Freckles

Freckles are small, flat, red or brown spots on the skin often found to be developing in areas often exposed to the sun . They are the result of the overproduction of melanin- a coloured pigment responsible for imparting colour to the skin and hair, due to UV radiation stimulation.

Melanin is produced from special skin cells called melanocytes. It helps protect the skin from harmful UV radiations from the sun by absorbing or reflecting UV. So those who are fair are likely to have more melanin production and develop freckles when their skin is exposed to the sun.

Freckles can affect anyone at any age. With the help of dermatological procedures, one can get effective freckles treatment in Bangalore with dermatologist, Dr. Rajdeep Mysore at Charma Clinic.

Causes of Freckles

Freckles mostly develop because of the skin’s prolonged or frequent exposure to UV radiation from the sun. However, the other reasons behind its occurrence could be:

Genetic predisposition- An individual may inherit genes that cause freckling on the skin.
Xeroderma pigmentosum- It is a rare disease that causes increased sensitivity to UV light from the sun or other sources.

Different types of Freckles

Yes. Freckles are categorised into two: ephelides and solar lentigines.

Ephelides- Their primary cause is sun exposure or sunburn. These are red or light brown to dark brown. Their colour gets darker in the summer season and fades in the winter months. They are 1 to 2mm in size or larger and have irregular shapes with not-so-well-defined borders. Typically, they appear on the face or body sites most exposed to the sun such as the upper chest, arms, neck, and back. People who are at high risk of ephelides are those with light complexion or red/blonde hair such as white-skinned people and people of Asian descent. Ephelides tend to start appearing at the age of 2-3 years who have experienced sun exposure and may continue to develop into young adulthood. Further, with growing age, ephelides may fade away.
Solar lentigines- Their other names are actinic lentigines, age spots, or liver spots. These could be red, yellow, tan, light to dark brown, or black and their colour remains the same even with the change of seasons. They develop over time due to repeated exposure to the sun. Solar lentigines are larger than ephelides and can go up to cm in size. They have clear borders and mostly develop after the age of 40. People with darker complexions are more prone to solar lentigines. The most frequent locations of their appearance are the face, chest, forearms, shoulders, back, shins, and back of the hands.

Identification of Freckles

Freckles may be hard to identify at first sight because of their similar appearance to other skin marks such as sun spots, also called age spots or liver spots.
Although sun exposure is the primary cause of both freckles and sun spots, freckles are typically smaller than age spots and are of irregular shape. The freckles appear flat and in clusters over a large area of people with a light complexion and light-coloured hair. However, age spots are seen on many different complexions.
Moreover, moles are also different from freckles as they are usually present from birth and are generally raised and darker than freckles.
Freckle’s appearance may fade in winter and become darker in the summer but for sunspots and moles, the appearance remains the same.

Dr. Rajdeep Mysore, a skin specialist in Bangalore, identifies the root cause causing freckles and helps the patient achieve freckles-free skin with the advanced treatments offered at Charma Clinic.

Dermatologist’s Prescribed Treatment of Freckles

Some aesthetic dermatologist services offered at Charma Clinic, skin clinic in Bangalore can help lighten the appearance of freckles. These include:

Chemical peels- These are acid solutions which when applied on the skin can help chemically exfoliate the skin. The depth at which the chemical exfoliation takes place depends upon the strength of the acid used and the severity of freckles. The chemical peels help slough off the affected/damaged skin layers and encourage the growth of new skin cells. Chemical peels best known for the treatment of freckles include alpha-hydroxy acids, glycolic acid, trichloroacetic acid, or phenol.
Ret-inoids or ret-inol-based topical products- Retin-oids or retin-ol are the Vitamin A derivatives. They can help spur faster turnover of superficial skin cells and encourage fresh collagen synthesis.
Lasers- Lasers application is the most effective technique to treat freckles. There are various laser options available today. The choice of laser type is decided by considering the client’s age, general health status, and density of freckles. Mostly used types are the Q-switched Nd: YAG laser, Erbium YAG laser, and Fractional laser. They all work to heat destroy the freckled skin and remove or replace the affected skin layers with new skin. Repeated laser sessions are needed to get the desired lightening of the freckles.
Cryotherapy- This treatment involves the use of liquid nitrogen to freeze the non-cancerous sun spots and actinic keratosis. The freezing of the freckled skin causes the death of the skin cells and their shedding in a few days. The treated site first appears dark and then lighter as new skin gets formed.

Contact the skin experts at Charma Clinic to learn more on freckles treatment cost in Bangalore and which treatment will be effective in removing these pigmentation spots from the skin.

Tips To Avoid Freckles

As sun exposure mainly causes freckles, the best approach to avoid freckles from developing is to sun protect the skin. Sun protection can be achieved in the following ways:

Avoid unnecessarily stepping outside in the daytime, especially in the peak UV hours- 10 am to 4 pm.
Avoid sun tanning and even artificial tanning by use of tanning beds and creams. If you still want tanned skin, go for spray tanning products.
If going outside during peak UV hours, always wear sun-protective clothing like lightweight long sleeves tops and full pants, and a wide-brimmed hat. For extra sun protection, wear clothing with an ultraviolet protection factor label. Moreover, protect eyes from bright sunlight and under eye skin from exposure to the sun by wearing sunglasses with UV protection.
Daily apply broad-spectrum, water-proof sunscreens/sunblock with SPF 30 above to all exposed skin before going outside even on cloudy days and in winter. In case of sweating or swimming, reapply sunscreen after every 2 hours.

FAQ's

Do freckles need to be treated?

Freckles are an almost harmless skin condition that needs no treatment. The best is to prevent the development of freckles by avoiding sun exposure to the skin as much as possible. This works if one’s skin easily freckles and one doesn’t want any more freckles in the future. People with freckles usually seek Lentigo & Freckles Removal Treatment in Bangalore from Charma Clinic skin experts for improving their aesthetics.

Who is more likely to develop freckles?

The culprit behind freckles is genetics and the natural environment. The risk of burning skin can increase the incidence of freckles. Research studies have found that frequent sunburns and the MC1R gene responsible for melanin production have a role in causing freckles. There are two types of melanin-pheomelanin and eumelanin. People who have skin producing more eumelanin tend to remain protected from UV skin damage. However, those whose skin produces more pheomelanin aren’t sun protected and tend to develop freckles.

Are freckles dangerous?

No. However, people with freckled skin are more sensitive to sunlight and thus they must take extra skin protection from the sun.

Suggest some over-the-counter treatments or home remedies for freckles.

There are a variety of spot peels and topical creams containing compounds that help fade freckles. These include alpha hydroxy acids, Vitamin C, retin-oids, cyst-eamine, and aze-laic acid.

Some of the natural home remedies that people with freckles have used and reported to be effective include lemon, honey, and aloe vera.

If one is experiencing freckles and wants to get rid of them, they can contact the best freckles removal doctor in Bangalore at Charma Clinic.