Priorities
Sun spots and pigmentation
Brown spots, melasma, and uneven tone from sun exposure and hormonal changes.
Treatments from $275
The short version
Sun spots and uneven pigmentation build up over years of sun exposure, most often as scattered brown spots across the cheekbones and the backs of the hands. Not all brown spots are the same. Sun spots, freckles, and melasma can look alike but respond differently to light-based treatment, so your consult starts with a close look at your skin and a few questions.
Why it happens
Where brown spots come from
Your skin makes more pigment to protect itself from the sun. Over years, some of that pigment clusters into sun spots. Melasma is different: it's driven by hormones as much as sun, and it spreads in soft patches that come and go with the seasons.
Sun spots build up over years
UV exposure triggers extra pigment, which gathers into flat brown spots on the areas that see the most sun.
Melasma has a hormonal side
It often appears during pregnancy or after starting birth control, and it's more common in medium to dark skin.
Summer makes both darker
Sun brings pigment to the surface, which is why spots and patches look stronger in summer and fade a little in winter.
Your options
How we'd approach it
-
Step 1We'd start with
IPL photofacial
From $350
About IPL photofacialIf your spots are discrete sun spots on lighter skin, IPL is the fastest route. Our medical esthetician can treat the face, neck, chest, or hands in three to five sessions. The spots will darken and look like coffee grounds for a week before they flake off, which is a normal part of the process.
-
Step 2If you need a little more
A VI Peel series
From $275
About A VI Peel seriesIf your skin is medium to dark, or the pigment is a soft mask across your cheeks and upper lip that gets worse in summer, that's melasma or pigment that IPL can aggravate. In that case, a VI Peel series lifts it more gently and is safer in darker skin.
Side by side
Your options side by side
Which treatment fits depends on the kind of pigment and your skin tone. Here's how they compare.
We'd start with
IPL photofacial
From $350
- Best for
- Discrete sun spots on lighter skin (types I to IV)
- Appointment
- 20 to 40 minutes, cooling gel and eye shields
- Downtime
- Red for a few hours, then spots darken and flake over a week
- First results
- Spots lighten at 1 to 2 weeks, redness at 2 to 4 weeks
- Sessions
- 3 to 5, about 3 to 4 weeks apart, October to April
If you need a little more
VI Peel series
From $275
- Best for
- Melasma, or pigment on medium to dark skin
- Appointment
- 20 to 45 minutes
- Downtime
- Light: flaking 3 to 7 days. Medium: 7 to 14 days
- First results
- Once the flaking clears, about a week
- Sessions
- Light: 3 to 5, every 2 to 5 weeks. Medium: one, repeated in 3 to 6 months
Microneedling with PRP
From $499
- Best for
- An add-on for melasma, alongside sun protection
- Appointment
- 60 to 75 minutes, blood draw and numbing included
- Downtime
- Red for 24 to 48 hours, light flaking to day 5
- First results
- Brighter within a week
- Sessions
- 3 to 4, about 4 weeks apart
Prices are starting prices from our menu. Your provider will confirm the plan and total cost at your consult. Individual results vary.
What to expect
What to expect after IPL
Spots darken and look like coffee grounds for about a week, then flake away. You'll see the full result a month after your last session.
Day 0
Red and warm
Red and warm for a few hours, and a little puffy. We’ll put sunscreen on before you leave.
Days 1 to 7
Coffee-ground flecks
Spots darken to coffee-ground flecks and flake off. Let them shed on their own. Don’t pick.
Weeks 2 to 4
Lighter and calmer
Spots are lighter and redness starts to settle. Time for your next session; redness keeps improving between visits.
One month after last
Review, then maintain
We review the series against your before photos. One or two maintenance sessions a year, plus good sun habits, keep skin clear.
Timeline for IPL, from our treatment page. Individual results vary.
Our reasoning
How we decide
We’ll ask you three things. Did the spots appear one at a time, or as a symmetrical patch during pregnancy or while on the pill? Do they darken after a weekend outside? And what’s your natural skin tone?
For discrete spots on skin that tans slowly, we’ll usually suggest IPL. It’s a broad-spectrum light, not a laser, FDA-cleared for benign pigmented and vascular lesions. Across trials, IPL cleared sun spots in 74.6 to 90 percent of cases, versus 12 to 46 percent for TCA peels, per a 2025 systematic review. The studies enrolled skin types I to IV, and that’s where we use it.
A symmetrical mask that flares in summer is melasma. The cleared indication technically lists it, but the American Academy of Dermatology frames light devices as an add-on for people already on topical medication and strict sun protection, per the AAD. For melasma, we start with a VI Peel series, a daily sunscreen routine, and sometimes a dermatologist’s prescription first. Microneedling with PRP has meta-analysis support as an add-on too.
Any spot that’s new, irregular, or growing should be checked by a dermatologist before we treat it. Individual results vary.
Your questions, answered
Can I get IPL in the summer?
We don't offer it in summer. Tanned skin raises the burn and pigment risk, and summer rarely allows two sun-free weeks on either side of a session. We offer IPL from October through April.
How many IPL sessions for sun spots?
Usually three to five, spaced three to four weeks apart. Trials averaged about four. Spots lighten as they flake at one to two weeks, and you'll see the full result a month after the last session. Because ongoing sun exposure causes new spots, plan on a maintenance session or two a year.
Is IPL safe for dark skin?
No. The broad light is absorbed in the surface of darker skin and can burn or leave patches. For skin types V and VI, we treat pigment with peels and microneedling instead.
What's the difference between a sun spot and melasma?
A sun spot is a flat brown spot that builds up from years of sun, usually one at a time. Melasma is a symmetrical, patchy darkening, often across the cheeks, forehead or upper lip, that's linked to hormones and gets worse in summer. They need different treatments, so we check first.
Will my sun spots come back?
Treated spots usually stay lighter, but new ones can form with more sun. Daily sunscreen and a maintenance session or two a year help keep your skin even.
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