Why do freckles appear when you get more sun?
Asked by
Jude (
32204
)
August 23rd, 2011
I am part Scottish. I am fair. I have dark hair and light skin. When I get sun, freckles magically appear (they’re magically delicious!). Both of my arms are covered in little freckles. You can see them across my nose. More so now that I have been out in the sun.
Why?
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6 Answers
From wiki
“The formation of freckles is triggered by exposure to sunlight. The exposure to UV-B radiation activates melanocytes to increase melanin production, which can cause freckles to become darker.”
There is no better answer than @tom_g gave. Just more detail on the mechanism if you desire that.
What I don’t understand is why I seem to have MORE! I have so many you’d think there wasn’t room for more. But every summer I swear I get more! (kidding)
I’m fair skinned too, I was born with a few freckles on my nose, but after years of swimming and exposure to the sun (and multiple sunburns) I now have them on my shoulders and dozens more all over my face, though they are fairly light.
I remember going to the local aquatic centre frequently when I was younger and always after a couple of hours going inside and getting freaked out at how dark my freckles were in the mirror. They start to fade again though thankfully, not that there’s anything wrong with dark freckles…
My 8-yr-old daughter is a red-head, complete with the most pale skin possible. We’ve been great about sunblock, but she’s definitely gained a ton more freckles this summer on her face. I swear most of the them appeared after a single visit to the beach.
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