Brown Spots on Face

Why is it that not everyone develops those unsightly brown spots on the face as they age? The answer lies in a combination of heredity and probably even more importantly…sun exposure. The sun is a powerful agent and it emits the entire spectrum of wavelength. Ultraviolet wavelengths are shorter than visible light so are not seen by us.  Nevertheless they are powerful, and damaging. 

UVA is the more deeply penetrating wavelength and is responsible for aging and wrinkling and plays a role in skin cancer development. This wavelength is the “tanning” wavelength and is what is emitted from the tanning parlor machines.  UVB is the burning ray and plays an important role in skin cancer development.

More likely than not, a combination of these sun radiations over our lifetime lead to the unsightly brown spots visible on our sun exposed areas, including our face. So those that have lived in areas where there is less sun, or who have protected themselves with broad spectrum sunscreens, or who have worn protective clothing, or who just did not favor the outdoors, will be seen to have clearer skin.

The rest of us will pay the piper, so to speak!  We will have a variety of brown spots. Some of these are called lentigines, or freckles. Some are seborrheic keratoses, and some are actinic keratoses. Some are even true skin cancers such as basal or squamous cell carcinoma or even malignant melanoma. The good news is that we have treatments for all of these types of brown spots such as:

• Laser treatments
• IPL or BBL treatments
• Cryosurgery or electrosurgical treatments
• Topically applied chemotherapeutic regimens

Some of these treatments are medically necessary and will be covered by most insurance.  Some is strictly cosmetic and is not covered by any insurance.