Age spots are related to sun exposure and while they do become more common with age, they are not directly caused by ageing. Older individuals who have protected their skin from UV rays by wearing UV protection sunscreen and protective clothing are less likely to develop age spots. Similar to pigmentation, age spots are brown in colour because they are formed due to the concentration of melanin at that spot.

Due to the skin producing more amounts of melanin upon exposure to UV rays, sun exposure is the number one cause of age spots. Consequently, these are prominent in skin areas that have high exposure to the sun such as the face, back of the hands and forearms.

Both men and women are affected by the sun to develop sun spots or liver spots as they may be known sometimes.
Mostly they are no more than of aesthetic concern, in some cases, they may develop to be cancerous over time. Cancerous lesions may appear irrespective of age. Statistics show Skin Cancer kills more women under 30 years of age than any other form of cancer.

The use of indoor tanning beds also accelerates the formation of age spots. It is also seen that there is a 75% increase in melanoma risk among those who used tanning booths in their teens and twenties.