What the hell can I do about the terrible sun damage on my face?

[ComradeJing]

So since using the OCM my skin is looking brilliant and very clear. Unfortunatly it has made it obvious that those cute little freckles are actually sun damage spots and a couple of them are LARGE. I'm only bloody 26 (on Wednesday) and this is from sun burn in my early teens I think.

Short term I'm now using an SPF every day and bought the shops up to try a few. La Roche-Posay tinted, Invisible Zinc tinted and a few others but they're a lower SPF so probably winter wear.

What can I do to fix/get rid of the sun spots though? Anything?

[ComradeJing]

Sorry... I meant the others (not the LRP and IZ) are lower SPF

[SoloAgainItSeems]

Try dark mark removers (can't think what they're called, but pharmacies will tell you), start wearing sun block every day and wear a hat.

[AmeliaGrey]

If you can splash out, Skinceuticals gets very good reviews- dark spot remover is £75 but is supposed to really work. see their website.
Cheaper versions are Clinique and REN has a new one out. Also estee Lauder do a serum that's new.

[jbg]

Hi,

I used to have brown patches on my face and i got rid of them a few yrs ago with an at-home (diy) acid peel which i bought from the Bravura London, website. I think I did it over 8 or 12 weeks; you do a peel once a week. The kit comes with instructions which are really easy to follow.

I also use AHA and BHA exfolianting gels (not at the same time) from Paula's Choice to keep me looking fresh.

[Chandon]

darling at your age they ARE freckles.

And it is not the end of the world.

Wearing my freckles with pride, don't let ANYONE call them "sun damage!"

[snailsontour]

Jbg - I'm interested in the acid peel, but there are a three acids on the Bravura web site - which one did you use?

[TattyDevine]

IPL (Intense Pulsed Light) - i.e laser resurfacing

A peel, proper 2 weeks downtime clinic job

SPF from now on (tick!)

Don't beat yourself up, you are obviously "prone" to this pigment, I got sunburned a bit too and hell I spent my first 21 years in Australia and I didn't see my first pigmentation irregularities till I was in my 30's so you are either prone or not. Good reason to use SPF but don't beat yourself up.

[LuckyMrsT]

Sorry to hijack but can anyone explain the OCM to me in a nutshell? Just the basics of what to use and how. I've been shoving a bit of bio oil around my cheeks as a moisturiser at night and it does feel nice but I'm reading loads on here about avacado oil, jojoba oil, almond oil...

[TattyDevine]

And they may well be "just freckles" so don't over-analyse

[hell, who am I kidding}

[ComradeJing]

Sorry for the delay in replying.

Thanks for the replies. I'm pretty certain they aren't just freckles as they are newish and bloody big. I definitely didn't have them a few years ago. Between Beijing and the terrible air and Australia and their terrible sun I think I'm stuffed.

Tatty those sound scary but will look into it, thanks.

Lucky: In a nutshell get hold of an oil (I use 2/3rds jojoba 1/3rd castor oil, my mum uses cold pressed coconut, you can use olive oil, sunflower oil etc. Cold pressed is best. You can buy from Amazon). Rub onto your face at night for about 3 minutes. Use a warm muslin cloth or flannel to steam your face and them wipe off the oil. More info here

[mittenkitten]

I would say always be conservative with your skin -- IME the more gentle and gradual treatments are the way to go. I just started using this Vitamin A cream about five days ago and already a weird pigmented spot by my right eye is fading! I am quite surprised as I've never seen a cream work this quickly before, but thought it was worth mentioning.

[lubeybooby]

I have sun damage too which is annoying me...so will watch with interest... let me know what you decide on and how it works OP

[mathanxiety]

Please go to a dermatologist. This is not entirely a cosmetic issue.

If you are fair skinned and/or have had some sunburns as a child and now have new blotches/freckles or whatever, then you need to have them examined, not just covered up.

[blindassassin]

I would be very wary of going down the IPL route. I had it done at a licensed spa for exactly the same thing a few years ago, and while it did get rid of the pigment initially it actually came back worse a few months later.

I have since seen a dermatologist who told me that actually the spots were more than likely to be hormone /pregnancy related, perhaps made worse by sun exposure but not necessarily caused by it initially. Her advice was that if I was to have anything done, a chemical peel would be the best treatment, done over the winter months. She also didn't recommend doing anything until I had finished having children as pregnancy can make it worse. In my case my dark patches have got considerably better on their own. Prior to that I did actually find bio-oil quite good but you have to keep using it for several months.

So my advice would be to definitely see a dermatologist before doing anything, keep going with the sunblock, wear a hat. You are still young and you might find they clear up on their own. HTH.

[willybreeder]

I agree with some of the above - get advice from a dermatologist about whether it's sun damage, the mask of pregnancy or anything else. Then a course of microdermabrasion can lift any pigmentation.