Symptoms:

Actinic keratosis is usually found on the face, scalp, back of the hands, chest, or other sun-exposed areas.

They may be gray, pink, red, or the same color as the skin. Often, they have a white or yellow scale on top.

• They begin as flat and scaly areas
• Later they develop a hard and wart-like or gritty, rough, and "sandpapery" surface -- may develop a horn-like texture

The skin lesion may be easier to feel than to see.

Signs and tests:

The health care provider makes the diagnosis based on the appearance of the skin growth. A skin biopsy may be done for larger and thicker actinic keratoses to make sure no cancer is present.