The latest and greatest from Clinique is their Even Better skin care line. It promises to deliver a clearer complexion, clearing up sun damage, sun spots, age spots, and even acne scarring. An even toned skin is a younger appearing skin, as I would know first hand working furiously to try and fade my sun damage. The Even Better products are said to work for all ethnicity's. Results are said to start to appear within 4 to 6 weeks, but even faster if you use the two products together.

I haven't tried this product, but at this price point I will. I had been using the very expensive Obaji, and the costs are simply unsustainable (about $300 to $500 a month for the whole line). The Clinique products are $39.50 and $42.50 respectively. Available at CLINIQUE.com>>.

Neocutis Blanche Skin Lightening Cream is a new treatment in the fight against freckles, sun spots, and age related spots. It is prescription strength hydroquinone (4%) combined with a complex called Melaplex to battle visible spots plus ones that have yet to emerge.

How it works: In addition to hydroquinone, Blanche contains a compound that selectively inhibits the enzyme that triggers melanin formation without significantly stressing the skin cell itself, as hydroquinone alone may do. Then another compound limits melanin's building blocks from entering into pigment producing cells. A third ingredient then aims to inhibit the trip melanin makes from pigment producing cells to the top layer of the skin. And the last helps to prevent sunlight - the most common cause of spots - from triggering the formation of spots in the first place. Currently Neocutis is conducting a clinical trial to compare the skin lightening effects of prescription only Blanche to prescription only hydroquinone.

What the Experts Say: A Dermatologist at Yale School of Medicine says, " I love this product. Hydroquinone acts on existing pigmentation effectively, but Blanche adds another pathway to block the pigmentation process. And because it's free of potentially of irritating ingredients like glycolic acid and parabens, it's suitable for people with sensitive skin."

The least expensive and easiest way is with bleaching agents and creams.  These products work by slowing the production of melanin (which is what causes freckles in the first place) and fading the color of existing freckles with the active ingredient hydroquinone. I recommend the brand Obagi, their hydroquinone based creams have 4% active ingredient, anything less is ineffective. It is what I used to fade my freckles and it absolutely works. Pick either Obagi Nu Derm Clear or Obagi Nu Derm Blender. Both have 4% hydroquinone, but the blender also has glycolic acid which isn't good for sensitive skin. They are having a sale at SkinCareRx.com

Another way to get rid of freckles is with laser resurfacing.  Here, the dermatologist will numb the affected area, and then remove the top layer of skin.  The benefits of this procedure is that your freckles will be gone forever unless you get more sun damage. The bad news? You will be out of action for at least two weeks whilst your skin heals, and your skin will be far more susceptible to sunburns in the future so you must be diligent about sunscreen.

Chemical peels work in a similar way to laser resurfacing, but it's not effective for darker freckles and many times you need more than one peel.  No anaesthetic is required for chemical peels, but they can burn (I know, I’ve had them!).  The pros and cons of chemical peels are pretty much identical to laser resurfacing.  Plan to have some time off and stay out of the sun for a few months.

Finally, liquid nitrogen can be used to ‘freeze’ freckles.  Liquid nitrogen will cause the freckle to blister, after which it will fall off. I have also had this done and it works brilliantly, however it is mostly used for spot treatment. So, if you have random freckles that bother you they can be removed one by one. 

Although skin cancer is the most common form of cancer, it's also the most preventable, both with sunscreens and regular dermatologist visits. My biggest concern is not only skin cancer, however, I fear freckles and sun spots! Probably because I have done so much of this damage to my skin in my teenage years, now I'm a bit obsessed with protecting it. The PCA Skin Perfecting Face & Body Hydrator SPF 30 is a new sunscreen with pigment control and is effective for both daily facial and body use.

Recommended by the Skin Cancer Foundation, the PCA Skin Perfecting Face & Body Hydrator SPF 30 is a revolutionary broad-spectrum UVA/UVB moisturizer developed to hydrate the body, offer broad-spectrum UV protection and minimize skin discolorations.

The product's five key ingredients are designed to keep your skin both healthy and beautiful all year round including: Bearberry, Licorice Root Extract, Kojic Acid, Mulberry Root Extract and Lactic acid. PCA SKIN daily care products are available through physicians and licensed skin care professionals can also be found online at www.SkinStore.com, $32. If you want to purchase in person, call 1.877.PCA.SKIN (722.7546) for a office that carries it near you.

I wear sunscreen anyway, so I'm going to try this and see how well it works. If you really want to fade those sunspots, try the PCA skin pHaze 13 Pigment Gel w/ Hydroquinone, $37, way cheaper than most hydroquinone based treatments.

Vivité Vibrance Therapy by Allergan

WHAT IT DOES: Fights serious dark spots on their skin.

Prescription-strength hydroquinone, usually at 4 percent, was considered to be the most effective lightener available to date. The FDA was reviewing data on hydroquinone possibly to prohibit the ingredient, after a small study reported that in large oral doses, it might cause cancer in mice. So pharmaceutical companies have been searching for alternatives.

In a company-sponsored eight-week study, two sets of women put Vivite Vibrance Therapy on one side of their faces and 4 percent hydroquinone on the other. In one group, Vibrance Therapy reduced pigmentation an average of 70 percent, compared to hydroquinone's 63 percent; in the other group, the effects were similar, averaging a 62 percent reduction for both. So this brings us a safer skin lightener and it may work slightly better.

HOW IT WORKS: Vivité Vibrance Therapy targets dark spots in three different ways. A compound called methyl dihydroxybenzoate fades discoloration by stopping the enzyme that produces excess pigment (most skin-lightening treatments, including hydroquinone, just inhibit this enzyme); antioxidants, including soy and grape extract, and anti-inflammatory ingredients, such as green tea, allantoin and licorice extract, reduce the environmental damage that triggers pigment production; and on the surface of the skin, retinol and glycolic acid fade visible splotches by increasing cell turnover. The effects begin after just a few weeks, and optimal results occur progressively over several months.

WHAT AN EXPERT SAYS: "This is one of the most impressive pigment-lightening products I have tested in my career—for the first time, I have seen a product rival the results of 4 percent hydroquinone in controlled studies," says David H. McDaniel, assistant professor of clinical dermatology and plastic surgery at Eastern Virginia Medical School in Norfolk, Virginia, who was an investigator in the company-sponsored clinical tests but has no financial interest in the product. "And I believe this represents a significant development, not only because the cream delivers the results of a prescription-strength gel in a product dispensed by physicians without a prescription, but it does so with an active ingredient that has been shown to be safer. Additionally, Vibrance Therapy will have other anti-aging effects due to the mixture of active ingredients and agents, whereas hydroquinone alone is simply a bleach."

Personally, I will be getting this product asap. I currently use a hydraquinoine based product and whenever I forget to apply it for a few days, the sun spots I have been working to cover up come back even darker.

There is a price war going on with this product, varying from $89 to $119 among reputable sources, so look for a deal.

If you have used this product, please leave a comment about your satisfaction.

I was a sun- loving, auburn haired, freckle face as a child and teen. I couldn't stand my freckles and I actually had a young man tell me I would be "really pretty if (you) didn't have freckles". By the time I was 20 years old, I decided to go to a cosmetic dermatologist and see what could be done. She put me on a strict regimen of Retin-A and hydroquinone, which I applied twice a day. Within 6 months my freckles were greatly reduced, and by 9 months of this regimen, I kid you not, my freckles and sun damage were all but gone. Once I achieved these results, I stopped the regimen.

Fast forward ten years and my skin still looks pretty good. I don't tan and I wear sunscreen in the summer, but there has been some damage due to everyday sun exposure. So again, I went to a cosmetic dermatologist, and this time the same regimen was recommended, although this time it would be much more expensive, since I am no longer on my fathers government insurance plan. So she recommended a non-prescription treatment called Obaji. This product line uses the same methodology: cleanse, Hydroquinone based cream, retin-A, moisturize, and it, too, works. BUT, it's a bit expensive, about $400 for the three necessary products that contain the active ingredients (they try to sell you waaaay overpriced cleanser, toner and moisturizer, but I used my own inexpensive brands for that and it worked just fine). Each purchase of the Obaji regimen lasts about 1.5 to 2 months for twice daily use. Bottom line: if you want to get rid of unsightly brown spots and freckles, try Obaji for a non-prescription line. Other product lines may claim to work but don't have the same amount of hydroquinone, the active ingredient. If you don't have to pay for prescriptions, get Retin-a (which is applied first) and Hydroquinone. It works.

Obaji also works on acne scars and rosacia.

You have to ease your skin into either regimen, they are strong, and once you start using a hydroquinone based product you have to very gradually discontinue use or your skin cells (melanocytes) will overreact and you will see the spots again. Talk to your doctor about the discontinuing process.

Information about hydroquinone