How to fade age spots: a simple solution can be found in your kitchen - beauty

YEARS OF SUN EXPOSURE and free-radical damage can lead to flat brown spots on your hands, face, and body. While age spots (also called liver spots) are harmless, most people consider them an unwelcome sign of aging. Fortunately, there's help. "They won't go away," but the following spot treatment can be "very, very helpful in reducing the appearance," says Jeanette Jacknin, M.D., a dermatologist in Scottsdale, Ariz., and author of Smart Medicine for Your Skin (Avery, 2001). Here's how:

Mix together 1 teaspoon grated horseradish root, 1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice, 1/2 teaspoon vinegar, and 3 drops rosemary essential oil (Rosmarinus officinalis). This mixture will exfoliate the top layer of your skin. Dab it onto your age spots with a cotton swab once or twice a day. If you have sensitive skin, use this treatment less often, Jacknin says, as these ingredients are mildly irritating. Stop once your spots have lightened noticeably. (See a dermatologist if your spots grow in size or change shape.)

Prevent a Spot Problem

WARD OFF AGE SPOTS BY wearing sunscreen and taking a multivitamin containing free-radical-fighting antioxidants like vitamin C and vitamin E (d-alpha tocopherol).

COPYRIGHT 2002 Weider Publications
COPYRIGHT 2002 Gale Group