While freckles are regarded as cute by some people, many prefer to not have them on their face. Freckles are nothing but regions where melanin gets concentrated, and these are often seen on people with a fair complexion. Freckles are actually multiple, circular, small spots. They develop on the outer skin where it is repeatedly exposed to sunlight.
Causes of Freckles
If you have a fair complexion and roam around more in the sun, you can get freckles. Freckles become darker when they are exposed to the UVB rays, mainly because these help in speeding up the production of melanin in the skin. Freckles are commonly found on the face and on any other portion of skin exposed to the sun, such as the arms and upper shoulders.
The Types of Freckles
Freckles are generally of a single color. They stand out as they are darker than the surrounding skin. Depending on the skin color, they may be reddish, yellow, light brown or black.
- Ephelides: These are light brown spots that are temporary in nature. These are flat and appear during the summer months, but disappear during the winter season. These are mostly hereditary in nature.
- Lentigines: These are darker than ephelides and they are black spots that occur and last throughout the year (including winter). These types of freckles can be hereditary as well.
How to Avoid Freckles
- You must avoid overexposure to the sun's harmful rays and use sunscreens to avoid freckles.
- Eat a lot of fruits and fresh vegetables. Don't forget to include whole grains in your diet too. Your diet should be rich in vitamins C, A, B complex, as these are necessary for healthy skin.
- Include eggs, milk, cabbage, nutritional yeast, and wheat germ and flaxseed in good quantities in your diet.
- Take foods that are rich in vitamin C like apples, green onions and citrus fruits.
- Use a good quality of sunscreen that can offer you high level of protection from the sun. Try to use all the cosmetics made from herbal and not from chemicals. Certain chemicals irritate the skin and worsen the case of freckles. Use a sunscreen that has high SPF levels. The sunscreen that you use during the summer must be of good quality. Use it whenever you have to go out in the sun.
- Wear a broad-brimmed hat when out in the sun. It should offer better protection from sunlight than caps do.
- Ultraviolet rays can affect the skin between 10 AM to 4 PM, so don't go out during that time.
- If you want to go for a swim, you can apply some sun block lotion on your skin before you head to the beach.
Home Remedies for Freckles
There are some natural home remedies that you can try in order to get rid of freckles and some of these are:
- Apply lemon juice on the affected area to bleach the freckle spots.
- Dissolve a small amount of sugar in some lemon juice (from one lemon). Apply this mixture to the freckles, and you can do this by using a brush.
- Grind some yellow mustard along with milk and apply this paste to your face before you sleep during the night. You can wash your face the next morning with tap water.
- Regularly use vegetable and fruit masks made with strawberries, apricots, red currant and cucumbers to lighten your freckles well.
- Washing your face regularly with the help of some sour milk will help in getting rid of freckles.
- Apply sour cream on your face. After some time, wipe off with a soft tissue and apply a mix moisturizer.
- Mix wheat germ and some heated honey, and apply the same to your face. Wash your honey covered face with warm water and later rinse the same with cool water.
- Grind an equal amount of sesame and turmeric seeds. Mix this with water and apply on freckles. Take care that turmeric does not stain your clothes.
- Mix gram flour and lemon juice.Add rose water, milk, carrot juice, and honey and a small amount of cucumber juice. Apply on freckles and rinse off after 15 minutes.
- Mix one teaspoon each of yogurt, honey and red lentil paste. Apply this on the freckles and rinse with warm water after 15 minutes.
- Apply buttermilk regularly on the freckles.
- Apply horseradish juice or horseradish vinegar or oatmeal on the affected area.
- Apply a mixture of equal quantity of parsley juice and orange juice on freckles.
Patience holds the key. You need to continue with a particular remedy for about a month. It's nature and not magic. So you may need to allow these remedies sufficient time so as to allow them to produce the desired results.
