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.

So, to help you choose the right product, we’ll show you what really causes dark spots, the top ingredients to look for in a high-quality age spot corrector, and the benefits of using a high-quality ecommerce product for maximum results.

A Quality Spot Corrector Can:

  • Help reveal smooth, glowing skin
  • Reduce the appearance of dark spots & discoloration
  • Aid in brightening & energizing the skin’s complexion
  • Support a visibly balanced, even skin tone
  • Help diminish the look of blemishes, calm breakouts & fade scarring
  • Promote radiant, hydrated, healthy skin

What Causes Dark 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 dark spot correctors come in. High-quality spot correctors typically contain a combination of active ingredients and antioxidants 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:

Niacinamide

This vitamin not only helps diminish the look of skin pigmentation and dark spots, but also helps maintain a smooth-looking complexion.

Hyaluronic Acid

Often listed as Sodium Hyaluronate, Hyaluronic Acid is a powerful ingredient that soothes dark circles and deeply moisturizes while skin is under repair.

Brightening Acids

A group of skin-smoothing ingredients that gently exfoliate and moisturize for a dewy complexion. Look for a formula that lists some or all of Glycolic acid, Lactic acid, and Phytic acid.

Polyglutamic Acid

An intensely hydrating acid that can hold up to 10,000 times its weight in moisture and works synergistically with hyaluronic acid to visibly smooth and plump skin.

White Shiitake Mushroom

Nature's answer to hydroquinone, white shiitake is a kojic-acid rich brightener that gently exfoliates to minimize the appearance of discoloration, dark spots, and redness.

Making sure your dark 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 significant 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 lookout for dark spot correctors that promise fast results. Real skin enhancement takes time.

Your Definitive Dark Spot Corrector Checklist:

Research Retail Brands

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.

The E-Commerce Advantage

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.

Money-Back Guarantee 

Americans spend millions of dollars every year for youthful skin, and they still find themselves unhappy with an apparent lack of results. It’s better—and safer—to invest in a product that offers a 100% money-back, no-questions-asked guarantee. This shows the company's faith in the potency of its product and the results you will experience.

Here's who made the cut...

After closely analyzing almost 70 different dark spot correctors and over 10,000 user reviews, we unfortunately only found 5 dark 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 dark 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 2021

Click to see the list of spot correctors we evaluated >>