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Which ingredients other than Hydroquione works against sun spots?
  • Kat44
    I have sun spots in my face. Not very bad, but light brown and red spots. I also have pigment scars from my Keratosis Pilaris on my arms.

    I know Hydroquione is the most effective way to go, but I live in Europe, where Hydroquione has been banned. Which other ingredients can be used to treat sunspots? And can you recommend any products in particular?
  • sarahf
    I always tend to think the first step is to see a dermatologist and verify the diagnosis. Sun spots can actually mean a number of things, from seborrheic keratoses to solar lentigines to freckles to melasma (and of course you'd want to be sure it's not a type of skin cancer or pre-cancerous spot). As far as options with and without prescription, you can check out this thread http://www.thebeautybrains.com/vanilla/comments.php?DiscussionID=1431&page=1#Item_0
  • JewelD
    You can try azeleic acid, or just about any AHA or BHA exfoliant, such as fruit acids, salicylic acid, etc.  Also enzyme exfoliants, such as pumpkin enzyme masks.

    I recently used lemon peel bio-ferment, and that seemed to help.  A lot of these methods take time to work completely - and don't forget to use sunscreen, so as not to ruin all your hard work!
  • jimbear
    Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C) or Retinol (Vitamin A) compounds and Superoxide Dismutase (SOD) have shown some results as well as an extract from mushrooms
  • sarahf
    Right, I think most of these are listed in the thread I linked to.  I'm trying azelaic acid right now, will let you know how it goes.  Retinol didn't do it for me, and was hard for my skin to tolerate.
  • Ally E.Ally E.
    salycilic acid is pretty weak at lightening sun spots or any other hyperpigmentation
  • sarahf
    Yeah, I hadn't heard of BHAs being effective for hyperpigmentation.  AHAs and retinoids, yes.  I think the azelaic acid I'm using is doing something, but my melasma is extremely stubborn, so it will probably take months before I'll know for sure if it's working.
  • Ally E.Ally E.
    i tried this spot lightener http://sasa.com/SasaWeb/eng/product/viewProductDetail.jspa?itemno=104778604001 and it was very effective, too effective for my light tiny freckles to be honest. you should really give it a go and it's not expensive at all also i can give you some sunscreen recommendations from that site that would maybe make the shipping costs more worth it.
  • sarahf
    Thanks, Ally.  I'm going to give the azelaic acid a good try first.  I think it's doing something (albeit gradual) and it agrees with my rosacea-prone. irritation-prone skin.  It also refines my pores and treats my blackheads nicely (it's also used as an acne and rosacea medication, so it has many uses).
  • tinkerbell
    I think Idebenone is a far better skin lightening ingredient. Its bioengineerd super Co-enzyme Q10. Acids just make ur skin thin and more sensitive and in the longterm more sunsensitive.
  • sarahf
    Actually, azelaic acid, unlike retinol, doesn't thin my skin at all.  It's used to treat rosacea, so I think it's pretty gentle stuff.
  • tinkerbell
    Not gentle stuff according to me. Azelaic acid can irritate the skin and causes inflamation in the skin. If inflamation may occur, the spots may become darker. Azelaic acid works quite similar than benzoyl peroxide in the treatment of acne. Definitely not gentle stuff. It may also dry out the skin. Just my opinion.
  • sarahf

    You're going on a theory--that if inflammation can occur, the spots may become darker.  I'm going on the evidence--that azelaic acid has been tested and found to be helpful for hyperpigmentation http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/1068640-treatment  (see 2nd paragraph from the bottom) and for inflammatory skin conditions ( http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20545756 ; http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20967185 ).

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