Natural beauty

Whether you embrace them or fake them, a freckle isn’t necessarily a sign of sun damage. “A freckle is an isolated small spot in the skin where melanocytes (pigment-producing skin cells) have produced more melanin than usual as a normal result of sun exposure,” explains Dr Alexis Granite, consultant dermatologist at the Cadogan Clinic in London. “They differ from moles, which are like little nests of melanocytes. A freckle is just the pigment itself, and doesn’t necessarily signal serious sun damage.”

Mine seemingly came out of nowhere – and I’m steadfastly on my way to having more freckle than face despite religiously applying SPF50 every morning. “People prone to freckles – especially those with pale skin or red hair – tend to have a mutation of the MC1R gene that sits on top of melanocyte cells to provide instructions for making melanin,” says Dr Granite. “This, combined with sun exposure, creates freckles, although you can have a ‘normal’ MC1R gene and still be freckled – and they span across all skintones.”

Want to make sure your freckles don’t fade? “Take care not to overuse glycolic and azelaic acids, and antioxidants such as vitamin C, as these could potentially lighten them over a long period of time,” Dr Granite advises.

Despite previously feeling like I had a ‘sun damage’ sign plastered across my face, I now know that freckles are more than just a tan gone wrong or a fleeting trend. I’m a human Mini Egg and, like the Duchess of Sussex, I couldn’t be happier.

Add these freckle-friendly heroes to your make-up bag to help highlight them…

“How I learned to embrace my freckles”