Has a sunbathing session or a beach vacation left you with reddish or brown spots on your face? These blemishes are called freckles on the face and body, and they result from prolonged skin damage. Whether a small kid or an adult, these spots appear on the skin when exposed to UV rays. Although they are harmless, they appear due to an increase in the amount of melanin pigment and let us know that our skin has a lower tolerance to the sun’s radiation.
Some of us even love these freckles on our skin because they match the color of our hair and spectacles. Some people have embraced them by improving their appearance, while others prefer hiding them. If you are inclined towards having a spotless complexion, we have wrapped everything about them and how you can treat them without causing harm to your skin.
What are Freckles?
Freckles are harmless clusters of small and dark-colored spots that are caused due to excessive exposure to the sun’s UV rays. Formed on the face, arms, chest, back, and overexposed skin lesions are formed when melanocytes (cells that produce melanin) produce melanosomes in a particular area.
This leads to hyperpigmentation in the uppermost layer of skin cells. The more a person stays in the open, the more he risks contracting freckles and related blemishes.
Types of Freckles on the Skin
Freckles are common among people who have light-colored skin tones. When talking about their size, they are 1-2 mm in size and fade away during winter months. However, there are two types of common blemishes:
- Ephelides: These freckles occur due to excessive sun exposure and genetic play. They tend to fade away when the winter sets in. Regarding their appearance, they have defined borders and are flat on their skin. They are common in children.
- Solar Lentigines: Also known as sun spots, these freckles are darker in color and permanent in nature. They can be best treated by a certified dermatologist. Compared to the Ephelides, they are thicker and more prevalent among the middle-aged and older population.
Why should freckles be a matter of concern?
Freckles are painless, gentle spots on the skin when exposed to harmful UV radiation. This means that your skin is sensitive to UV rays and has suffered photodamage. We advise you never to overlook their presence because this may lead to the development of Melanoma – a type of skin cancer. Thus, you need to take precautions that would lead to any serious disease like that.
Do freckles occur under the eyes too?
These freckles in the eyes can be formed in brown, gray, yellow, or a combination of colors. They are formed by specialized melanocytes, which provide color to the skin and eyes. They are located in different parts of your eye and can only be seen by an eye doctor. Although painless, it is crucial to undergo an eye examination if you have freckles regularly.
Did you know?They may also occur as moles under your eyes and are known as ‘nevus’ or ‘nevi’.
How do Freckles Form? What Causes them?
As we know, Melanin, a pigment that provides color to the skin and hair, plays an excellent role in reflecting and absorbing UV rays. These melanocytes are triggered by various factors, which release more melanin to protect the skin.
So let’s have a look at the various causes of freckles on the skin:
- Prolonged UV Exposure: One of the primary reasons for freckles on the face and body is constant exposure to the Sun’s UV rays. The cells release more melanin to protect the skin, forming small and dark patches on the skin.
- Genetics: You may develop freckles on your body care if your parents had them, as it can be hereditary.
- Environmental conditions: People with different skin types react differently to weather conditions. Some people face freckles on their skin in summer, which then disappear in winter.
- Color of the skin: When compared to people with a darker complexion, people with white skin have higher chances of getting freckles on the skin.
How to remove freckles permanently?
If you suffer from ephelides freckles, you do not need medical intervention as they may disappear automatically. Their formation slows down with increasing age, and there are certain therapies that you can use permanently.
- Chemical peels: Backed by certain chemicals such as glycolic acid or lactic acid, this treatment removes freckles in the face by exfoliating the damaged skin in a controlled manner. The freckled layers are peeled away, and a fresh layer of spotless skin emerges.
- Laser treatment: This treatment gets rid of by targeting the facial freckles with light, but it can cause redness or itching.
- Topical medications: Constant use of over-the-counter topical freckles removal cream containing Kojic Acid, Hydroquinone, and Retinoids helps reduce the appearance of dark spots and brightens the skin.
- Sunscreen: Sunscreen cannot treat the freckles on the skin, but they are quite effective at preventing the development of the freckles on the skin. Sunscreen with SPF 3o or higher helps protect the skin from ruining the skin’s natural barrier.
Must check-out natural methods to lighten freckles
Although, the treatments mentioned above may come at a huge price and cause a certain toll on the skin’s health. However, the decision lies upon various factors and from person to person. But we advise you to consider natural methods for lightening the appearance of freckles on the skin.
Here are some simple ways you may follow to cleanse your skin of blemishes:
- Coconut Water Cleansing: Did you know that coconut is a powerful depigmenting agent used to lighten dark spots and skin scars? It contains essential antioxidants and amino acids, making it a great in-house remedy for treating freckles. You can add it to your regular skincare routine by cleansing the facial skin with coconut water and wash off with cold water.
- Lemon Juice: Lemons are rich in Ascorbic acid and Vitamin C, and they together function as natural bleaching agents for your skin. They also help remove the upper damaged layer of the skin, revealing radiant skin. It would be advisable to apply lemon juice for 10-15 minutes twice a week and wash it off with cold water.
- If you are looking for an effective cream for reducing freckles on your face, you should opt for Mamaearth Bye Bye Blemishes Face Cream. It features Mulberry Extract, Vitamin C, Daisy Flower Extract, and Licorice Extract. It helps in evening out the skin tone by reducing the dark spots.
- An exfoliation session: Using a homemade paste of natural green tea leaves as a scrub for your pigmented skin can help you rejuvenate the skin, remove dead skin cells, and remove freckles. It has powerful antioxidants and flavonoids that provide radiant freckles on Indian skin.
- Tomato Pulp: Tomato is one powerful fruit that contains Lycopene, a skin-brightening agent which lightens signs of aging and freckles.
- Jojoba Oil: Jojoba oil is a natural oil that contains skin-healing properties that helps reverse the photodamage suffered by the skin. Applying it regularly removes freckles on the face and body, lending you an even skin tone.
- Turmeric Oil: When treating inner and outer damage, turmeric is a perfect healing therapy. One can add turmeric to any carrier oil (such as coconut oil) before applying it. You should leave the mixture applied for 15-20 minutes, and wash it off for a naturally bright and freckle-free appearance.
- Tea Tree Oil: Tea tree oil offers calming benefits to the skin and helps boost skin health. Regularly applying tea tree oil to the skin helps improve the skin tone. It would also help remove any bacterial infection from the skin, thus reducing acne and pimples.
What else should you try?
What could be better than putting goodness of nature into homemade face packs as a special treatment for freckles on the face? Natural ingredients contain essential compounds, antioxidants, and minerals that improve skin tone.
- Apple Cider Vinegar and Honey: Apple Cider Vinegar helps in lightening freckles, and honey hydrates and protects the skin from any damage. They make a great gentle bleach paste that removes dead skin when mixed.
- Curd, Gram Flour, and any Essential Oil: Formulating a face pack using curd, gram flour, and an essential oil such as coconut oil can be a great remedy for treating freckles and other signs of aging on your skin. Oil helps in healing the upper layer and suppresses hyperpigmentation.
5 Tips for Maintaining a Freckle-Free Skincare Routine
Freckles are just dark spots or hyperpigmentation, which can fade away if we take proper care of our skin. We offer some proven tips to reduce freckles on the face, skin, and body using natural ingredients.
- Wash your face with clean water regularly: To maintain freckle-free and cleansed facial skin, you should wash your face twice a day. This will cleanse your facial skin of dust and grime.
It helps you get rid of dirt, impurities, and excess sebum. Doing so at least twice a day would help you reduce inflammation and make your skin brighter again. We recommend choosing a safe and natural formulation for your skin when choosing a face wash, such as Mamaearth Vitamin C Foaming Face Wash.
- Exfoliate your skin: Gently exfoliating your skin with a face scrub twice a week is crucial in making your skin healthy. A natural gentle scrub will let you clear out the dirt and other impurities from deep layers of the skin and provide a natural glow.
- Getting even-toned skin: Achieving that is one big task, and one cannot achieve it with a face toner. It assists in deep cleansing and tightening skin pores. It also balances the pH levels of the skin. This helps in correcting acne and probably other signs of aging.
- Give it a refreshing boost: Usually, freckles occur on dry and dull skin. You should take advantage of the face mask to give your facial skin a hydrating boost. You can even try homemade face masks that help cleanse the face, eliminate acne breakouts, and offer the skin plenty of nutrients, making it brighter and healthier.
- Moisturize your skin: Applying a face moisturizer helps protect your skin from photodamage caused by UV rays. It also enhances collagen production in the skin cells and decreases the level of excess melanin. These actions make the skin plumper, more radiant, and well-hydrated.
- Mid-day Hydration: We all understand that environmental factors snatch away the skin’s moisture during the day, which may make you feel dull. If you need an immediate boost of hydration, you can apply the refreshing, safe, and toxin-free face gel that will soothe and hydrate the skin.
5 Measures you need to keep in mind
While dealing with freckles on the face and body, you must keep a few things in mind to reduce and prevent freckles. So, let’s have a look at them.
- Always protect your skin from the harmful rays of UV rays.
- Always apply sunscreens with a moisturizer that suits your skin type and environmental conditions. Regularly apply the freckles removal cream if you are experiencing freckles on your face.
- Do not step out in the Sun between 12 AM to 3.30 PM, as the UV rays are very harmful at that time.
- If urgent, you should wear a broad hat and shades while heading out.
- Please avoid scratching or picking your freckle, as it may leave scars on the skin.
Freckles often occur due to various factors, along with your skin’s sensitivity to the skin. If you are experiencing them, we advise you to opt for the best-suited freckles cream for the face (as per your skin type). You can also consider a good natural skincare routine that reduces excess production of melanin synthesis. It would also be better to avoid staying out in the sun for too long.
At Mamaearth, we carefully formulate the products by choosing natural and safe ingredients for the skin. We are Asia’s first MadeSafe Certified Brand and we offer only FDA-approved skincare products.
- Why do freckles occur?
Freckles are the result of an overproduction of melanin. Melanin is a natural pigment that gives your hair, skin, and eyes their color.
- Why are freckles so rare?
The presence of freckles is related to rare alleles of the MC1R gene, though it does not differentiate whether an individual will have freckles if they have one or even two copies of this gene. Individuals with no copies of the MC1R genes do sometimes display freckles.
- Who usually has freckles?
Some people with light-colored skin and blond or red hair may have inherited freckling genes. More associated with darker skin types; associated more with sun exposure over time.
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