If your idea of a vacation is a long day at the shore, you may have experienced some changes in your skin tone with the passing of the years. Does it seem like you have more and more freckles on your skin each time you go to the beach? You might be among the many unknowing victims of sun spots.

In order to work towards treatment options, you need to be able to identify these markings. Keep reading in order to learn how to identify and get rid of these pesky skin pigmentations.

What's the difference between age spots, sun spots and liver spots?

It's particularly easy to be confused about age spots, sun spots and liver spots, due to the fact that there are many different ways of naming the same thing. No matter what name they may have, the conclusions are the same: sun spots cause the skin look decades older than it should, making skin care products to fade age spots a necessary investment.

How do I know if I have a sun spot?

Liver spots, sun spots or age spots are small freckle-like spots, usually brown or redish, that are most commonly found on exposed areas of the body like the face, hands and shoulders. Age spots are not always brownish and will range in color, depending on one's skin tone and the level of sun exposure. Age spots are a simple change in pigmentation caused by the damaging effects of the sun.

What are the most common ways of removing sun spots, age spots and liver spots?

Sun and age spots can fortunately be removed using simple medical procedures, cosmetic treatments and certain aging skin care products. People who are concerned about the look and feel of their skin may want to look into the various ways of rejuvenating skin that has experienced sun damage. The most common age spot remover methods are Microdermabrasion, Bleaching Creams, Laser Surgery and Chemical Peels.

What makes sun spots occur?

Age spots are principally caused by skin sun damage. Over-pigmentation occurs when the skin's melanocytes - cells located in the epidermis - begin to produce pigments in excess, following too much sun. Melanocytes are the skin cell components responsible for darkening the skin during and after sun bathing.

The problem occurs when melanocytes act up and make an excess amount of the melanin pigment. This melanin overload causes the skin to turn red or brownish, resulting in what we call sun spots, and can also lead to melasma.

In conclusion, concerns about sun spots are mostly cosmetic, because the majority of them are not a health threat. However, average person's eye cannot distinguish skin cancer from harmless dark spots. It is extremely important that you see a skin specialist in order to verify that none of your sun spots are cancerous.