Freckles - Super Easy Ways You Can Get Rid of Them

Some of us are born with freckles and some acquire them, mostly due to sun exposure. They are not common on dark skin, but those of us with lighter complexion have to bear the brunt of these brown dot-like blemishes. If you’ve been waiting for information on easy and super-fast ways to get rid of freckles, you’ve just got lucky.

You can use natural lightening methods as well as freckle-removing treatments like lasers to get rid of freckles fast.

Natural lightening methods: 

1. Lemon juice:  This natural bleach can lighten freckles fast. Problem is that lemon juice doesn’t work on freckles caused due to sun exposure as these are darker and more irregularly placed across the skin.
2. Sour cream mask: Milk and sour cream are both very effective in combating freckles. Just make a mask and apply on your face and let it soak in. What happens here is that the lactic acid in milk peels away the outer skin on your face, lightening freckles.
3. Fruit peels: You can mix fruits and apply on face. This will facilitate the natural acids in fruits to peel the top layer of skin and lighten freckles. Strawberries and kiwi fruit are very effective and so are cucumbers and apricots.

Treatments for removing freckles

1. Lightening creams: These are easily available as well as extremely effective against both natural as well as sun induced freckles. Creams with liquorice extract and Aloe work best. Then there are creams with chemicals like hydroquinone and oxybenzone, which are also very effective, though they can sometimes have side effects.
2. Microdermabrasion: What microdermabrasion does is that it removes the outer layer of skin through the action of a stream of tiny particles. This reduces the intensity of freckles.
3. Chemical peels: These peels remove the top layer of skin and reduce freckles. Skin needs 2-3 days to heal after a chemical peel. Chemical peels are prepared in 3 different strengths:
   1. Superficial which use alpha or beta hydroxy acids
   2. Medium which uses trichloroacetic acid to penetrate deep into skin
   3. Deep peels which use higher concentrations of trichloroacetic acid or phenol to get rid of even more layers of skin.
4. Laser treatment: Lasers offer a fast way to get rid of freckles. They work by burning the blood vessels underneath the freckles. This reduces the intensity of freckles and gives skin an even tone. The procedure is safe if done by a surgeon. It may cause some temporary bruising, swelling and redness.

A good way to stop freckles from marring the prettiness of your skin is to protect yourself from the sun. You can wear sunscreen or cover your skin with long sleeves. Both of these stop the darkening of old freckles or the formation of newer ones. If you wish to discuss about any specific problem, you can consult a dermatologist.