Basking in the sun used to be really fun - until you found yourself worrying about

getting rid of age spots that suddenly covered your hands, and especially your face. It would've been cute when you were three when they were called "freckles." But now that you're decades beyond that age, these age spots don't say 'cute' anymore, rather, they're screaming 'old'.

Age spots are caused by too much exposure to the sun, or they may just run in your family. Melanin, those pigment cells found in your skin are rapidly manufactured by your skin as a natural response to the sun's harmful rays. By producing more melanin, your skin builds up a barrier against further sun damage, which takes the form of brown spots - more commonly known as age spots.

Since this is a sever problem for most woman and men also, some face age spot treatments have been develop. There are chemical peels, laser resurfacing treatments, laser surgery for age spots and creams.

However, as with any other problem concerning the body, prevention is always the best cure. Taking care of your skin early and protecting it from possible damage can be very helpful in preventing these spots from developing, as well as worrying about eliminating age spots in the future.

Since most of the age spots are caused by sun damage, the best protection you can take, is to avoid over exposure to the sun. Wear proper clothes, sunglasses and one of thing you should always use is sunscreen. Apply it to your body on every area, especially your arms, face and legs that are more exposed to the sun. If you skin is very light you should take special protection on your skin, because your skin is more vulnerable to developing skin age spots because you have less melanin. The other problem with people with very light skin is that is more difficult to reduce age spots on the body.

Hyper-pigmentation in age spots can also be caused by improper skin care, especially in dealing with acne, wounds or rashes. When pimples or rashes heal, they leave a dark spot. It is easy to remove sun spots left by blemishes like these, as they usually heal quite easily. But if these healing spots are left exposed to the sun, they could take forever to heal.

It would also be very helpful to know how your genes affect your skin. When you inherit a skin that is vulnerable to a lot of skin damage - especially sun damage - or allergies, then you have to be extra careful about your skin. This may be the reason why most people - Latinas for example - have so many age spots, while some barely have these sun blemishes.

Be careful about what you put on your face too, as you may develop age spots as a result of using harsh chemicals on your face. As we mentioned earlier, melanin in the skin acts as a protective barrier against damage, and harsh chemicals can have the same effect - it may leave your face or any part of your body with dark spots and if excessively damaged, removing the age spots may take you quite a while, not to mention a lot of sessions with numerous age spot treatments.