What should you know about age spots without sun exposure?

Sun exposure can also accumulate incidentally through everyday outdoor activity and clothing does not block all light equally. Even so, a new mark on a usually covered site should not automatically be labelled a solar lentigo from appearance alone.

Pigment-producing cells can respond to a healed rash, insect bite, rubbing or another minor injury. Moles and raised, waxy growths can also become more noticeable with age but are not the same process as a flat sun spot. Medicines or broader skin conditions may create multiple areas rather than one isolated mark.

Shape, surface, distribution and change over time are more informative than the everyday label ‘age spot’. A clinician may use magnification to inspect pigment structures and decide whether any further test is appropriate.

Record when you first noticed the mark and take a clear photograph beside a ruler. Note preceding irritation, a new medicine and whether similar patches are appearing elsewhere. Continue sensible sun protection for exposed skin, but do not assume sunscreen alone will fade a mark caused by inflammation or rubbing.

Avoid freezing kits and concentrated lighteners until the lesion has been identified. A treatment that targets pigment can obscure a diagnostic feature, irritate normal skin or create a contrasting pale or dark area. Once the diagnosis is clear, options can be matched to the pigment depth, body site and skin tone.

Book a timely medical review for a spot that is growing, becoming asymmetrical, developing an irregular edge or mixed colours, or starting to itch persistently. Bleeding, ulceration, repeated crusting or a wound that does not heal calls for prompt assessment regardless of whether the site normally sees sunlight.

Ask which visible features support the diagnosis, whether your other marks should be checked, and if a medication or prior inflammation could explain the pattern. If treatment is optional, ask what may happen without intervention and which approach has the lowest pigment-change risk for that location.