Should We Go For Laser Treatment For Freckles

People with freckles know how damaging it can be to a perfect face. These are generally small spots of discoloration, found on the face. Technically, freckles could be on any skin surface that is under direct exposure to the sun and is tan-colored. Before moving on to the treatment of freckles, we need to understand the reason behind the existence of freckles.

Cause of Freckles

Freckles are developed due to a gene variant and are generally inherited. However, the actual reason behind the freckling is the same process as tanning under the sun. However, unlike sun tanning, the melanin distribution happens to be uneven. A recent study has seen that generally, children of the age range 5-15 have a tendency of developing freckles. Although freckles are not medically considered to be a skin disease or a disorder, another study has revealed that most people who have had freckles have a high probability of getting sunburned or diagnosed by the skin. Therefore, one needs to take care of their skin from freckles right at the outset, by using a sun cream of sunblock.

Treatment of Freckles

Although freckles are known to fade away with age, there are people who opt for laser surgery for removing freckles from their face. Such surgery facilities are available, as the procedure for removing birthmarks and discoloration of the skin is followed here too. The process uses a pulse-dye laser. A pulse dye laser is used to remove the discoloration that the freckles cause. However, this removal does not harm the surrounding skin in any way, but sometimes, single laser treatment may not be sufficient to completely remove the freckles. The surgery happens to be non-invasive so the recovery time is absolutely nil as normal activity can be resumed almost at the next instant. However, too much exposure to the sun can cause the reappearance of freckles.

Laser Technique to Remove Freckles

There is another procedure of removing freckles that involve laser technique – laser resurfacing. However, this process is generally tough on the skin and has a very long recovery time. This process should not be taken unless prescribed by a skin specialist or is under severe damage from solar rays.

Mechanism Behind Laser Surgery

The process for laser surgery is quite interesting. First, the laser equipment is passed over the surface of the skin and the laser light takes off the melanin, which causes freckles. The green laser light is specially applied on brown spots and freckles, as it is highly efficient on them. The reason behind green laser light is so effective is that melanin blocks other rays of shorter wavelengths.

Care to be Taken Before Undergoing Laser Surgery

But there are some aspects of laser treatment that need to be considered before deciding to go for the surgery. Firstly, one must consult a skin doctor before taking any decision. Each case of freckles is quite different and you should know whether the spots are cancerous or precancerous. Some spots can lead to skin cancer, and only if the skin specialist assures you that they are only freckles and not anything harmful, one can go on with the laser surgery. The specialist would also be able to tell you whether the freckles would reappear on exposure to solar rays, thus deciding whether the laser surgery would be effective for you at all.

Laser surgery could be beneficial for you if you believe that the freckles destroy the attractiveness of your face, and needs to be removed immediately. In spite of the fact that most freckles face away after a certain age, this may differ from person to person. In some cases, people might find freckles on their faces even when they are adults. Thus it’s natural to go for laser treatments, which is considered to be a secure and pain-free process. Hardly someone going through laser surgery has complained of severe pain. However, a bit of crusting and bruising may happen but only last for a week or two. However, laser surgery for removing freckles is a cosmetic surgery and thus it is hard to insure it. Hence, in the most unlikely case that the surgery turns bad, the whole money is wasted from one’s own pocket!