Freckles Or Brown Spots?
Author: Chitra Atolia
Source: ezinearticles.com
Freckles are brown spots on face especially on nose and cheeks which common in individuals with fair complexion. They might be as small as a pinhead or slightly bigger. They can be round or flat. Melanocytes are cells located in the lowest layer of our skin called epidermis. Melanocytes produce pigment called melanin, which is secreted when skin gets exposed to sun to protect the skin from ultra violet rays.
Uneven distribution of melanin causes its excessive secretion in some patches resulting in formation of brown spots known as freckles. They might get reduced when exposed to cold weather but increase when skin gets exposed to high temperature. As a result in some cases freckles may fade away completely in winters and gradually return in summers. Freckles also fade away with age. Tanning causes rapid increase in production of melanin thus causing increased number of freckles around cheeks and on nose.
MYTH: FRECKLES ARE CANCEROUS
No, freckles are NOT cancerous. They are just a form of pigmentation due to over production of melanin in the skin. Most of the times it is difficult to distinguish between freckles and brown spots. Visit a dermatologist before going in for any kind of treatment to know whether the appeared pigmentation is freckles or brown spots. Brown spots can be pre cancerous or cancerous.
Treatments suggested for freckles
Laser Treatment-Laser treatment can be opted for as the freckles melanin pigment absorbs the rays of laser light easily thus fading away slowly.
Sun Screen – As exposure to the sun is the prime reason behind the occurrence of freckles, it gets mandatory to wear a strong sunscreen lotion to avoid the ultra violet rays from penetrating into the epidermal layer of the skin.
Cryosurgery: Though this method is not very often used for removal of freckles but in some cases individuals have been seen opting for this surgery. Liquid nitrogen is applied on the affected areas with a pray gun or a cotton tip. But sometimes it causes appearance of permanent white spots due to long and direct contact with nitrogen.
Bleaching creams: Bleaching creams can be used to minimize freckles on the skin. Problem related with the use of bleaching creams is that it bleaches the entire skin thus resulting in same colour difference between the pigmented skin and normal skin. Retin-A is recommended to minimize the occurrence of freckles, as it tends to normalize the pigmentation.
Above mentioned methods can free your skin from brown spots thus enabling you to have a beautiful and clean face.
Article Written by Chitra Atolia
Expert writer on health. For more details visit http://www.T3.Rapidmile.com.
In: Health & Fitness · Tagged with: brown spots, freckles, freckles brown spots, pigmentation, treatment