Age spots, also referred to as liver spots, become more common
with age, but they’re more related to sun exposure than they are
a direct consequence of aging. Older people who have protected
their skin from the sun by wearing sunscreen and protective
clothing are less likely to experience age spots, although most
people after a certain age will have at least a few of these
pigmented lesions on their hands or face. They typically look
like small spots on the skin and are brown in color because
they’re made up of melanin, the pigment that gives skin and hair
its color. Sun exposure is the number one cause of these spots.
When skin is repeatedly exposed to ultraviolet rays from the
sun, more melanin is produced. Age spots are nothing more than
clumps of pigment. As might be expected, they’re more common on
areas of the skin that are exposed to direct sunlight such as
the face, back of the hands and forearms. Fortunately, they’re
not harmful, and they aren’t pre-cancerous. On the other hand,
sun exposure increase