Sun Spots and Age Spots: How to Prevent and Manage Them at Home

By Dr Ivona Igerc (Dr Ivy). Aesthetic practitioner, registered with the GDC, based on Harley Street and founder of Dr Ivy London.
Published: July 2026.

Sun spots, also called age spots or solar lentigines, are flat brown patches caused by years of cumulative UV exposure. They are benign. Managing them at home works best when a routine does four things at once: prevents new pigment forming, slows melanin production, limits pigment transfer into skin cells, and supports steady cell renewal. Progress is measured in months, not days.

What are sun spots?

Sun spots are flat, brown patches caused by localised build-ups of melanin, the pigment that gives skin its colour. Repeated UV exposure stimulates melanocytes to produce excess melanin, and over years those deposits become visible as darker areas.

They develop most often on the areas that catch the most sun: the face, shoulders, chest, hands and forearms. The backs of the hands and the décolletage are usually the first places people notice them, because those areas are rarely covered and rarely protected with the same care as the face.

Sun spots are a cosmetic concern rather than a medical one. The important thing is being able to tell them apart from pigmentation that needs a professional opinion.

Are sun spots dangerous?

Solar lentigines themselves are benign. The reason to pay attention to them is that other pigmented lesions, including melanoma, can appear in the same places, and the two are not always easy to tell apart by eye.

Other common causes of pigmentation include:

• Post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation (PIH): pigmentation that develops after acne, injury or inflammation.
• Melasma: hormonally driven pigmentation, often influenced by pregnancy or hormonal changes.

These three respond differently to the same ingredients, which is one reason a routine that works for a friend may do very little for you.

How to tell a sun spot from something that needs checking

A typical sun spot is even in colour, well defined, stable, and slow to appear over many years. Anything that is changing, uneven, multi-coloured, bleeding, itching or crusting should be assessed by a healthcare professional.

The NHS recommends the ABCDE checklist for pigmented lesions:

Also worth an appointment: a spot that becomes swollen, tender, itchy, crusty or starts to bleed.

This article is general skincare information, not a diagnosis. If a pigmented spot is new, changing, or simply different from the others on your skin, book an appointment with your GP. Skin cancer found early is far more treatable, and no cosmetic routine should ever delay that conversation. Sources: NHS, Melanoma skin cancer symptoms; Cancer Research UK, Symptoms of melanoma.

Why one product is rarely enough

Pigment forms through several separate steps: it is produced, transferred, and then sits in the surface layers of the skin. A product that acts on only one of those steps leaves the others running, which is why single-product routines tend to stall.

Understanding the sequence makes the routine below make sense.

1. Prevent new pigment forming

Daily broad-spectrum SPF 50+ is the single most important step, and it is the one most people underuse. UV continually stimulates melanocytes to produce melanin, so without daily protection every other product in the routine is working against a tap that is still running. Sunscreen is not only prevention here. It is part of the treatment.

2. Slow melanin production

Melanin production depends on an enzyme called tyrosinase. Ingredients that inhibit this enzyme reduce how much excess pigment is made in the first place.

Widely used tyrosinase inhibitors include:

• Thiamidol
• Vitamin C
• Kojic acid
• Alpha arbutin
• Tranexamic acid
• Niacinamide (which also acts on the step below)

A note on hydroquinone. It is often described online as the gold standard, and in some countries it is available over the counter. In the UK it is not permitted in cosmetic products and is available only on prescription, following a ban on its cosmetic use because of the side effects associated with unsupervised use. If hydroquinone is appropriate for your skin, it is a conversation to have with a prescriber, not something to buy from an overseas website. Products bought that way are unregulated and have repeatedly been found to contain undeclared ingredients.

3. Limit pigment transfer

Even once melanin is produced, it still has to be transferred into skin cells before it becomes visible. Niacinamide helps reduce that transfer while supporting the skin barrier at the same time, which makes it one of the more useful ingredients for long-term pigmentation management and one of the easiest to tolerate.

4. Support cell renewal

Encouraging the skin to shed pigmented surface cells allows fresher skin to show through. Ingredients that support this include:

• Retinoids
• Glycolic acid
• Azelaic acid

These work gradually, softening the look of existing pigmentation over weeks and months. Used too enthusiastically, they irritate, and irritation itself can trigger more pigmentation. Restraint genuinely produces better results here.

5. Support the skin after sun exposure

Newer ingredients such as polynucleotides (PDRN) and exosomes are used differently from traditional brightening agents. Rather than acting on pigment directly, they are used to support the skin's overall condition, comfort and appearance after UV exposure.

This is an evolving area of skincare science, and it deserves honest framing. These ingredients are best understood as supporting skin quality and appearance, not as a pigmentation treatment, and not as a substitute for sun protection or for the pigment-specific actives above. Some polynucleotide formats are clinic treatments rather than home skincare, so a consultation is the right route if that is of interest.

A simple home routine for sun spots

A workable routine has three jobs: protect by day, renew by night, and recover once a week. Consistency matters more than the number of products.

Morning: protect and correct

After cleansing, apply a pigmentation-targeting serum containing ingredients such as vitamin C, tranexamic acid or alpha arbutin.

Finish with a broad-spectrum SPF 50+ every single day, including when it is cloudy. UVA passes through cloud and window glass, which is why pigmentation on the hands and the driver's side of the face is so common.

Evening: renew

Night is when skin naturally goes through its repair and renewal cycle. A simple evening routine may include:

• A retinoid to support cell renewal
• Niacinamide or ceramides to maintain the skin barrier

Introduce actives one at a time, and give each one several weeks before judging it.

Once a week: recover

Give your skin a recovery day focused purely on hydration and barrier support. Look for panthenol, ceramides and gentle moisturising ingredients.

Allowing the barrier to recover improves tolerance to active ingredients, which in turn means you can stay consistent. Most people who give up on a pigmentation routine do so because of irritation, not because the ingredients failed.

Do not forget the body

Skin on the body is thicker than facial skin and renews more slowly, so pigmentation there is more persistent and takes longer to shift. The hands, arms, chest and legs are most commonly affected.

These areas usually tolerate, and often need, stronger exfoliating and renewing ingredients than the face.

Three body products worth considering

1. Eucerin Anti-Pigment Targeted Areas Body Cream. Formulated with Thiamidol, a well-studied tyrosinase inhibitor, alongside lactic acid to work on both pigmentation and texture. Widely available in UK pharmacies.

2. Ameliorate Transforming Body Lotion (10% lactic acid). A high-strength lactic acid lotion that exfoliates while hydrating deeply. Stocked in the UK, which makes it a practical alternative to US lactic acid lotions that are only available through import.

3. Paula's Choice Retinol Skin-Smoothing Body Treatment. Contains encapsulated retinol to support cell renewal across larger areas of the body while minimising irritation.

Apply body products at night, and protect treated areas with SPF during the day. Exfoliated skin is more sun-sensitive, and treating pigmentation without protecting it is self-defeating.

Where Dr Ivy London fits

Dr Ivy London is built around plant-derived exosome skincare, which sits in the supportive category described above. The Regenerative Exosome Serum is not a pigment-targeting product, and it is not a replacement for daily SPF or for a tyrosinase-inhibiting serum. It is used to support the skin's overall condition and comfort, which is often what makes a stronger pigmentation routine tolerable enough to stick with.

If that supportive layer is what your routine is missing, explore the exosome range. If pigmentation is your primary concern, start with SPF 50+ and a targeted serum first. That order matters more than any single product.

Frequently asked questions

How long does it take to fade sun spots?
Expect months rather than weeks. Most people see the first changes at around eight to twelve weeks of consistent use, with continued improvement beyond that. Body pigmentation takes longer than facial pigmentation because body skin renews more slowly. Anything promising results in days is overselling.

Will sun spots come back?
They can. The pigment-producing cells are still there and still respond to UV, so pigmentation tends to return during summer or after a holiday if sun protection lapses. Daily SPF is what holds results in place, which is why it is treated as maintenance rather than a seasonal step.

Do I really need SPF on cloudy days and in winter?
Yes. UVA, the wavelength most associated with ageing and pigmentation, is present year round and passes through cloud and window glass. For pigmentation specifically, inconsistent protection is the most common reason a routine underperforms.

What is the difference between sun spots, melasma and post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation?
Sun spots come from cumulative UV exposure and appear on sun-exposed areas. Melasma is hormonally driven and often appears as larger, patchier areas. Post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation follows acne, injury or inflammation. They can look similar but respond differently, so a professional opinion is useful if you are unsure which you have.

Can I use vitamin C and a retinoid together?
Many people use vitamin C in the morning and a retinoid at night, which keeps both effective and reduces irritation. Using them together in one routine step is possible for some skin types but is more likely to cause sensitivity. Introduce one at a time.

When should I see a doctor about a pigmented spot?
If a spot is new, changing in size, shape or colour, has irregular or multi-coloured borders, or is bleeding, itching or crusting, book an appointment with your GP. The same applies to any spot that simply looks different from the others on your skin.

The bottom line

Managing sun spots is a long-term commitment, and there is no overnight solution. The best results come from combining daily sun protection, targeted pigment inhibitors, steady cell renewal and a well-supported skin barrier.

Address pigmentation through several pathways at once, stay consistent, and you can meaningfully improve how sun spots look while reducing the chance of new ones forming. Consistency will always outperform intensity.