Treatments for Freckles

Freckles (ephilides) are little brown spots on the skin that are caused by the sun. Cute on some and a curse for others.

We all have pigment-producing cells in our skin called melanocytes. These melanocytes produce melanin pigment through a complex chain of reactions, and feed it to keratinocytes, the normal skin cells that form the outer barrier of our skin.

This barrier protects us from the insults of nature, and importantly, from the sun. Melanin is produced by our skin to prevent us from being damaged by the sun’s powerful rays.

When our melanocytes become damaged by the sun, we produce freckles, which are simply abnormal collections of melanin pigment in the skin.

The culprit for worsening freckles is the sun! Tanning will always make freckles look darker in appearance. Often, in Winter months, freckles are barely noticeable.

As with all pigmentation issues, one of the crucial points to treatment is the use of a good, medical grade SPF

At The Birmingham Pigmentation Clinic we have a wide range of treatments for freckles, including laser treatment (link to website) and skin lightening products (link website).