Freckle monitoring techniques

July 11, 2005 8:08 AM

FreckleFilter: Just curious, really - I am a fair English lass, and therefore after a day in the sun I notice lots of freckles on my shoulders that have presumably appeared during the day. I am always amazed that they appear so quickly. My question is, if I constantly looked at my shoulders, would I see them popping up or do they appear gradually? And why little patches of pigment like that, anyway?
posted by altolinguistic to health & fitness (9 comments total)

You got a webcam?
posted by Pretty_Generic at 9:17 AM on July 11, 2005

It's gradual. Freckles aren't any different than a normal tan, except that it's freckled (an uneven distribution of melanin for the technically inclined). People with red hair have a predisposition for them.
posted by furtive at 9:46 AM on July 11, 2005

I'd assume they'd fade in, like a sunburn does. And PG, get off of your cam kick already.
posted by filmgeek at 10:38 AM on July 11, 2005

I get these too, within hours of sun exposure. It's a gradual thing.

Ever play connect-the-dots with yours? It's fun. :-)
posted by Asparagirl at 11:03 AM on July 11, 2005

Freckles fade in, although sometimes they do so quickly (an hour or two).

There are specialized pigment-producing cells in your skin, called melanocytes, that make melanin when you spend time in the sun. This produces a tan when the melanin is evenly distributed within the skin, but for some people, the melanocytes make more melanin than others. The area around these melanocytes gets darker than other parts of the skin, producing a freckle. The distribution of melanocytes is due to genetics.

P.S. No coincidence that I know this and that my name is Specklet...
posted by Specklet at 11:28 AM on July 11, 2005

From a distance, the freckles merge and create a tan, just like the screening process used to print photos in the newspaper/magazine world.

Think of it as a "screen printed tan". ;)
posted by catkins at 1:49 PM on July 11, 2005

And unless your genetics are weird enough to produce halftones, it would be stochastic screening.
posted by kindall at 2:55 PM on July 11, 2005

Why do so many people insist frekles are unattractive? I have seen many beautiful guys and gals with lots of frekles.
posted by Goofyy at 2:41 AM on July 12, 2005

Goofyy - I like my freckles! Just wondering how quickly they appear.

P_G - if I fix it up so it shows my shoulder all day, are you volunteering to keep an eye on it and note when freckles appear?
posted by altolinguistic at 4:03 AM on July 12, 2005