Is your skin in a spot of bother?

It’s time to talk about age spots – those pesky patches of skin pigmentation that are notoriously tricky to tackle. They tend to show up on areas of the body that get the most sun, including face, hands, chest and legs. Flat rather than raised, they are larger than freckles, usually brown in colour and often appear in clusters.

Known technically as hyperpigmentation (also sunspots and liver spots) they occur when cells called melanocytes create an excess of melanin (the brown pigment within the skin) to help shield against DNA damage. They can also be caused by hormonal imbalance, injury or ageing.

The good news is that there are better treatments than ever before to tackle them. And the earlier you start, the better because even tiny dark spots will keep growing.

SKIN SAVIOURS

Use a broad-spectrum sunscreen every day with a minimum of SPF30, which protects against both UVA and UVB rays to help prevent the problem getting worse.

Build your skin’s UV defence with Age Defy+ Green Beauty with Astaxanthin, £36 for 60 capsules, greenpeople.co.uk. A powerful antioxidant, astaxanthin increases the skin’s sun protection, increases elasticity and decreases inflammation.

Look for antioxidant ingredients such as vitamin C, which is known to help inhibit melanin production in the skin.

A topical, prescription-strength retinoid cream used nightly can help fade pigmentation and boost collagen.

Skincare acids such as alpha hydroxy acids (AHAs) and beta hydroxy acids (BHAs) help exfoliate the top layer of the skin.

POWER PRODUCTS

When it comes to treating pigmentation, these are the best of the bunch.

■■Murad Rapid Dark Spot Correcting Serum, £75 (murad.co.uk)

This new formula contains a combination of antioxidants which work to reduce dark spots, while inhibiting the enzyme that causes overproduction of melanin.

■■Skinceuticals Discoloration Defence Serum, £85 (skinceuticals.co.uk)

Brightening kojic acid is combined with hightech tranexamic acid to lighten dark patches and prevent reoccurrence.

■■Olay Regenerist Luminous Anti-Ageing

Skin Tone Perfecting

Serum, £29.99 (Boots)

Containing niacinamide,

this boosts radiance while reducing hyperpigmentation and dark spots.

■■Ultrasun Face AntiPigmentation SPF50+, £32 (escentual.com) Using chemical and mineral filters, this protects from pigmentation by locking sun protection to the skin for all-day filtering.

■■No7 Laboratories Dark Spot Correcting Booster Serum, £34.95 (Boots)

A powerhouse of dark spotfading ingredients, including vitamin C, this serum has been proven to start reducing pigmentation in just two weeks.

■■Caudalie Vinoperfect Dark Spot Correcting Glycolic Night Cream, £35 (cultbeauty.co.uk) This contains Caudalie’s hero ingredient viniferine

(sap from the grapevine), which is 60 times more powerful than vitamin C. Combined with glycolic acid, it helps to fade and buff away pigmented skin.