Skin Care Tips: How Do You Get Rid of Freckles?

Freckles are small brown spots that appear on the skin that tend to get darker when exposed to the sun. These spots appear early in life and generally disappear during middle age, between the ages of 40 and 45 years. Freckles affect every skin type and are so common that it is but natural to ask "How do you get rid of freckles?" Fortunately, there are several remedies.

Wearing sunscreen when going outdoors will offer some form of protection from the sun and prevent freckles. When the skin is protected by sunscreen, it does not produce more melanin in response to sun exposure and hence, freckles do not form. On the other hand, when the skin produces more melanin, it accumulates on upper epidermis of the skin. Skin lightening and peeling removes the freckles or the melanin discoloration.

How Do You Get Rid of Freckles Using Natural Acids?

Many people use hydroquinone-based creams and lotions to protect the skin from the sun and prevent freckles. However, these creams often can result in skin irritation.

Kojic acid is another acid that is present in many skin-lightening products. Users claim that the acid helps lighten freckles and is gentle on the skin. It is a fungal derivative and works by penetrating the upper layer of the skin, and stops pigmentation. One popular skin lightening product, which has Kojic acid, is La Roche-Posay Mela-D 1.01 fl oz., $47.99, at My Health Counter.

There are products that contain alpha hydroxy acids, which work as exfoliators and facilitate development of new skin cells. The acids help to remove the outer skin cells, which are usually darker, causing freckles to become lighter. You can try SkinCeuticals C + AHA, $132, SkinCareRX, to help lighten freckles.

When using natural acids to get rid of freckles, it is necessary to protect the skin further by using a sunscreen.

How Do You Get Rid of Freckles Using Skin-Lightening Treatments?

Laser therapy, such as skin resurfacing, is another method that people use to get rid of freckles. This therapy uses infrared rays on the top layer of the skin. Due to this, the upper skin cells die, and this causes the skin to generate new cells, thereby lightening the skin and reducing freckles.

Chemical peels are also used to get rid of freckles. These peels actually peel off the top layer of the skin, and this exposes the melanin in the skin cells. Once the melanin is exposed, it gets destroyed and new skin cells develop.

How Do You Get Rid of Freckles Using Natural Remedies?

Sour milk contains lactic acid, which gently removes dead cells from the skin. Washing your face regularly with sour milk helps to reduce freckles. This is also a great treatment for dry skin.

Facial masks made from fruits, such as apricots, strawberries, cucumbers, and red currant, are also very effective in removing freckles. These fruits contain high levels of antioxidants, which help to remove the dead cells from the skin and stimulate formation of new skin cells.

How to get rid of freckles

The two main factors in developing freckles are heredity and skin type. If freckles run in your family or you have fair skin, there's a good chance you will also have freckles. True freckles are harmless, but many people would rather not have them. Here are some tips on how to get rid of freckles.

Fading Creams

There are creams containing hydroquinone and kojic acid on the market. They come in both over-the-counter and prescription strength. These creams can lighten freckles somewhat if used over long periods of time. Avoiding the sun while using them is important because sunlight brings freckles out. Creams containing retinoids can also be used, but they take several months of use to work.

The problem with these products is they tend to lighten the entire area of skin and not just the freckles. Retin-A provides better results because it makes the pigmentation of the skin more even and the freckles less noticeable.

The FDA is proposing studies on the safety of products containinghydroquinone because they received reports of the substance causing cancer in rats.

How to Get Rid of Freckles With Laser Treatment

After you have a dermatologist verify that what you have are just common freckles, laser treatment is an option for their removal. It is an effective way to remove those little dots on your skin that are annoying you.

A laser light passes over your skin removing the dark pigment that causes the freckles. Green light lasers are the most effective. It is painless and the worst side effects reported are some dryness and minor bruising to the skin. The cost of laser treatment can be high, so be prepared. Your dermatologist may be able to give you a ball-park figure on the cost of getting rid of freckles this way.

Cryosurgery

Cryosurgery is another option you may want to consider. It involves a light freezing of the skin with liquid nitrogen. Cryosurgery is used more for the removal of dark spots on the skin than for common freckles.

Overexposure to the nitrogen can cause white spots on the skin that would be more noticeable than the freckles. Another downside is avoiding the sun to keep the freckles from coming back.

How to Get Rid of Freckles Using Home Remedies

There are home remedies for everything, and freckles are no exception. Buttermilk applied to freckles is said to lighten them. Fruit or vegetable masks made with apricots, strawberries, or cucumbers used regularly will lighten freckles.

Common sense tips are to use a sunscreen with a high SPF when going out in the sun, wearing a wide-brimmed hat to shade the face from direct sunlight, and drinking plenty of water to keep the skin hydrated and healthy.

Freckle Removal: Exploring Your Options for Pesky Freckles

Freckle removal is not something that is easy to do. A lot of people spend their days looking for the best products, trying anything that they can find with a sense of desperation. There are two basic types of removal options that you have: cosmetic procedures and OTC (over-the-counter) products. Within these two categories, there are many different solutions to choose from depending on your specific needs and how severe your freckles are. Be sure to explore all of your options so that you can find the best solution, allowing you to get great results the first time.

OTC Products for Freckle Removal

The most common product that you can buy without a prescription to remove freckles is skin bleaching or lightening cream. These creams and lotions are all formulated with different ingredients and come in different strengths, which allows everyone to find what they need. This type of treatment is applied to the skin to help slow melanin production, which reduces the appearance of freckles and other blemishes over time.

A word of caution: not all skin bleaching agents are safe. Some contain ingredients such as mercury and hydroquinone, which are very toxic to the skin. While these products weren't thought to be dangerous in small quantities, prolonged exposure has proven to cause serious complications and health issues. Your best bet is to find natural freckle removal products or other creams that don't contain dangerous ingredients.

Cosmetic Procedures and Treatments

If you can't find an effective OTC solution to get rid of your freckles, you do have other options. Cosmetic procedures are readily available to help you eliminate freckles once and for all, no matter how severe or mild your freckles might actually be.

Chemical peels are the most common solution to reduce the appearance of freckles but can be stressful on sensitive skin. This process is done by a dermatologist and generally takes a couple of days to heal once completed. The process can cause redness, burning, dryness, peeling, itching, and flaking of the skin, but has proven to be effective in many cases.

Laser freckle removal is the other cosmetic option that people have. Again, this procedure is usually performed by a dermatologist. They will use a laser to remove the top layers of skin, decreasing the appearance of freckles. This procedure requires about 1-2 weeks of healing time after it is performed. The longevity of the results will vary from one person to the next.

Freckle Removal That Works for You

As you can see, you have plenty of options to choose from. Just make sure that you do your homework and find the right solution for your freckles, no matter what other people are doing. Everyone has different skin, which means that everyone has different needs and results from various cosmetic products and procedures.

How Do I Get Rid Of Eye Freckles

Dark circles under your eyes may be due to a tendency to have darker skin, excess fat deposits under the lower eyelid, or several other factors. There are some non-surgical as well as surgical ways to remove these circles.

Getting more sleep should help with the dark circles under your eyes. You may need to catch up on sleep for several nights before the dark circles improve.

Excellent hydration also helps with eliminating or helping dark circles under the eyes. Some people think that dehydration in general causes dark circles, however, others think that abnormal fat deposits may cause dark circles under the eyes. Regardless of the cause, well hydrated lower eyelid skin may help improve your lower eyelid skin tone.

Tightening the skin naturally with cucumbers or other health spa products will also help with your overall skin tone.

Excellent skin care, including using vitamin C products, medical grade eye creams, and Retin-A may help tighten your skin more than over-the-counter products. The most commonly used product products is the Elastiderm eye cream made by Obagi. All of these products will improve your lower eyelid skin color and tone, and also help to reduce dark circles under the eyes.

An injection of a dermal filler, such as Juvederm XC, may plump up and fill the soft tissue around the dark circle, to make it less noticeable. You will probably need only 1 syringe for both eyes, and you may even have some left over for other areas of your face. However, a dermal filler injection will not necessarily completely eliminate a dark circle.

The most complete and lasting option to eliminate a dark circle under the eye is a lower eyelid liftsurgery. This allows your eyelid fat to be removed and repositioned. If you need a filler agent, then your own fat can be used. Your eyelid skin can be lift, tightened, and repositioned. However, the downside is that this is a true surgical procedure, with the associated surgical risks and recovery time needed after wards.