We're all on the hunt for healthy, even-toned skin that has an irresistible glow. Skincare companies are catching on, and age spot correctors are popping up in retail stores everywhere promising skin that looks permanently refreshed, radiant and youthful.
However, some inexpensive retail brands add cheap fillers and unnecessary ingredients to their formulas that not only dilute the potency of their products, but can be potentially harmful to your skin and overall health. That’s why many consumers are shopping exclusively online for their skincare needs.
The E-Commerce Advantage
Higher Quality Products, Better Prices
Although many drugstore products seem to list well-known ingredients on their labels, they often cut corners and use poor-quality ingredients to keep operating costs as low as possible for mass production. Furthermore, it’s difficult to determine how long a product has been sitting on a retail shelf—or how long its potency will last.
In contrast, many successful e-commerce beauty brands have inherently lower overhead costs, which gives them the ability to invest more in creating superior skincare formulas. Therefore, by selling directly to you, online beauty brands are often able to offer higher quality products at a more affordable cost.
Delivered to Your Doorstep
Unfortunately, self-care is usually one of the first things we sacrifice with our busy schedules. But, saving time by having your skincare products shipped directly to you means more time for your at-home beauty regimen to help you look and feel your best. Some companies even offer free shipping, money-back guarantees, and subscription plans to ensure you never run out of your beauty essentials when you need them most.
But, regardless of where you buy your skincare, finding a quality age spot corrector can become extremely complicated. So, to help you choose the right product, we’ll show you what really causes age spots and the top ingredients to look for in a high-quality age spot corrector.
What Causes Age Spots?
Our skin is constantly adapting to new environments, and one of its most important roles is producing melanin. When we expose ourselves to the sun, our skin releases this pigment to protect itself from UV rays. It's a normal and healthy reaction to sun exposure, and generally, the more melanin protecting us, the better.
Sometimes this results in a gorgeous, glowing tan, but this natural UV response can also often cause excess melanin to pool in key areas of our skin, which can then cause discoloration or dark spots. Unlike freckles, these melanin deposits are less likely to fade away on their own.
This is where age spot correctors come in. High-quality spot correctors typically contain a combination of key vitamins and botanicals that work together to exfoliate the skin to maintain smoothness, and help prevent melanin from collecting in that area again.
Top Ingredients to Look For:
Vitamin B3 (Niacinamide)
This vitamin not only helps slow down skin pigmentation, but may also prevent future age spots and maintain a smooth complexion.
Kojic Dipalmitate
This natural, plant-based antioxidant not only reduces the appearance of age spots, but also acts as an exfoliant to soften and smooth rough skin.
Cetearyl Olivate
Studies suggest that Cetearyl Olivate helps skin retain moisture naturally, which can help regulate regular melanin production.
Glycerine
A product that includes this natural emollient can help trap moisture in your skin for a youthful, healthy glow.
Making sure your age spot corrector contains these ingredients will go a long way to help even out your complexion, but there are also some things you should watch out for before making a purchase:
Beware:
-
Disreputable Companies
Look for a spot corrector from a reputable seller with positive reviews. If you're unable to find this information, you should proceed with caution. -
Hydroquinone & Mercury
These synthetic ingredients can cause unwanted results. In fact, hydroquinone is banned in every country except the U.S. because prolonged use can result in serious, irreversible skin discoloration. -
Hidden Guarantees
Avoid companies that hide details in their return policy's terms and conditions. They can make it difficult to get your money back, if at all. -
Overnight Results
Be on the look out for age spot correctors that promise fast results. Real skin enhancement takes time.
Here's who made the cut...
After closely analyzing almost 70 different age spot correctors and over 10,000 user reviews, we unfortunately only found 5 age spot correctors that met our requirements. There were a surprisingly high number of ineffective products with either sub-standard ingredients, or confusing money-back guarantees. Quality age spot correctors aren't easy to find, and out of 67 products that we reviewed, only 5 of them carry our recommendation.
Top 5 spot correctors of 2019
Click to see the list of spot correctors we evaluated >>
- SkinCeuticals Discoloration Defense
- SkinMedica 3-piece System
- Dr. Dennis Gross Skincare Alpha Beta
- Sunday Riley C.E.O. Brightening Serum
- Obagi Nu-Derm Clear Fx
- PFB Vanish + Chromabright
- PCA Skin Pigment Gel
- Glytone Enhance Brightening Complex
- Dermalogica Rapid Reveal Peel
- Allies of Skin Vitamin C Serum
- REN Clean Skincare Daily AHA Tonic
- iS Clinical White Lightening Serum
- Eminence Organic Bright Skin Serum
- La Roche-Posay Active C Eyes
- Colorescience Even Up Pigment Perfector
- Murad Age Spot Serum
- Nia 24 Age Recovery
- Supergoop! Daily Correct CC Cream
- Vivant Skin Care 15% Mandelic Acid
- Peter Thomas Roth Wrinkle Resist Serum
- Juice Beauty Stem Cellular Cream
- HydroPeptide Face Lift Advanced
- Epinonce Pigment Perfecting Serum
- Verso Super Facial Serum
- DCL Aha Resurfacing Lotion
- AGENT NATEUR Youth Serum
- Korres Wile Rose Vitamin C Sleeping Facial
- NeoStrata Tri-Therapy Serum
- Jan Marini C-ESTA Gel
- Radical Skincare Anti-Aging Moisture
- FUR Silk Scrub
- Lancer Skincare Caviar Lime Acid Peel
- Guinot Creme Age Summum
- DERMAFLASH Replenishment Kit
- GLOWBIOTICS Probiotic Brightening Lotion
- Perricone MD Cold Plasma+
- Alpha Skincare Skin Lightener
- Natura Bisse Neck Cream
- 100% Pure Dark Spot Remover
- VI Derm Vitamin C Gel
- Verso Dark Spot Fix
- Replenix Pigment Correcting Cream
- Erno Laszlo Eye Serum Mask
- Revaleskin Eye Serum
- Ursa Major Vitamin C Serum
- BeautyRx Skincare Vitamin C Serum
- Trophy Skin
- Glo Skin Beauty Lightening Serum
- The Organic Pharmacy Face Serum
- Sanitas Skincare Citrus Cleanser
- TULA Skincare Skin Rescue
- Luzern Laboratories Creme Intensive
- Colbert MD Stimulate Serum
- VivierSkin GrenzCine Serum
- NeoCutis Skin Brightening Cream
- First Aid Beauty Resurfacing Liquid
- Exuviance AF Vitamin C 20%
- Thank You Farmer Sun Project
- Phytomer Sorbet Cream
- Derma e Toner
- 111SKIN Anti Blemish Booster
- BY TERRY Touche Veloutee
- Olga Lorencin Skin Care Detox Facial
- EVE LOM TIME RETREAT
- GlamGlow Exfoliating Acid Solution
- COSRX Low pH BHA Mask
- CosMedix Cell ID