately and under the advice of your derm, of course). “Products that combine different pathways for addressing age spots are great for multitasking,” she notes.
What’s the Best Way to Address Age Spots?
As you can probably imagine, given the sun of it all, it’s crucial to seek the guidance of a medical professional. “Speaking to a board-certified dermatologist is very important here, because not everything that looks like an ‘age spot’ is always an age spot,” says Dr. Nazarian. “Your dermatologist can help identify harmless benign spots and help screen for spots that may be something more concerning.”
If you are, in fact, dealing with an age spot(s), your derm “can also access a whole slew of ingredients you can use that may be available by prescription only, or discuss options for removing and improving age spots quickly, such as lasers and chemical peels,” she notes. (She cites Intense Pulsed Light and Fraxel as two of her favorite ways to fade age spots.)
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