Polka-dots.

What's that on your left cheek?

Oh yeah. I always get that question from new people I meet.

I have no idea WHEN I had freckles, but I'm pretty sure that I don't have these when I was a kid.

Looking back at my old photos, my skin was spotless.

(I uploaded an actual photo of my freckle, haha! Look closely and you will see.)

What are freckles?
Freckles are sort of spots you find in a person's skin - particularly in persons with fair complexion. They are flat, kind-of circular spots in random areas, which develop after repeated exposure to the sun. They are always darker than the skin due to accumulation of dark pigments called melanin; may be in red, yellow, tan, brown, black, or light-brown.

Types?
There are two types of freckles.
1. Ephelides - This type of freckle is the one that appears during sunny season and disappears during winter. This may be hereditary. Using sunscreen helps suppress this kind of freckle.
2. Lentigines - This is the type of freckle that does not disappear during the winter. They are normally darker than the ephelides, and are occasionally part of a rare genetic syndrome. For most parts, they are isolated or found in unimportant areas.


Apparently, there is no winter in my country. So I'm assuming that my freckles are of the second type. Hahaha.

Now, there's this type they call "liver spots". This kind of freckle is just like the lentigines. They appear in aged people, and it has nothing to do with the liver. ROFL.

How are freckles formed?
After exposure to the sun, or probably tanning salon or anything that emits UV rays, our skin reacts differently. The outer layer of the skin normally thickens and the melanocytes (pigment-producing cells in our body) produces the pigment melanin at an increased rate to protect our skin from being damaged and for future exposures.

Basically, uneven distribution of melanin causes the freckles. It is nothing more than an unusually heavy deposit of melanin at one area of the skin. =)

Prevention.
It's easy. SUN SCREEN and PROTECTIVE CLOTHING.

I read in an article about a study made on twins about freckle count. The twins had almost the same freckle count, and they concluded that heredity has something to do with having freckles.

Prevention is better than cure - so if you start to develop freckles, let it serve as a warning that your skin is vulnerable to sunburn (or even skin cancer). Better watch out and start protecting your precious skin. If you see any spots on your face, get it checked by a dermatologist to make sure they're not cancerous.

Can I remove them?
My boyfriend tagged me to his dermatologist for his skin asthma around September of 2007 (or something). While waiting for the doctor, I asked the assistant, "What can I do to remove my freckles?" She said, "I don't think you can remove it. But you can lighten it with laser."

I searched the web about freckle removal.

Bleaching creams. Products containing hydroquinone and kojic acid can be purchased without a prescription. Higher concentrations of hydroquinone (over 2%) require a prescription. These products can lighten freckles if they are applied consistently over a period of months. (from here)


Vitamin A acid / Retin-A in conjunction with bleaching creams can also help lighten the freckles over a period of time.

Cryosurgery - A light freeze with liquid nitrogen can be used to treat freckles, but I don't know how they do that.

And then comes the laser part. They said that most lasers, especially the ones that produce green lights, can effectively reduce and eliminate freckles. It is safe and simple, highly successful, and have lower risk of developing scars. =)

My friends would often ask me - "Don't you want those removed?"

I don't really know. These spots contributed to my identity physically. And I got used to having them there, so why else would I want them off?

Perhaps I'll decide when I have plenty of money to spend. =p


References:
Medicinet
Freckle Guide