Spots on your skin darker than your natural skin tone are not harmful and do not need surgery, but many people prefer to have them removed for aesthetic purposes. Age spots or sunspots can be light brown or dark brown, come in various sizes, and appear on any part of your body but are typically found on areas of skin that are often exposed to light.
While many people try lightening creams and similar products to treat hyperpigmentation, age spots, or sunspots, the results they receive usually don’t last long. For those who want long-lasting results, PRP therapy alone or with other procedures like microneedling should be considered.
How Do Age Spots and Hyperpigmentation Develop?
Age spots and hyperpigmentation occur because of an excess of melanin in the skin. A melanin increase can be triggered by several factors, including sun exposure, UV light exposure, or hormonal changes due to pregnancy.
Age spots can develop from spending time in sunlight or UV light. When your skin has been overexposed to the sun or the UV lights in sunless tanning booths, it will try to protect itself from harmful UV rays by producing melanin as a defense. With age spots or sunspots, melanin production is focused on small spots, and you may develop sections of black, gray, or brown spots on your skin.
Like age spots, hyperpigmentation is also related to excess melanin in the skin. Unlike age spots, hyperpigmentation has discolored, blotchy patches of skin instead of tiny spots, and the color is often darker. While age spots are only caused by UV rays from natural sunlight or UV lights in sunless tanning booths, hyperpigmentation has other causes.
Causes of Hyperpigmentation
While overexposure to the sun or ultraviolet light in tanning beds is the most common cause of hyperpigmentation, there are other causes:
- Medication side effects
- Certain over-the-counter and prescription medications can cause dark spots by increasing skin pigmentation. The most common culprits are nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications (NSAIDs), psychotropics, and tetracyclines.
- Diabetes
- Diabetes can induce skin darkening, and these darker areas of skin might be mistaken for age spots. Two conditions linked to diabetes that cause skin darkening are acanthosis nigricans and diabetic dermopathy (shin spots).
- Healing of wounds
- Dark spots may remain after an insect bite, cut, or burn heals, even though the spots dissipate over time.
- Inflammation of the skin
- Dark spots will form after you’ve experienced skin inflammation. Conditions that cause skin inflammation include acne, eczema, psoriasis, and skin infections.
- Skin irritation
- Hair products, skincare products, and cosmetic products can irritate the skin, which can result in the formation of dark patches.
What to Expect When You Have Platelet-Rich Plasma Therapy to Treat Signs of Aging on Your Skin
Platelet-rich plasma therapy is a three-step process. If you have PRP for facial rejuvenation or to treat age spots or hyperpigmentation, the procedure usually takes forty-five minutes to an hour. Here’s what you can expect.
- Your blood is drawn.
- A small amount of blood will be removed from your arm. This is done the same way when blood is taken for lab tests.
- Your blood is taken to the on-site lab.
- The test tube with your blood is taken to the lab, where it is placed in a centrifuge that separates your blood into layers based on the components. One of these layers contains a high concentration of platelets (platelet-rich plasma).
- Your blood is injected into your skin.
- The blood that contains the high concentration of platelets is injected into your skin using a syringe or microneedling (a device that looks similar to a lint roller, except it has several tiny needles sticking out of it). In some cases, a filler is also injected.
What Is Microneedling with PRP?
Microneedling with PRP is a noninvasive method that can treat signs of aging without the risks of plastic surgery. Microneedling is done with a device like a lint roller covered with several tiny medical-grade needles that create micro-injuries in your skin.
Microneedling can stimulate and increase your body’s collagen production to address a wide variety of skin problems, and the platelet-rich plasma has growth factors and healing properties for an additional boost to facial rejuvenation.
Benefits of PRP Treatment for Facial Rejuvenation
Facial rejuvenation with PRP has many benefits that increase with each platelet-rich plasma treatment you receive. Many people see better results with PRP treatment because PRP is an organic material that won’t be rejected by the body and is appropriate for all skin types.
Additional benefits of PRP treatment include:
- diminishes acne damage and scarring
- enhanced blood flow to the skin
- gets rid of deep creases
- improved skin quality and complexion
- lessens dark circles under the eyes
- minimizes crow’s-feet
- plumps up sagging skin
- reduces sun damage
- reduces wrinkles and fine lines
- stimulates, increases, and improves collagen production
- tightens and tones skin
Another perk of PRP treatment is that there’s little to no downtime after a treatment.
How Long Do PRP Facial Results Last?
Your specific skin type influences the longevity of your results from facial rejuvenation with PRP. Age, lifestyle, and genetics can also affect your results and how long they will last. However, PRP facial results usually last between six and twelve months. Results of a PRP facial are seen within a few weeks and will continue to improve over time with each treatment.
A regimented skin care plan will give you the longest-lasting results. Your skin care plan might include multiple PRP facial treatments to help maintain results, and the professional and caring staff at A Family Chiropractic Clinic will work with you to create a controlled skin care plan to help you achieve your skincare goals.
Facial Rejuvenation with PRP Near Me
Suppose you’re interested in PRP therapy for age spots or facial rejuvenation. In that case, the experienced staff at A Family Chiropractic Clinic can answer your questions and discuss PRP treatment options with you.
Call us at 940-566-0000 to schedule a consultation, or contact us through our website.
