Those brown spots on your face weren’t there five years ago. Now you’ve got them on your cheeks, forehead, and the backs of your hands. Maybe you’ve tried expensive creams from the dermatologist that barely made a dent. Or you’re dealing with melasma that gets worse every summer no matter how much sunscreen you slather on.
Living in Fort Lauderdale means your skin takes a beating from UV exposure. Year-round sun, beach days, boating, time by the pool. All that adds up. Dark spots are basically your skin’s way of saying “too much sun for too many years.”
At Manhattan Laser Spa in Fort Lauderdale, we treat all types of dark spots using medical-grade lasers, IPL, chemical peels, and prescription-strength topicals. Here’s what you need to know about actually getting rid of them (not just lightening them temporarily).
Dark spots are areas where your skin produces extra melanin, the pigment that gives skin its color. They show up as brown, black, or gray patches that are darker than your normal skin tone.
The medical term is hyperpigmentation. Basically, something triggers certain skin cells to go into overdrive making melanin. That melanin clusters together, creating visible spots.
Common types include:
Sun spots (solar lentigines). These are flat brown spots that appear on sun-exposed areas like your face, hands, shoulders, and chest. They’re directly caused by UV damage over years. Some people call them age spots or liver spots, but they have nothing to do with your liver.
Melasma. Brown or gray-brown patches that typically show up on your cheeks, forehead, upper lip, and chin. It’s triggered by hormones and sun exposure. Pregnancy, birth control pills, and hormone therapy can all cause it. Melasma is notoriously stubborn to treat.
Post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation (PIH). Dark marks left behind after acne, injuries, or skin inflammation. Your skin produces extra melanin as part of the healing process, and those dark spots stick around long after the original problem is gone.
Age spots. Similar to sun spots but often larger and more pronounced. They get more common as you get older because your skin has accumulated more sun damage.
Freckles. Small, flat brown spots that are partly genetic. Sun exposure makes them darker.
Sun exposure. This is the big one, especially in Fort Lauderdale. UV radiation triggers your skin to produce more melanin as a defense mechanism. Over time, that melanin production becomes uneven, creating dark spots.
Hormones. Estrogen and progesterone can trigger excess melanin production. This is why melasma often appears during pregnancy or when taking birth control pills.
Aging. As you get older, melanin production becomes less regulated. You’re also seeing the cumulative effects of decades of sun exposure.
Inflammation. Any injury, acne, eczema, or skin irritation can leave dark marks behind as it heals.
Certain medications. Some antibiotics, anti-seizure drugs, and chemotherapy medications make your skin more sensitive to sun and more prone to pigmentation.
Genetics. Some people are just more prone to hyperpigmentation than others.
Let’s be real. Living in South Florida is tough on skin. The UV index here is high year-round. You can’t avoid sun exposure like people in northern climates who have months of cloudy weather.
Plus, the lifestyle here revolves around being outside. Beach time, boating, golf, pool days. Even if you’re wearing sunscreen, you’re still getting more UV exposure than someone who works in an office in Chicago and barely sees sunlight for half the year.
Salt air, humidity, and heat can also stress your skin. All of this accelerates pigmentation issues.
If you’ve lived in Fort Lauderdale for decades, you’ve probably got sun damage even if you’ve been good about sunscreen. And if you haven’t been good about sunscreen? Well, you’re seeing the consequences now.
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Here’s the thing about dark spots. They’re sitting in your skin at different depths. Some are in the top layer (epidermis), others are deeper (dermis). The deeper they are, the harder they are to treat.
You have several options:
IPL uses broad-spectrum light to target melanin in your skin. The light heats up the pigmented spots, breaking apart melanin clusters. Over the next week or two, those spots darken, crust over, and flake off.
IPL works really well for sun spots, age spots, and overall brown discoloration. It’s less effective for melasma (more on that later).
Treatment takes 15 to 30 minutes. You’ll need 3 to 5 sessions spaced 4 weeks apart for best results. After treatment, your spots will look darker before they get better. This freaks some people out, but it’s normal. The melanin is rising to the surface so it can shed.
There’s minimal downtime. Your face will be red for a few hours, and your spots will be darker for about a week. Then they’ll start flaking off.
Different lasers work in different ways:
Q-switched lasers deliver short bursts of energy that shatter melanin into tiny particles. Your body then absorbs and eliminates those particles. These work well for stubborn dark spots and are safe for most skin types when used correctly.
Picosecond lasers (PicoWay, PicoSure) use ultra-short pulses to break up pigment. They’re gentler than older lasers and can treat even deeper pigmentation with less risk of side effects.
Fractional lasers create microscopic treatment zones in your skin, triggering your body to replace pigmented skin with fresh, clear skin. These work well when you have both pigmentation and texture issues.
Laser treatments typically require 2 to 4 sessions. Recovery is similar to IPL. Spots get darker first, then fade over 2 to 6 weeks.
Chemical peels use acids to remove the top layers of skin, taking pigmented cells with them. They also speed up cell turnover, bringing fresh, unpigmented skin to the surface faster.
Glycolic acid peels are gentler and work well for surface-level spots. You’ll need multiple sessions.
TCA peels penetrate deeper and give more dramatic results. More downtime but fewer treatments needed.
Specialized peels (VI Peel, Cosmelan, Dermamelan) are formulated specifically for hyperpigmentation and melasma. They combine multiple ingredients to target melanin production at different levels.
Peels can work well, but there’s more downtime. Your skin will peel for 5 to 7 days. You’ll look pretty rough during that time.
Your provider can prescribe creams that inhibit melanin production:
Hydroquinone is the gold standard. It blocks the enzyme that produces melanin. You’ll use it for 2 to 4 months, then take a break to avoid side effects.
Tretinoin (Retin-A) speeds up cell turnover, bringing fresh cells to the surface faster.
Combination creams that include hydroquinone, tretinoin, and a mild steroid work better than any single ingredient alone.
Topicals take the longest to show results (8 to 12 weeks minimum), but they’re good for maintenance after more aggressive treatments.
If you have melasma, you need to know it’s one of the trickiest pigmentation issues to treat. It’s hormonally triggered and heat-sensitive, which makes it stubborn.
Here’s what makes melasma difficult:
It lives deep in your skin. Surface treatments don’t always reach it.
Heat makes it worse. Too-aggressive laser treatments can actually trigger more melasma. This is why we have to be super careful with treatment settings.
It comes back easily. Even after successful treatment, it often returns if you don’t maintain strict sun protection.
Hormones keep triggering it. If you’re still on birth control pills or hormone therapy, melasma will be harder to control.
Treatment for melasma usually involves a combination approach:
Honestly? Managing melasma is often more realistic than “curing” it. You can get significant improvement, but you’ll need maintenance treatments and sun protection forever.
You’re a good candidate if:
You’re not a good candidate if:
This is super important. If you have darker skin (Fitzpatrick types IV, V, or VI), you’re at higher risk for post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation from treatment. In other words, the treatment itself can cause more dark spots if not done correctly.
We need to be extra conservative with treatment settings. Lower energy levels, longer intervals between treatments, and more gradual improvement. It takes longer, but it’s safer.
Lighter skin types (I, II, III) can typically handle more aggressive treatments with less risk.
This is why seeing someone experienced with treating all skin types matters. Bad treatment can make your pigmentation worse, not better.
IPL or laser treatment:
We’ll clean your skin and put protective shields over your eyes. You’ll feel snapping sensations as the light hits your skin, kind of like a rubber band. Most people tolerate it fine without numbing, but we can apply numbing cream if you’re sensitive.
Treatment takes 15 to 30 minutes for your full face. Longer if we’re treating other areas like your hands or chest.
Right after, your skin will be red and feel hot, like a sunburn. The dark spots will look darker. This is expected. Over the next week, those spots will darken even more, then start to flake off. Don’t pick at them.
Chemical peel:
We’ll apply the peel solution to your skin. You’ll feel tingling or mild burning. After a few minutes, we’ll neutralize it and apply soothing products.
Over the next few days, your skin will start peeling. This lasts 5 to 7 days. Your face will look rough and flaky during this time. Plan accordingly.
The first week is crucial. Here’s what you need to do:
Sun protection is non-negotiable. Wear SPF 50+ broad-spectrum sunscreen every single day. Reapply every 2 hours if you’re outside. Wear a hat. Seek shade. Skip beach days for at least 2 weeks.
Keep skin moisturized. Use gentle, fragrance-free moisturizers. Your skin will be drier than usual.
Don’t pick or scrub. Let peeling skin fall off naturally. Picking can cause scarring or more pigmentation.
Skip active ingredients. No retinoids, glycolic acid, or vitamin C serums for at least a week after treatment. Your skin needs to heal first.
Avoid heat. No hot showers, saunas, steam rooms, or intense exercise for a few days. Heat can trigger more pigmentation, especially if you have melasma.
This depends on what you’re treating and how deep the pigmentation is.
Sun spots and age spots: Usually 2 to 4 IPL or laser treatments spaced 4 to 6 weeks apart.
Melasma: Ongoing treatment. You might do a series of 4 to 6 peels or gentle laser sessions, then maintain with topicals and occasional touch-up treatments.
Post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation: 3 to 5 treatments typically. Sometimes more for deeper marks.
General sun damage and uneven tone: 3 to 5 IPL treatments give you noticeable improvement.
Results aren’t instant. With IPL and lasers, you’ll see gradual fading over 4 to 8 weeks after each treatment. With peels, results appear faster but you need multiple sessions.
Here’s the honest answer. It depends on how well you protect your skin afterward.
If you keep getting sun exposure without protection, new spots will appear. You haven’t changed your behavior, so your skin will keep doing what it’s been doing.
If you’re religious about sunscreen and sun protection, results can last years. Most people need maintenance treatments every 12 to 18 months to keep skin looking clear.
For melasma, you’ll likely need ongoing maintenance forever. That’s just the nature of melasma.
When done by trained professionals using appropriate settings for your skin type, yes. But there are risks:
Post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation. The treatment itself can cause new dark spots if settings are too aggressive, especially on darker skin tones.
Hypopigmentation. Spots can become lighter than surrounding skin. This is harder to fix than hyperpigmentation.
Burns. Rare with proper technique, but possible if energy settings are too high.
Rebound pigmentation. Spots can come back darker if you don’t follow aftercare instructions.
This is why choosing an experienced provider matters. You want someone who understands how to adjust treatment parameters based on your skin type and who won’t push too aggressively.
You’ve probably tried drugstore creams. They might lighten spots slightly, but here’s why they don’t give dramatic results:
They can’t penetrate deep enough. Over-the-counter products have limited concentrations of active ingredients. They work on surface-level pigmentation only.
They’re not targeted. You’re putting product all over your face, not specifically breaking up melanin clusters in dark spots.
They take forever. You’d need to use them consistently for 6 months to a year to see noticeable improvement.
Professional treatments work faster and go deeper. We’re talking weeks to months instead of a year or more. Plus, you get professional assessment to make sure you’re treating the right type of pigmentation in the right way.
Medical supervision. We’re a state-licensed medical spa. You’re not getting treated by someone who took a weekend course.
Experience with all skin types. We know how to adjust treatment settings to minimize risk, especially for darker skin tones.
FDA-cleared equipment. We use medical-grade IPL and laser systems. No cheap knockoffs.
Honest assessments. If we think topicals would work better than lasers for your specific situation, we’ll tell you. We’d rather give you the best result than push the most expensive treatment.
Realistic expectations. We’ll tell you upfront what’s achievable. Melasma? We’ll be honest that it’s tough to treat. Sun spots? We’ll show you before-and-after photos of what you can expect.
Not wearing sunscreen after treatment. This is the biggest one. Treatment makes your skin more vulnerable to sun damage. If you don’t protect it, you’ll get new spots immediately.
Expecting instant results. Your spots will get darker before they fade. People panic and think treatment made things worse. Give it time.
Being inconsistent with topicals. If you’re prescribed maintenance creams, you need to use them as directed. Skipping nights means slower results.
Getting too much sun too soon. Just because your skin looks healed doesn’t mean it’s ready for beach days. Wait at least 2 weeks before significant sun exposure.
Picking at peeling skin. This can cause scarring and more pigmentation. Hands off.
This freaks people out, but it’s completely normal and actually a good sign. Here’s what’s happening.
The light energy targets melanin in your dark spots and heats it up. This breaks apart the melanin clusters, but it also brings that broken-up melanin closer to your skin’s surface. So for about 7 to 10 days, your spots look darker and maybe a little crusty.
Then that melanin starts shedding. It literally flakes off like a scab. Once it’s gone, you’ll see lighter skin underneath. The whole process takes 2 to 3 weeks from treatment.
If spots don’t darken after treatment, it often means the settings weren’t strong enough to actually break up the pigment. So darkening is good, as weird as that sounds.
Just don’t pick at the spots while they’re shedding. Let them fall off naturally.
Honestly? Melasma is tricky. I’m not going to promise we can make it disappear forever because that would be lying.
Here’s what we can typically do: lighten melasma significantly with a combination of treatments (chemical peels, gentle laser, prescription topicals). Most people see 50% to 80% improvement with a full treatment series.
But here’s the catch. Melasma often comes back if you’re not careful about sun protection. And if you’re still on birth control pills or pregnant, hormones will keep triggering it.
The most realistic approach is thinking of melasma as something you manage, not cure. You do a series of treatments to lighten it, then maintain with topicals and strict sun protection. You might need touch-up treatments once or twice a year.
If you’ve lived with melasma for years and just want it significantly lighter so it’s not the first thing you see in the mirror, we can probably help you. If you want it gone forever with zero maintenance, I’d be setting you up for disappointment.
Yes, it can work, but you’re right that there’s more risk involved. People with darker skin (Fitzpatrick types IV, V, or VI) have more melanin throughout their skin, not just in the dark spots. If treatment settings are too aggressive, we can accidentally damage melanin in surrounding skin, causing new dark spots or light spots.
That’s why we take a more conservative approach with darker skin tones. Lower energy settings, longer intervals between treatments, and sometimes using Q-switched lasers or picosecond lasers that are safer for darker skin.
We’ll also likely do a test spot first. We treat a small area and wait a few weeks to see how your skin responds before doing your full face.
Chemical peels can also work well for darker skin because you can control the depth precisely. Some people with darker skin get better results from peels than from lasers.
The key is going to someone experienced with treating your skin type. If a provider tells you they treat all skin types exactly the same way, walk out. Different skin types need different approaches.
At least 2 weeks. I know that’s tough in Fort Lauderdale where the beach is probably 10 minutes from your house.
Here’s why you need to wait. Treatment makes your skin more sensitive to UV damage. If you go to the beach too soon, you’ll get new dark spots or make existing ones worse. All that money and time you spent on treatment? Wasted.
After 2 weeks, you can go back to normal activities, but you need to be serious about sun protection. SPF 50+ every morning. Reapply every 2 hours when you’re outside. Wear a hat. Sit under an umbrella when possible.
If you’re treating melasma, you need to be even more careful. Some people with melasma find they have to limit beach time permanently or their melasma comes right back.
Think about timing your treatment during fall or winter when you’re less likely to be at the beach every weekend. It’s easier to avoid sun exposure when the weather isn’t perfect.
Maybe. It depends on why you got them in the first place and what you do after treatment.
If your spots are from decades of sun exposure, and you keep getting sun exposure after treatment, yes, you’ll get new spots. Treatment removed the old damaged skin, but it didn’t change your behavior or stop UV rays from hitting your skin.
If you’re serious about sun protection afterward, treated spots usually stay gone. But you might get new spots in other areas over time if you’re still getting sun exposure.
Melasma is the exception. It almost always needs ongoing management because it’s hormonally triggered. Even with perfect sun protection, it often returns gradually.
Most people who get good results from dark spot treatment find they need maintenance sessions every 12 to 18 months. Not because the same spots come back, but because new sun damage accumulates.
Think of it this way. Treatment fixes existing damage. Sun protection prevents new damage. You need both.
IPL (intense pulsed light) uses broad-spectrum light. It’s like a shotgun approach that targets multiple types of pigmentation at once. It’s great for overall sun damage, multiple spots, and general tone improvement.
Lasers use a single wavelength of light that targets pigment more precisely. They’re better for stubborn individual spots or deeper pigmentation.
Which is better? It depends on what you’re treating.
For general sun damage with lots of small spots all over your face, IPL works really well. One treatment can address multiple issues (brown spots, redness, texture).
For a few stubborn dark spots that won’t fade, or for deeper pigmentation, lasers give better results.
For melasma, we often use gentler laser settings or specific wavelengths that are less likely to trigger rebound pigmentation.
During your consultation, we’ll look at your specific pigmentation and recommend the best approach. Sometimes we combine treatments for best results.
You can try, and it might work if your pigmentation is shallow and recent. But here’s what to expect.
Hydroquinone works by blocking the enzyme that produces melanin. It can lighten spots over 8 to 12 weeks of consistent use. For mild, surface-level spots, it might be enough.
But hydroquinone has limitations. It doesn’t break up existing melanin clusters like lasers do. It just stops new melanin production. So if you have deep pigmentation or lots of accumulated melanin, hydroquinone alone won’t get you dramatic results.
Also, you can’t use hydroquinone forever. After 3 to 4 months, you need to take a break to avoid side effects like ochronosis (paradoxical darkening of the skin).
The most effective approach is often combining treatments. Do laser or IPL to break up existing pigment, then maintain with hydroquinone or other topicals to prevent new spots from forming.
If you want to try topicals first, that’s fine. Just know that results are slower and less dramatic than professional treatments. If you try hydroquinone for 3 months and don’t see much improvement, it’s probably time for more aggressive treatment.
Ready to do something about those dark spots? Let’s talk.
We offer free consultations at our Fort Lauderdale location. We’ll examine your skin, identify what type of pigmentation you have, and create a treatment plan. We’ll also tell you honestly whether treatment will work well for you or if you’re better off starting with topicals.
No pressure, no obligation. Just honest advice about what will actually work for your skin.
Call us or book online.
