How to Deal With Freckles
By Elizabeth Angell, Allure magazine
Despite the fact that I apply SPF so often you'd think it contained some kind of addictive compound, I still finish up every summer with a few more freckles than when I started. It's not that I think they're awful-plenty of women wear them like a profusion of beauty marks-but they feel like a reproach: proof that some of those harmful rays are still sneaking past my defenses. Here's how to deal with them:
- Most makeup artists warn against spackling over your freckles; you'll need so much foundation to cover them up that you'll end up with a mask. Instead, choose a tinted moisturizer that will even out your skin tone but let a hint of freckles show through. Beauty director Amy Keller Laird recommends M.A.C. Tinted Moisturizer or Elizabeth Arden Tinted Mineral Moisturizer. For a little more coverage, try a sheer foundation such as Armani Luminous Silk.
Related: Makeup Artists' Secrets for Sexy Skin
- A dusting of bronzing powder-rather than a pinky blush-will further minimize each individual freckle. Choose something with a touch of shimmer. "The opalescent particles deflect light from imperfections," says makeup artist Mally Roncal. Try Mark Bronze Pro Bronzing Powder in Pro Golden.
- Even if you've made peace the way your freckles look now, they are a sign you should pay attention to your skin-care routine. "Freckles are abnormal clumped pigmentation on the skin, a sign of skin damage, and a precursor to deeper brown spots lingering beneath the surface," says dermatologist Katie Rodan. She recommends washing with a mild exfoliating cleanser containing lactic acid, lightening and brightening the freckled areas with a low-strength (2 percent) over-the-counter hydroquinone cream, and always using a broad-spectrum sunscreen to protect yourself from absorbing additional UVA rays-the aging, brown-spot-producing kind. If you really want to get serious, ask your dermatologist about Intense Pulsed Light. This treatment dissolves freckles and dark spots and feels like quick, hot pinpricks. "You'll start to see fading after the first treatment," says dermatologist Howard Sobel says, but it can take three to five sessions to clear the skin.
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