What are freckles?
Treatment freckles on face in Australia: Freckles are dark, circular patches on the skin that can be up to 5 mm in diameter.
These spots usually appear on the surface layer of the skin and often on areas of the body such as the face, shoulders and hands that are most exposed to sunlight.
Freckles are common in people with fair skin and sunburn.
These spots usually become darker and more prominent after sun exposure, and on the other hand, they fade and are less visible in the winter months.
How do freckles occur?
Freckles are caused by the production of more melanin pigment than normal in some parts of the skin, and after they form, the pigment cells, or melanocytes, no longer proliferate.
Avoiding sun exposure, protecting the skin from sunlight, and constantly using UV-protecting creams can help prevent or reduce the severity of freckles in infected people.
Types of freckles
In general, there are two main types of facial freckles, which include simple freckles and freckles caused by sunburn.
Simple freckles (lentigo simplex) are dark colored spots that appear on the skin of genetically predisposed people.
Freckles caused by sunburn (solar lentigo) are permanent skin lesions that appear as spots that are slightly darker in color than the skin, have irregular margins and are slightly larger than the diameter of a pencil.
Lentigo
A lentigo is a small, sharply circumscribed, pigmented macule surrounded by normal-appearing skin.
Histologic findings may include hyperplasia of the epidermis and increased pigmentation of the basal layer.
Genetics
Freckles are primarily a genetic complication and occur specifically in people who have inherited fair skin and blonde or red hair.
Numerous scientific studies have shown that the incidence of freckles in identical twins that are genetically quite similar is the same, but not in nonidentical twins.
Xeroderma pigmentosum
Xeroderma pigmentosum (a very rare inherited disease) – Freckles are very common in people with this condition who also have red hair.
So, Xeroderma pigmentosum, which is commonly known as XP, is an inherited condition characterized by an extreme sensitivity to ultraviolet (UV) rays from sunlight.
This condition mostly affects the eyes and areas of skin exposed to the sun. Some affected individuals also have problems
involving the nervous system.
Neurofibromatosis
Neurofibromatosis (another inherited disease) – Freckles are common in people with the disease.
And, Neurofibromatosis is a genetic disorder of the nervous system.
It mainly affects how nerve cells form and grow.
And, it causes tumors to grow on nerves.
You can get neurofibromatosis from your parents, or it can happen because of a mutation (change) in your genes.
Once you have it, you can pass it along to your children.
Type 1 Neurofibromatosis (NF1) causes skin changes and deformed bones.
It usually starts in childhood.
Sometimes the symptoms are present at birth.
Age
Aging spots appear as skin discoloration and darkening in the hands and back of the hands and to a lesser extent on the face.
These spots are similar in appearance to simple freckles and mostly occur on the skin of adults and the elderly who,
have been exposed to the sun a lot during their lifetime.
Benign blemishes on the skin, known as seborrheic keratosis, are quite common in people over the age of 40.
It can be said that almost everyone will have at least a few seborrheic keratosis spots on their skin during their lifetime.
Seborrheic keratosis
A seborrheic keratosis (seb-o-REE-ik ker-uh-TOE-sis) is a common noncancerous skin growth.
People tend to get more of them as they get older.
Seborrheic keratosis is usually brown, black or light tan.
The growths look waxy, scaly and slightly raised.
They usually appear on the head, neck, chest or back.
How do freckles spread?
The spread of freckles on the skin occurs as a result of two main factors, including genetic predisposition and exposure to sunlight.
Of course, the amount and severity of freckles on the skin of two different people who have been exposed to the same amount of sunlight will not be the same.
Sunlight and artificial light sources emit ultraviolet rays from themselves.
The epidermis, or surface layer of the skin, thickens as a result of exposure to these ultraviolet rays, and the pigment cells or melanocytes also produce more melanin pigment.
In fact, increasing melanin production is a way for the skin to protect itself from sunlight and ultraviolet rays.
And, In addition, the skin reacts to sunlight differently in people with different skin types. So that:
On the skin of albino people, freckles never appear,
because these people are not able to produce melanin pigment in their skin at all due to a genetic disease.
On the other hand, people with darker skin tones are relatively less sensitive to sunlight than people with fair skin.
People with blond or red hair and whiter skin are more sensitive to the damaging effects of ultraviolet light.
Treatments
You can treat your freckles through the following methods:
- laser therapy
- Cryotherapy (freezing)
- Chemical exfoliants
- Use creams containing tretinoin or hydroquinone
Book your freckles treatment consultation today in MediDermic clinic.
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