Solar Lentigo

Solar lentigines are flat, well circumscribed patches of darkened skin on sun exposed areas resulting in an aged appearance. They commonly appear on the temples, cheekbones, upper chest and hands. They are due to repeated UV exposure leading to increased melanocyte numbers and retention of melanin with the keratinocytes of the epidermis. They are cyclical in nature, darkening during summer and lightening during the winter months, and gradually increasing in number over the years. Prevention is always better than cure, with sunscreen and clothing at a young age to prevent sequelae when one is older. Conditions mimicking solar lentigo include flat seborrhoic keratosis, lentigo maligna and lentigo maligna melanoma (LMM). Intense Pulse Light Photo rejuvenation and short pulse width lasers are ideal treatment options for solar lentigo, but may not neccessarily work for seborrhoic keratosis and are absolutely contraindicated in lentigo maligna and LMM, as they can mask these malignant conditions.