Age/sun spots, also known as lentigines are harmless, flat, brown discolorations of the skin which usually occur on the back of the hands, neck and face of people over the age of 40. These spots give away a person's age and are caused by the skin being exposed to too much sun over many years without adequate sunscreen protection. Such spots are usually harmless and do not require treatment unless they change color, size or becomes raised and crusty.

 Laser treatment of age spots offers the most effective means for the removal of such discolourations. The treatment is quick and painless. There is no need for any needles or anesthesia. These spots rarely return and the risk of scarring is very minimal.

The laser works by targeting the brown pigment, or "melanin," present in the skin of these spots. This pigment absorbs the laser's energy and becomes scattered within the skin's tissues. The rest is done by the body's own immune system as the skin's cleansing cells, called "macro-phages," digest the excess pigment and clear it from the area.

Usually age spots require only one or two treatments for removal, although larger, darker spots may require more. Once treated the age spots will not return. However laser treatment cannot stop the ageing of the skin and other age spots will appear in time. In order to minimise this patients should use sunscreen and avoid direct exposure to the sun.

Tucany's Nd:YAG lasers are the perfect choice for the removal of age spots since the laser's wavelength is absorbed by the melanin in the spots. In addition the Nd:YAG laser ensures the non-ablative treatment of such discolourations.