What causes age spots? Creams can help prevent and minimise their appearance

Age spots - often found on the hands, chest and arms - don't just magically appear with the passing of time; they are often the result of sun exposure. UV radiation stimulates pigment-producing cells (melanocytes) to make melanin.

Melanin can become unevenly distributed and concentrated in certain areas after years of sun exposure, producing the flat, brown spots, often referred to as age spots.

Daily lifestyle habits could contribute to how quickly and prominently these appear, even driving or walking around without SPF on your hands could be speeding up their formation.

Founder of Bar Beauty Medical and barbeauty.ca, Basil Russo, spoke to GB News about this. He recommended protecting hands with SPF the way you would other parts of your body, and to do this year-round - not just on sunny days.

Russo said: "Honestly, the whole answer starts with sunscreen on the backs of your hands, every day, not just the beach.

"Those brown spots people call age spots are sun, not age, and a lot of it you pick up driving with your hands on the wheel because UV goes right through the window. Keep a sunscreen by the door and put it back on after you wash your hands, which is the bit everyone skips."

If you have already noticed age spots, it's not all bad news. It is possible to lighten their appearance with creams and lotions such as retinol.

A small study of 36 elderly participants saw them apply 0.4% retinol lotion to forearm skin for 24 weeks. The product significantly improved fine wrinkles, skin texture, and mottled hyperpigmentation, or the dark spots associated with sun damage.

The study concluded that topical retinol can improve signs of photoaging, including pigment irregularities such as age spots.

Russo added: "At home, a retinol at night is the one that actually does something over a few months; it turns the skin over and slowly lifts the pigment.

"A vitamin C in the morning helps, too. And use a proper hand cream with ceramides, not whatever bar soap residue is at the sink, because hand skin is thin and dries out fast, that is what gives you the crepey look."

It is easy to overlook your hands when applying skin care, but the products and ingredients in your normal anti-ageing routine can be beneficial here, and on other areas prone to age spots.

Creams only go so far, however. For more advanced targeting, various treatments can be used to clear the dark marks.

Russo continued: "We can laser the pigment off directly, or do a peel or some microneedling to smooth the skin and build a bit of collagen.

"A lot of lasers are risky on darker skin and can leave a mark worse than the spot, so the machine matters. A patch test is still smart wherever you go.

"Bottom line, you are not getting teenage hands back, but sunscreen plus a nightly retinol keeps them looking years younger, and we can clear the spots that are already there."