Even though I’ve been vigilant about sunscreen and staying out of the sun lately, I am developing sun spots! For the past few years I have had no tan whatsoever on my face, thanks to wearing a good sunscreen daily, and staying out of the sun for the most part. I’ve done everything “right” but am still getting little sun spots/freckles/age spots. I’ve had some laser Photo Facials, always wear big sunglasses, reapply sunscreen if I’m outside for more than an hour, wear hats if I’m at the pool for more than an hour, and I try to avoid the sun all together during the hottest parts of the day.

I’m probably developing the sun spots because I spent years and years baking in the sun as a kid and teenager in Hawaii. When you’re young, the sun tans you, but when you get older, it manifests its damage as sun spots and wrinkles. Plus I live in Las Vegas, where just walking to your car, and driving around, can damage your skin, even if you wear the best sunscreen.

 Here are some additional things I need to do to prevent future sun damage:

- Remember to wear topical antioxidants. I admit that during the summer I forgot to apply this half the time! Currently I use Paula’s Choice Skin Recovery Super Antioxidant Concentrate.

- Consider getting my car windows tinted, and have a UV coating put on. I don’t know how much this costs, but I’m definitely going to look into getting this done before the spring.

- Consider taking oral supplements of either Heliocare or Murad Pomphenol Sunguard. These are “vitamins” that are supposed to increase your skin’s sun protection from the inside-out. I haven’t tried these yet, since it would be hard to know if they work or not, but I may try one of them someday.

- Starting today, use a 2% Hydroquinone Gel
I just went to Sephora today and bought a skin lightening gel with 2% Hydroquinone in it - Peter Thomas Roth Ultra Gentle Skin Lightening Gel Complex.

Hydroquinone is the only FDA approved skin lightening ingredient, and it’s supposed to lighten age spots, and Melasma over 2-3 months. It’s also supposed to be the most effective skin lightening ingredient available. I used Paula’s Choice Clearly Remarkable Skin Lightening Gel in the past, which has 2% Hydroquinone, and 2% Salicylic Acid in it. I used it for a few months, and don’t recall seeing any difference in my skin at all. You must use a really good sunscreen if you are using Hydroquinone, or you could make your dark spots worse, since Hydroquinone makes your skin more sun-sensitive!

I don’t know if the Peter Thomas Roth gel will do anything, but now that it’s winter, I figure it’s the best time to try it. I will use it daily for 2 or 3 months, and then stop using it. I’ll let you know the results. Several months ago, after reading reports that Hydroquinone is banned in some European countries because it’s a possible carcinogen (on studies done on mice), I threw out my Paula’s Choice gel. I may be crazy, but I’ve decided to give the ingredient one more chance because I honestly don’t think short-term use if it will be harmful at all.

I’m going to apply it once a day, to most of my face, since the spots are in several areas. Since it can lighten your skin, it’s best just to use it on the actual spots you have to lighten. However, in my case, the spots are extremely tiny, and they are all over, so I’m forced to apply it to most of my face. I’m not going to use any other products with active ingredients in conjunction with this (Benzoyl Peroxide, Retinoids, etc.) so that I don’t have any ingredient interaction problems. If I apply it in the morning, I will wait several minutes before applying sunscreen. For night time application, I will skip my use of Differin (a Retinoid).

The Peter Thomas Roth gel also contains other skin lightening and brightening ingredients: Lactic Acid, Glycolic Acid, Azelaic Acid, Kojic Acid, Bearberry Extract, Mulberry Extract, Vitamin C, and Salicylic Acid, so if this product doesn’t work for me, than I doubt anything will.

Update: I wrote this post a few days ago, and have been using the Peter Thomas Roth gel every day and have had no adverse reactions at all. I’ll keep you posted on whether it lightens my spots!