subject: Why Men (and Women) Get Age Spots? [print this page] Why Men (and Women) Get Age Spots?
Men and women get age spots or spotty skin on their hands and faces mainly due to too much sun. Melanin or the skin's pigment, is probably triggered by the UV light. Let's look at the causes and then learn more on How to Reduce Your Risk of Age Spots.
**Pigment in Skin Cause
Scientists must keep changing their theories as new information becomes available. We know that excess production of melanin or abnormal distribution of the pigment or both is what leads to age-related skin spots.
It doesn't happen all at once and the process is impossible to document in a laboratory. So understanding the process is difficult.
It is known that an enzyme called tyrosinase is necessary for melanin synthesis or production. Absence of or defect in the enzyme is the cause of albinism, a complete or partial absence of pigmentation in the skin, hair and eyes.
The pigment melanin is derived from the amino acid tyrosine. One of the non-essential amino acids, tyrosine can be produced within the body from another amino acid called phenylalanine, which is an essential amino acid.
The melanin-producing cells are called melanocytes. Damage to the melanocytes is the probable cause of spotty skin. The current theory is that the damage is a form of photo-aging.
**UV Rays Cause
That brings us back to the sun as the cause of age spots. Photo-aging is a term used by scientists to describe changes that occur in the skin's outer layers as a result of UVA and UVB exposure. The most common source of exposure to UVA and UVB light is from the sun.
We know that overexposure to the sun causes a prematurely aged appearance. Skin spots, wrinkles, dryness and sagging are among the symptoms of premature or photo-aging. We see these symptoms in people who have worked outside most of their lives, in people who live in desert conditions and in those that just love the sun.
You could say that failure to take protective measures from burning is one of the causes or photo-aging. Spotty skin is more common in people who have a history of burning.
Many fair-skinned people burn when they are outdoors for a short period of time. After the burn fades, they may tan. With regular small amounts of exposure, the tan may remain. But in temperate climates, the tan fades during winter. When springtime comes, they burn again and the process starts all over again.
Whenever the skin's surface is burnt by the sun, a small amount of free radical damage is done. If the process is repeated over and over again, there is more and more damage.
**Possible Age Cause
The skin of a young healthy person has natural mechanisms to prevent and repair small amounts of damage. The mechanisms change with age. The body's repair work takes longer to complete. In some cases, the work is never completed.
One of the reasons scientists believe free radical damage is the cause of age spots and spotty skin is because of the nature of the effective treatments. You can learn more about those treatments in my next article: How to Reduce Your Risk of Age Spots.
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