Freckle

Did You Know?

• Ephelides describes a freckle that is flat and light brown or red and fades with reduced sun exposure.
• Liver spots, also known as sunspots and lentigines, look like large freckles but form after years of sun exposure and are more common in older people.
• Regular use of sunblock can inhibit the development of ephelides.

Biology

Freckles form when the skin is exposed to sunlight, especially UV-B radiation. This radiation triggers melanocytes, the cells that produce pigment, to create more melanin, which makes existing freckles darker and more noticeable. Someone who has never had freckles can develop them suddenly after a long period in the sun. While they most often appear on the face, freckles can show up on any skin that gets sun, like the arms or shoulders. When melanin builds up in a concentrated area, freckles can multiply and cover larger patches, such as the whole face. Infants rarely have freckles, but they are common in children before puberty. If freckles are treated with creams or lasers and the skin is not protected from the sun, they will come back when exposed to sunlight again. In some people, freckles do fade with age. Having freckles is not a medical disorder, but people with them usually have less protective melanin in their skin, making them more vulnerable to the harmful effects of UV radiation. For this reason, it is recommended that those prone to freckling avoid too much sun and use sunscreen. The tendency to have freckles is linked to rare versions of the MC1R gene, though having one or even two copies of these gene variants does not guarantee a person will have freckles. Some people with no copies of the MC1R gene still develop freckles. However, individuals with many freckles usually carry one or more variants of this gene, with Arg151Cys, Arg160Trp, and Asp294His being the most common among freckled people. The MC1R gene is more strongly tied to red hair than to freckles. Most redheads have two variants of the gene, and nearly all have at least one. The same gene variants that cause red hair also cause freckling. Freckles also occur in places like Japan, where red hair is absent, and these individuals often have the Val92Met variant, which is also found in Europeans but has only a minor effect on skin color. The role of the R162Q allele in freckling is still debated.

In culture

For much of Western history, freckles were seen as flaws. The Roman writer Pliny the Elder even called them spiritual and religious stains. That view shifted after the mid-1900s, when tanned skin—and the freckles that often come with it—became a sign of wealth and free time. By the late 20th century, freckles were in style, boosted by the 1960s youthquake movement and icons like model Twiggy and singer Jane Birkin. In the early 2000s, advertisers and fashion brands featured freckled models. In the 2020s, fake freckle tattoos became popular, especially on TikTok.