American actress, model and singer Marilyn Monroe in Connecticut, 1956. This image of a young freckle-faced star reveals an intimate side seen only by few.
Freckles can appear on all types of skin tones. Of the six Fitzpatrick skin types, they are most common on skin tones 1 and 2, which usually belong to North Europeans. However, it can also be found on people all over the world.
(FYI: If it is bigger than a quarter inch, it should be examined by a dermatologist.) 1959: The year in which Marilyn Monroe's signature mole, located on her lower left cheek, disappears and is replaced with a mole on her chin.
How do freckles develop? Freckles are the result of an overproduction of melanin. Melanin is a pigment that gives your hair, skin and eyes (your “complexion”) its color. Melanin, produced by skin cells called melanocytes, protects your skin from sun damage by absorbing and reflecting ultraviolet light (UV).
According to the Fitzpatrick sun-reactive skin types, the first three types are more vulnerable to the sun's rays and premature skin ageing. That means people with white, freckled, and even olive skin, or blonde and red hair, or blue and green eyes need to start wearing sunscreen more regularly.
Freckles often show up during childhood, and you may continue to get more until you're in your 20s. They're most common in people with fair skin or red hair, but anyone can have them. If you have dark skin, your freckles may show up as darker brown spots.
Because they're often seen in people with red hair, freckles are commonly associated with Ireland and Scotland, where this hair color is common as well. But anyone can get freckles.
But that doesn't mean you have to have a certain hair color — or skin color — to have freckles. "The MC1R gene variant is more common in Caucasian and Asian people, but it is possible for people of any ethnicity to have this variant as well," says Dr. Marcus.
Freckles are often associated with fair-skinned people, redheads, or people of Northern European descent. While it is true that freckling is more common in fair-skinned people, they occur in people of all ethnic backgrounds. The dynamic is the same.
Hyman Engelberg, one of her doctors, later told an interviewer, “We knew that she was manic-depressive, which is now called bipolar personality.” Notes biographer Lois Banner, Marilyn suffered from a severe stutter and dyslexia, too, and was addicted to barbiturates and amphetamines.
Marilyn Monroe, arguably one of the most beautiful women of the silver screen, had big eyes, smooth skin and nearly perfectly symmetrical features. She was practically a portrait. If your facial features aren't proportionate, they could give way to a less feminine and less attractive look than you desire.
Marilyn Monroe and Elizabeth Taylor shaved their faces, according to Ms. Somerville, who said that an aesthetician who worked with them told her. She declined to reveal which of her celebrity clients shave their faces, but said that she recommends it widely and that many comply.
Freckles can also be due to small areas of skin where the melanocytes produce too much melanin. We have a lot less melanocytes in the skin of our palms and the soles of our feet, which is why we don't tan in these areas. It is also why freckles are rare on these parts of our body.
A rare skin finding called axillary freckling (freckles in the armpit) is occasionally seen in a rare inherited disease called neurofibromatosis. These freckles are quite different in appearance from the common variety in both their appearance and distribution.
Freckles actually serve a purpose. In a way, they act like sun screens and are a natural way to block the UV rays from penetrating the deeper layers of the skin. They are not a sign of sun damage, but rather protect areas of the skin that are particularly sensitive to ultraviolet light.
For some people, it also brings out their freckles—those flat, brownish marks on the skin that are about 1-2 millimeters in diameter. These little spots tend to run in families, which suggests that freckles can be inherited.
Freckles are an inherited feature and although not considered sun damage, they do occur as a result of sun exposure. Freckles are typically first noticed on children, especially those with fair skin and red hair. When UV rays hit your skin, freckles develop from an increase in dark pigments called melanin.
How are freckles passed on? Freckles are associated with a variant of a gene called MC1R. MC1R alerts the body when exposed to harmful UV radiation is taking place. This is a dominant gene, meaning anyone with at least one copy of the freckle variant from either parent will have freckles.
Some people are more likely to get freckles than others, depending on their genes and skin type. If a person is genetically more likely to develop freckles, exposure to sunlight can make them appear. Freckles are common in children and may disappear or become less noticeable as they grow up.
While freckles can be hereditary, they can also be caused by sun exposure, therefore it's possible to develop freckles even if your parents don't have them. Freckle inheritance is influenced by several genes and is not always predictable.
Solar lentigines (singular: lentigo), also called age spots are: Flat brown spots that are typically larger than freckles and may be less symmetrical in shape. Caused by increased volume of melanocytes the skin cells that produce melanin in a small area.
Freckles can definitely be cute. Imagine that cute little red-headed girl with the smattering of freckles dotting her facial features. As more and more women are putting their makeup down and hiding their concealer and foundation, they're being celebrated for their own natural uniqueness.
