BoomerGirl Diary

Dear Crabby:

I’m getting these dark places on my skin — you know, around my cheekbones and a couple on my chest. Someone told me they’re “age spots.” I was thinking of going to a tanning booth to even things out a little. What do you think?

Spotty Sally

Dear Sally:

“Out, damned spot; out, I say!”

“What has been done cannot be undone.”

— Lady Macbeth

Lady M. hated a different kind of spot (she really had problems), but we all hate our age spots. And she was only partially right on the last part — what has been done (sun damage) cannot be undone, but the damaged layers can be treated or removed.

But, to your first point — the tanning booth. Under no circumstances should you go to a tanning booth! I cannot stress this enough, unless you want to tan your age spots even darker and look like an Oompa-Loompa. Not to mention that Crabby is anti-tanning bed in general. As a health-care provider, I think of them as melanoma incubators and wrinkle-accelerators. Quite frankly, I think they should be banned. (Gee, Crabby, why don’t you tell us what you really think? Oh, the mail I’m gonna get ...)

With that rant out of the way, I encourage you to start with the basics. Excellent sunscreen applied every time you go out, a couple of good alpha-hydroxy-acid-type product for fading the dark spots, and perhaps a trip to your local dermatologist. The spots can be lasered, microdermabraded, chemically peeled, or, for all I know, transported to another dimension via special Dilithium crystals by now. But the most important thing is preventing more of them by using that sunscreen, or wearing big hats. Or both. One of the great things about being (ahem) “a woman of a certain age” is that you can get away with a gigantic hat and really feel like a gutsy broad.

So slather on various creams, don a big floppy hat, and join me, Nicole Kidman and the rest of the pale vanguard in preserving our lovely, lovely, skin.