You can absolutely target one specific spot. So whatshould you do if you have brown spots? First, prevention! Keep your skinhealthy and protected with a good sunscreen. Second, treat the spots. Age spotscan be lightened or even removed with special in-office treatments. I have alsodeveloped topical skin care products which you can use at home to help reducethe appearance of brown spots. I’ve developed a special regimen for brownspots using these products specifically for the in-home treatment of brown, ageand sun spots. For more pervasive brown spots, a visit to the office for lasertreatments will help eliminate these spots.
The type of treatment depends on your skin type, if the brown spot is raised or flat, and the type of rosacea you have. Intense pulsed light/IPL is a good option for flat sunspots in the setting of vascular rosacea or broken blood vessels. The IPL procedure targets both pigment and redness in the skin. IPL can either be targeted to a specific area, or can be used as a pan-facial treatment. It can take up to 1-3 treatments depending on the amount of pigment and redness present. If the brown spot is raised you might need an alternative type of treatment. If you have broken skin or active acne lesions of rosacea in the area of the brown spot you may want to hold off on treatment until the rosacea is under better control. Light chemical peels can also be done to lighten brown spots however a series of light peels may be required. I would recommend being careful with over the counter anti-aging and skin brightening creams in the setting of rosacea- many formulations can be irritating and can aggravate the underlying rosacea. I would see your dermatologist to discuss how to better control your rosacea and what would be the best option for you.