Does cryotherapy treat sun spots?

Sun spots, also called solar lentigines or age spots, are flat brown marks that develop in areas exposed to sunlight. During cryotherapy, a clinician applies extreme cold to the selected spot. The treated area may become red, swollen, blistered, or crusted before the skin heals. The mark can lighten, although colour changes after treatment may be more noticeable in some skin tones.

Not every dark mark is a sun spot. A changing, irregular, bleeding, or very different-looking lesion needs assessment before removal, because freezing an uncertain lesion could make later diagnosis harder.

Arrange a skin examination before treatment, especially if the spot has changed in size, shape, colour, or texture. Ask about whether cryotherapy suits the location and your skin tone, and discuss alternatives if the mark is large or numerous. Follow the aftercare plan: keep the area clean, do not pick a blister or crust, and protect healing skin from sunlight. Daily broad-spectrum sunscreen and covering the area can help reduce further darkening.

Seek prompt medical advice if a suspected sun spot bleeds without being injured, develops a persistent sore, changes quickly, becomes markedly uneven, or forms several distinct colours. After treatment, contact the clinic if pain, redness, warmth, swelling, or drainage is worsening rather than settling, or if you develop fever.

Ask: Has this mark been examined closely enough to identify it as a sun spot? What healing changes should I expect? How will you reduce the chance of a lighter or darker patch? Would another treatment be more suitable for this location?