Medically reviewed by Dr Sin Yong · Last reviewed · 3 min read
Main guidePigmentation removal Singapore — what it treats, who it suits, sessions, downtime and what decides the cost, by Dr Sin Yong.
Published 13 October 2026 · Reviewed by Dr Sin Yong
Solar lentigo (sun spot) is a discrete, flat, sharply bordered brown spot caused by cumulative sun exposure: a focal overgrowth of pigment-producing activity at the epidermal junction, on the cheeks, temples, shoulders, forearms and backs of the hands from the 40s onward. Unlike melasma it is structurally simple, so pigment-selective lasers and IPL are the usual options; in Fitzpatrick III to V skin, post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation is the main risk. A changing or irregular spot is examined first.
Key facts
ICD-10
L81.4
What it is
A focal overgrowth of pigment-producing activity at the epidermal junction: cumulative UV's signature
Differs from
Melasma (soft, symmetric patches), freckles and seborrhoeic keratoses, which need different management
Treatment and caveat
Pigment-selective lasers and IPL for discrete spots; PIH after lentigo lasering is well documented in darker skin, so settings and sun protection decide the plan
Illustrative image, not a patient.
Where solar lentigo matters on this site
The sun spot is the brown most often brought to a pigment consultation, and the one most often mixed up with the browns that need a different plan, so it runs through the whole pigmentation cluster.
Every sun spot is benign except the one that is not, and the dermatoscope is how I earn the right to say benign.— Dr Sin Yong
Two rules apply on every one of these pages: the odd spot out meets the dermatoscope before the laser, and settings are chosen for the skin type.
Not to be confused with
A solar lentigo is structurally simple, and its dermoscopy is correspondingly plain; the lookalikes are recognised by what the lentigo pattern lacks.
Solar lentigo itself: light to mid brown, uniform, sharply bordered, often with a fingerprint-like or faint network pattern under the dermatoscope and an edge described as moth-eaten.
Freckles (ephelides): smaller, lighter, appearing in childhood and fading with less sun; the same pattern at a smaller scale.
Flat seborrhoeic keratosis: waxy, with milia-like cysts and comedo-like openings; a lentigo can thicken into one over time.
Melasma: soft, symmetric, confluent patches without a sharp edge, with a brown reticular pattern and often fine vessels; it flares with heat and relapses, and it is managed before any laser.
Hori's naevus: blue-grey to grey-brown speckles over both cheekbones, dermal, with a diffuse grey pattern and no network.
Lentigo maligna: an early melanoma that can resemble a sun spot. Asymmetric pigment around hair follicles, rhomboid shapes and grey dots or circles are the dermoscopic features that lead to referral and biopsy rather than laser.
The impostor rule is Singapore's as much as anyone's: a spot that is changing, irregular or unlike its neighbours earns a diagnosis before it earns a treatment.
Where it fits
Correctly diagnosed, a sun spot is among the more laser-responsive pigment problems because it is structurally simple: epidermal pigment with a sharp edge. The two caveats are Singapore's. First, the impostor rule: a changing, irregular or outlier spot gets a dermatoscope and a diagnosis before a laser, because lentigo maligna exists. Second, the skin-type rule: in Fitzpatrick III to V skin, post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation after lasering is the main risk, so conservative settings and daily sun protection are part of the plan, and several browns on one face are sorted at one examination. Full page: sun spots; the sorting guide on types of facial pigmentation; the risk on post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation.
Both are pigment-selective options for discrete spots, and the clinical-trial evidence covers both. The choice depends on the spot, the number of spots and above all the skin type: in Fitzpatrick III to V skin, post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation is the main risk with either, so conservative settings, test areas where appropriate and daily sun protection are part of the plan rather than optional.
A treated spot can darken for a period afterwards, which is post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation and is planned for; and new spots form wherever sun exposure continues, because the cause is cumulative UV rather than the spot itself. That is why daily sun protection is written into every pigment plan and why the face is reviewed rather than declared finished.
No. A solar lentigo is a discrete, sharply bordered spot of epidermal pigment from cumulative sun; melasma forms soft, symmetric patches driven by hormones, heat and light, and it relapses. They are managed differently, which is why diagnosis comes before any laser.
A typical lentigo is benign. The concern is the outlier: a spot that is changing, irregular or unlike its neighbours is examined with a dermatoscope before treatment, because lentigo maligna, an early melanoma, can look like a sun spot.
References
Chan JC, Shek SY, Kono T, Yeung CK, Chan HH. A retrospective analysis on the management of pigmented lesions using a picosecond 755-nm alexandrite laser in Asians. Lasers Surg Med. 2016;48(1):23-29. doi:10.1002/lsm.22443. source
Torbeck RL, Schilling L, Khorasani H, Dover JS, Arndt KA, Saedi N. Evolution of the picosecond laser: a review of literature. Dermatol Surg. 2019;45(2):183-194. doi:10.1097/DSS.0000000000001697. source
Treatment of Solar Lentigines: A Systematic Review of Clinical Trials. PubMed Central, 2025. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Postinflammatory Hyperpigmentation Associated with Treatment of Solar Lentigines Using a Q-Switched 532-nm Nd:YAG Laser. PubMed. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
