Thank you for the question. I think what is most useful would be to first visit a trusted dermatologist or doctor to accurately diagnose the cause of your age spots, and appropriate treatments can then be advised.
It is possible that you may have been wrongly diagnosed and therefore not given the right treatment so far. As you mentioned that these spots are also seen in your Mom and have not improved with lasers and sunscreen, a few possibilities come to mind. Hori’s naevi, melasma or even seborrheic keratoses can all be reasons for the non-response.
Hori’s naevi ( often genetic) present as blue grey pigmentation located in the deep layers of the skin. Multiple sessions with a narrow pulse width laser such a Q-switched or picosecond lasers would be effective at lightening such pigmentation.
Melasma which again can have a genetic component will actually darken with aggressive lasers and best treated with lightening creams and oral medicines.
Lastly seborrheic keratoses which are actually also known as age spots are easily treated with light cautery or burning.
As you can see, different treatments work for different conditions. Sometimes these conditions may even appear in combination on the same individual. So an accurate diagnosis it most important. Hope this helps!
Best regards
Dr Stephanie Ho, Dermatologist
