Basking in the sun used to be really fun - until you found yourself worrying about

getting rid of age spots that suddenly covered your hands, and especially your face. It would've been cute when you were three when they were called "freckles." But now that you're decades beyond that age, these age spots don't say 'cute' anymore, rather, they're screaming 'old'.

Brown age spots are caused by over exposure to the sun or it could be also an heredity. Melanin those pigment cell in your skin are produced by your skin, in response to the dangerous UV rays of the sun. In order to protect your skin from sun damage, melanine is produced as a strong barrier against rays, this take a form of brown spots or age spots as we know them.

Since this is a sever problem for most woman and men also, some face age spot treatments have been develop. There are chemical peels, laser resurfacing treatments, laser surgery for age spots and creams.

However, as with any other problem concerning the body, prevention is always the best cure. Taking care of your skin early and protecting it from possible damage can be very helpful in preventing these spots from developing, as well as worrying about eliminating age spots in the future.

Since age spots are caused by sun damage, the biggest measure you have to take is to protect yourself against the sun. Wear protective clothing and sunglasses whenever going out in the sun. And most importantly, arm yourself with sunscreen. Apply it generously on your entire body, giving much attention to those areas exposed to the sun, like your face, arms and hands. The lighter your skin, the more protected you should be since you are more at risk of developing age spots due to lesser melanin - making you more vulnerable to sun damage - and the task of removing age spots can become a huge dilemma.

Another cause of hyper pigmentation in age spots is improper skin care. If you had acne pimples, wounds or rashes, they leave a dark spot. However this marks disappear easily after some time unless you expose your skin to the sun. If you expose your acne dark spots to the sun, it will be very difficult to get rid of age spots.

Your genes could affect your skin, sometimes when you inherit a skin that is vulnerable to the sun and skin damage or even allergies, you have to be very careful.

Be careful about what you put on your face too, as you may develop age spots as a result of using harsh chemicals on your face. As we mentioned earlier, melanin in the skin acts as a protective barrier against damage, and harsh chemicals can have the same effect - it may leave your face or any part of your body with dark spots and if excessively damaged, removing the age spots may take you quite a while, not to mention a lot of sessions with numerous age spot treatments.