Some women love the look of freckles but don’t want the higher risk of skin cancer that comes with sun exposure.
Unlike Jan Brady in that classic “Brady Bunch” episode in which she smears lemon juice on her face to get rid of her freckles, there do exist women who embrace their facial freckles.
And some want more. Problem is, there’s only one way to get more: more sun exposure or time spent in a tanning bed.
There’s the case of a young woman who thought that her freckles were “cute,” and she wanted to know if there was a way to get more without increasing the risk of skin cancer.
She was using an acne cream that had the side effect of fading her pre-existing freckles, and she didn’t like this. Too bad Jan Brady didn’t know about this acne cream.
The woman admitted that she easily burns and always wore sunscreen, but wanted to add more freckles, or at least retain the existing ones, and even get them darker.
Is there a way to get more freckles or darken pre-existing ones—without increasing the risk of skin cancer?
“No. Freckles are a symptom of sun damage,” says Dr. Janet Prystowsky, board certified dermatologist in New York, NY, with 30+ years’ experience.
Want more freckles?
You’ll have to take the higher risk of skin cancer – including melanoma – that comes with what you need to do to get more.
Other skin cancers related to the sun: squamous cell carcinoma and basal cell carcinoma. And don’t forget the increased risk of premature wrinkles.
Perhaps there’s a cosmetic trick to add spots that can pass as freckles.
You can experiment with various cosmetics to see just what might work. Certainly you can discreetly darken the ones you already have with makeup.
But please, don’t stay out in the sun to get more freckles. It’s just not worth the heightened risk of skin cancer.
In combination with her focus on early skin cancer detection and removal, Dr. Prystowsky provides a wide range of revitalizing and rejuvenating treatments.
Lorra Garrick has been covering medical, fitness and cybersecurity topics for many years, having written thousands of articles for print magazines and websites, including as a ghostwriter. She’s also a former ACE-certified personal trainer.
.
