How to Get Rid of Freckles or Sun Damage
Let’s face it: while some find freckles cute or appealing, you don’t have to agree simply because you have them. Freckles are essentially clusters of skin cells containing the pigment melanin, which create tan or light brown spots on your skin’s surface. Freckles aren’t harmful, or painful, and they’re flat rather than raised. But while the idea that freckles are for life has years of traction behind it, there are tried and true ways to achieve a smoother, more even-looking complexion with treatments for freckle removal, and the cost doesn’t have to break you, either.
What Causes Freckles?
The skin contains cells known as melanocytes which generate melanin. In turn, melanin works to protect your skin from the UV rays. Exposure to the sun is what triggers your skin to generate more melanin. Freckles are simply a build-up of melanin on the outer layer of your skin. Even though light-skinned people typically produce less melanin, their melanocytes generate more melanin when exposed to the sun’s rays. This is why the majority of people with a lot of freckles have pale skin, although anyone can get them.
The Best Way to Get Rid of Freckles Fast
Wear Sunscreen: While wearing sunscreen will not eliminate existing freckles, it will help to prevent new ones from forming. If you’re trying to avoid new freckles, it’s best to wear sunscreen with an SPF of 30 or higher, all year, even if it’s cloudy outside. For best results, apply sunscreen to your skin at least 15 minutes before going out, and reapply it every two hours, as well as after swimming or sweating excessively.
Laser Treatments: Laser treatments are an extremely effective way to treat even the most challenging areas of discoloured skin. Using pulses of focused, intense light, they penetrate the skin with deep-reaching wavelengths, heat up select dark spots, and get rid of them by causing the hyperpigmented skin to flake off post-treatment. According to research, the 1064 Q-Switched Nd YAG laser is effective at lightening more than 50 percent of freckles in 62 percent of participants.
Laser Freckle Removal Cost
As with any course of treatment, your laser freckle removal cost will depend on how you choose to get rid of your freckles. During your pre-procedure consultation, your doctor will help determine the most effective treatment(s) for your skin, your goals, and your budget.
How to Get Rid of Freckles Naturally
If you tend to prefer natural, DIY, at-home remedies, it’s worth noting that some people have also successfully learned how to get rid of freckles using the following common household ingredients.
Lemon Juice: Lemon is a great source of vitamin C, and vitamin C has photoprotective and anti-pigmentary properties that help protect your skin from damaging UV rays. Use a cotton ball to apply lemon juice directly onto your skin, leave it on for 10 minutes, and then rinse it off. Repeat this twice a week to lighten freckles.
Honey: Honey contains phenolic and flavonoid compounds that can help control the excess production of melanin in your skin. Spread a thin layer of honey onto your skin, leave it for 5 to 10 minutes, then wash off with warm water. Honey’s antioxidant properties may help to lighten freckles over time.
Buttermilk: Buttermilk contains lactic acid, which may help to lighten freckles. Twice a week, apply buttermilk directly to your skin. Alternatively, you can also create a mask by combining buttermilk with oatmeal to create a thick paste. Leave it on for 10-15 minutes, and then rinse it off with warm water.
Clinical Freckle and Sun Damage Treatments at SpaMedica
Chemical Peels: For mild to moderate freckle removal needs, a chemical peel that includes mild glycolic acid can be very effective at penetrating the skin’s middle layers. A chemical solution is used to exfoliate and superficially injure the skin in order to induce a healing response, which then helps evacuate the darkened pigment. Once the damaged skin has been expelled, new skin is generated.
FotoFacial IPL: The FotoFacial uses intense pulsed light energy to penetrate the skin and target hyperpigmented cells responsible for freckles and sun damage. The light energy heats the darkened pigment, causing it to break down and naturally clear from the skin over the days and weeks following treatment, leaving the complexion clearer and more even in tone. A series of sessions is typically recommended for optimal results.
Laser Treatments: Laser treatments are an extremely effective way to address even challenging areas of discolouration. Using precise pulses of focused light energy, lasers penetrate the skin at targeted wavelengths to heat and break down hyperpigmented spots. Research has shown that certain laser wavelengths are effective at lightening a significant proportion of freckles in the majority of patients treated.
Fotona SP Dynamis Max: The Fotona SP Dynamis Max uses dual-wavelength Er:YAG and Nd:YAG laser energy to address freckles and sun-induced pigmentation at multiple depths within the skin. Its precision and versatility make it an effective option for patients with more complex or stubborn pigmentation concerns, and it can be used to treat both surface-level freckles and deeper pigmentation simultaneously.
Solutions
Chemical Peel
For mild to moderate freckle reduction, a chemical peel containing glycolic acid can be highly effective at penetrating the skin's middle layers to exfoliate and remove darkened pigment. The controlled chemical solution induces a healing response that helps evacuate the discolouration, and as the treated skin is shed, new and more evenly toned skin is revealed beneath.
Fotona SP Dynamis Max
The Fotona SP Dynamis Max uses dual-wavelength Er:YAG and Nd:YAG laser energy to address freckles and sun-induced pigmentation at multiple depths within the skin. Its precision and versatility make it an effective option for patients with more complex or stubborn pigmentation concerns, and it can be used to treat both surface-level freckles and deeper pigmentation simultaneously.
FotoFacial IPL
The FotoFacial uses intense pulsed light energy to penetrate the skin and target hyperpigmented cells responsible for freckles and sun damage. The light energy heats the darkened pigment, causing it to break down and naturally clear from the skin over the days and weeks following treatment, leaving the complexion clearer and more even in tone.
Laser Treatments
Laser treatments are an extremely effective way to address even challenging areas of discolouration. Using precise pulses of focused light energy, lasers penetrate the skin at targeted wavelengths to heat and break down hyperpigmented spots.
