By: Theodoros Manfredi
Love them or hate them, we all have
freckles and we are all familiar with the little brown spots that collect
around our cheeks and other areas. In fact, freckles are so common and so
'mundane' that many of us will never have stopped to ask why we might have
these spots or where they come from. Here we will look at what freckles
actually are and how they are caused.
Melanocytes
Pigments in our skin, eyes and hair are
what give our bodies their natural colors. Part of the role of pigments is to
help protect the skin from damage and to this end our skin will produce pigment
in response to sun damage. Specifically pigment is created by particular skin
cells in the body known as 'melanocytes' which produce the pigment known as
melanin. You will know this as the same pigment that causes us to tan. When the
melanocytes produce melanin, they then feed it to the keratinocytes – which are
the 'normal' skin cells that make up the protective outer layer of skin.
This is how we tan, but in the case of
freckles the melanin is concentrated onto a single area. Rather than an even
covering, freckles show where there is a build up of melanin in the skin.
Freckles tend to collect around the face, but can also be found typically on
the arms or upper shoulders and back.
Factors Resulting in Freckles
The question is then of course – why do
some people have more freckles than others? One answer is genetics, and someone
who experiences lots of freckles is more likely to have a dominant
melanocortin-1 receptor gene which causes your melatonin to cluster more as
freckles rather than be evenly distributed across your body. At the same time,
someone with paler skin is also more likely to experience freckles as their
skin is more susceptible and sensitive to sunlight – and because fair skin will
of course show up the contrast of the freckles more.
Living With Freckles
Freckles are not a skin condition and
they are not a problem. However, they do correlate with being more prone to
skin damage and skin cancer, and so it is even more important for those with
freckles to wear sun block in order to block UV rays.
For those who do not like the appearance
of their freckles, wearing sun block will also help them to avoid them
developing, as will generally steering clearer of the sun, staying in the shade
and wearing hats and long sleeved clothing for protection.
If you have freckles already that you
want to cover up, then there are a few methods you can use such as foundation
mixed to a shade between your skin tone and your freckles (for women of
course). For men and women alike, using a self tanning moisturizer will help to
bring out the melatonin in a more even way that doesn't look like freckles.
Alternatively using a dark fake tan can also mask the appearance of freckles.
Some people meanwhile report success in using lemon in order to 'bleach' the
skin and create a lighter skin tone.
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