The title sums it up. Anyone here have any luck removing their freckles? I’m a 30+ year old guy who’s sick of having the complexion of a pepperoni pizza (think “fat kid from the Sandlot movie” as an adult).
I’ve tried over the counter fading creams (all based on Hydroquinone) but they have had no effect even after using them for many months. Then I tried just using heavy sunscreen every morning for a season or two, but no change. I even searched the web and heard of this stuff called White Shot which was supposed to work wonders. It had a different active ingredient than the rest, but $100 later, no results whatsoever.
I’d rather not resort to laser surgery or chemical peels but if I’m open to the idea if anyone has had much success with them. I also keep hearing about the wonders of this Proactive stuff. Any idea if it works on freckles, or is it just for acne?
OK, seriously - Some people have tried skin bleaching. That generally is worse than the original condition, IIRC. Laser removal may be helpful for some people.
To my current knowledge, those are really the only widely accepted and functional methods, despite your distaste for them.
i was a red haired, freckle faced kit and I got tired of the comments too. I finally learned to live with it and eventually, and I forget when, the freckles faded away.
LASERs. My dermatologist uses a Q switched YAG laser.
In my experience, it doesn’t hurt but the spots get swollen, red and scary-looking pretty quickly; ice packs help tremendously. The next day all swelling is gone but I’m left with dark brown spots (think the size of the tip of a dull pencil) where he zapped me. Those spots behave just like scabs, though they’re very superficial, and dry up and fall off in about a week taking the pigment underneath with it. Skin is slightly pinker underneath but evens out in a few months.
It will take a few treaments (I have had two and need two or three more) but that, along with prescription strength Hydroquinone, Renova and a slavish devotion to sunscreen and hats has helped noticibly.
IANAD - I think Retin A (with loads of sunscrean) would work better than those hydroquinone treatments. You need a prescription I think, but as long as you use lots of sunscrean and lotion it’s not too much of a hazard.
Freckles are sun damage. There’s a chance that if you use sunscreen every day, reapplying every 2 hours of course, and don’t get any more sun, within a couple of years they could fade or go away. Renova, Retin-A, hydroquinone (soon to be prescription-only, BTW), or Solage Gel may help fade them quicker, or may not. The key, though, is to avoid any more sun exposure to the area at all.
You could also look into Intense Pulsed Light. It’s several (4 or 5) treatments and fairly expensive (maybe $500-600?) but should work very well if you stick to the practitioner’s protocol with re to sunscreen, etc. There are some advantages to IPL over Laser for this kind of thing- an initial visit with a dermatologist to discuss your options might be for you.
BTW, Alice. Freckles are usually worsened by sun exposure, but sun is not necessarily causative. There appears to be a genetic predisposition to excess melanogenesis, which is often aggravated by UV light.
Removing freckles, eh? I pretty much never go out into the sun and have parts of my body that haven’t seen the sun in more than a decade that still have freckles. When I do go out without sunscreen, the freckles on my face turn black for about a day.
I had no idea that laser stuff would get rid of them. I guess when I become insanely rich, I might consider it, just to find out what it would be like to have smooth, porcelain skin. although I think I’ll be an old, freckley bag long before then. My daughter is still a baby and no freckles yet, but I do put sunscreen on her when we go outside, I’m not sure what her odds are of having freckles.
Thank all for the replies, I had never heard of Retin-A or Renova. And granted I’m new here Kneepants, but I don’t think one ever needs to apologize for a compliment. I’d be glad to loan you some of mine. Although it’s nice to hear, I’d be more willing to believe in the cultural acceptance of freckles on men if you could name an attractive adult male celebrity with them (any girls knocking down CarrotTop’s door?).
Interestingly enough, I never had the red hair to go with the freckles which makes them look even stranger. I have typical dark hair for a half Italian. I’m guessing they were a result of spending every summer day at the pool in my youth with no sunscreen.
In the end, I think the only thing that will work is heavy sunscreen all the time. But as Alice said, “every two hours for two years” isn’t exactly realistic. In college I had grown a full beard to look older and when I shaved it off years later, there was not a freckle in sight underneath. Frighteningly pale, but no freckes. Oh well, I guess those are my options- Casper or Pizzaface. Maybe I should be looking into makeup concealer for men instead…
Try this. My husband uses it on his face so it’s not too too girly. Plus it happens gradually so you can’t fuck it up.
This has the same gradual self-tanner plus SPF 15.
If you’re balking at traditional sunscreen for some reason, there are a TON of products out now that are moisturizers with added SPF, even ones specifically designed for men!
I’d be glad to loan you some of mine. Although it’s nice to hear, I’d be more willing to believe in the cultural acceptance of freckles on men if you could name an attractive adult male celebrity with them (any girls knocking down CarrotTop’s door?).