What appears on your skin when the Sun activates your melanocytes?
Freckles develop on any skin exposed to the sun. They are clusters of concentrated melaninized cells which are most easily visible on people with a fair complexion.
On different people, freckles may vary somewhat in color. They may be reddish, yellow, light brown, brown, or black but they are basically slightly darker than the surrounding skin.
The more melanin you have in your skin, the darker your skin color! People with fair skin have less melanin in their skin but some of their melanocytes make more melanin when exposed to the sun. So instead of easily getting an even suntan, they sometimes get freckles.
A freckle is essentially nothing more than an unusually heavy deposit of melanin at one spot in the skin.
More Info:
en.wikipedia.org
What are your thoughts on this subject?
47 Comments
Denise Currie
I am fair skinned and a red head and come summer get loads of freckles. As a child they bothered me and I was called names at school, but my mum told me they were fairy kisses, and only special people were kissed by faries, so that made me feel much better. I have told my three red headed grandaughters the same thing.
Grant McIntosh
God's / Angel's kisses are for special people. We are cuter than average, and that's it.
Jeannie Ellis
Louise Clissold, surely you are fully capable of just scrolling on by them if you find Tesla’s comments problematic. I overlook many comments and have suffered no ill effects.
Carol Thiessen
Not one of your answers!
Melanocytes are melanin-producing neural crest-derived cells located in the bottom layer (the stratum basale) of the skin's epidermis, the middle layer of the eye (the uvea), the inner ear, vaginal epithelium, meninges, bones, and heart. Melanin is a dark pigment primarily responsible for skin color.
svlindsey
Always told my brother that if my freckles ever got together and cooperated I’d be darker than he was. Both my sister and brother tanned easily. But not me. Fair skinned and freckles.
margaret V.
I had very dark freckles as a child. An uncle told my cousin who in turn told me what he said to her - I was the ugliest child he had ever seen! My mother told me that I would probably never get married - because of my very dark freckles! She inferred you needed to be attractive in order to get married - which of course is utter rubbish! In my life I actually got engaged four times! However, I have never married - because I never wanted to! I have two adult daughters and three grandchildren. The father of my two daughters was a Pacific Islander and neither daughter has any freckles!
Armadillo
Denise Currie, red heads rock
Lindy loo
Love my freckles .
Theresa a coker
svlindsey, same here....two sisters and a brother always tanned...I asked for years if I was adopted lol
Theresa a coker
My Mom always told me they were Kisses from the sun :) I too have fair skin and red hair. :)
Edmund Jonah
Come and see my moles from the sun!
pattichill
I have a few cute freckles, There are summer freckles and in winter , they leave , a lot has to do with my Irish heritage, or so I’ve been told
bonniemarie
Denise Currie, I told mine they were Angel kisses. My grandson hates them :)
Yevette Allen
Got it
birdofprey
Ok, Explain this my wife was born with FRECLES all over her body! How did the Sun cause them? One more question that makes no sense! She always has FRECLES even at NIGHT!
Juniperbrenda
I always wanted freckles and dimples! Olive skinned, never had a freckle, or dimples either! : (
Geoffrey Stansfield
Why do people write: Got it!..Guessed right!...Got it wrong!...etc etc. WHO IS INTERESTED!?😈
redcactusflower
I definitely knew this one. I have red hair as well. As a teenager, I always wished that if my freckles would also come together, I would have a great tan instead of being a spotted and burnt. I learned the hard way, I would never be able to be a Sun worshiper.
patmartino
When I'm in the sun to long, I get REAL RED. Then I get real sick