As people age, besides noticing sagging skin and wrinkles, they often observe brownish spots appearing on the face and backs of hands—commonly known as age spots.Fundamentally, age spots arise from bodily aging and slowed metabolism. However, some suggest lifestyle habits play a role—for instance, that frequent soy sauce consumption increases susceptibility. Is this true?
Why Do Age Spots Form? Sun Exposure May Be a Factor
Age spots, medically termed seborrheic keratoses, are benign epidermal growths caused by the proliferation of keratinocytes. They represent the most common type of benign skin tumor.Tang Airong, Chief Technician of the Plastic Surgery and Cosmetic Department at Guangdong Provincial Second People's Hospital, previously stated in an interview that age spots typically appear after age 50. They manifest as brown patches, either flat or raised. Medically, flat ones are termed age spots, while raised ones are called seborrheic keratoses. Their number increases with age.
Although a type of benign tumor, age spots themselves do not harm physical health or cause discomfort. However, when they appear on the face, hands, or other areas and grow larger and darker with age, they can indeed negatively impact one's appearance.
The primary cause of age spots lies in the slowing of metabolism during the aging process, the gradual decline in cellular function, and the increasingly sluggish blood circulation. Combined with dietary changes in older adults, the persistent imbalance in fat intake leads to the accumulation of brown pigment granules within the basal layer cells of the skin, resulting in the appearance of age spots.
Sun exposure also plays a role in age spot formation. Ultraviolet radiation damages both the epidermis and dermis, causing collagen fibers that maintain skin elasticity to break down. This leads to dehydrated, thinner skin that becomes highly susceptible to wrinkles and age spots. However, developing age spots has nothing to do with consuming soy sauce; eating soy sauce does not affect skin tone or cause spots.
In rare cases, young individuals may develop age spots primarily due to prolonged computer use, irregular sleep patterns, inconsistent eating habits, and lack of exercise.
Can toothpaste remove age spots? Here's the scientific approach to fading them
Age spots plague most middle-aged and elderly individuals, fueling countless online remedies claiming to eliminate them without surgery or medication—simply by applying toothpaste.
This folk remedy claims that by applying a specific "heat-clearing" toothpaste once daily before bed and washing it off the next morning, age spots will shrink within 3 days. After about 10 days, the surface of the spots will peel off, revealing skin that has returned to its normal color. It's touted as a "low-cost, high-efficiency" method for removing age spots.
This is obviously unreliable. Applying toothpaste to the skin surface may provide a cooling sensation temporarily, but such toothpaste cannot penetrate deeply enough to improve or eliminate age spots.
For effective age spot removal, medical aesthetic treatments are the most ideal approach. Currently, laser therapy and phototherapy can both effectively address age spots with minimal damage, no surface skin disruption, and simultaneous skin texture improvement. These methods do not interfere with daily life, making them the ideal solution for age spots.