The beauty of a person would remain incomplete without pink lips. Apart from enhancing beauty, the role of the lips is quite appreciable. From kissing to eating, everything requires involvement of the lips and we cannot deny it. So, it is very important to take extra care of lips to keep them supple, soft, nourished, and moisturized.
But it is not only the texture and color of the lips that we need to be worried about. There are other issues like chapped lips, dry lips, and pigmented lips which prevent the lips from looking pretty.
What are freckles on lips?
Lip freckle is one of the most common lip issues in which very small dark spots are found on lips. They could be found on lower and upper lips and the lips normally do not have these spots. They are an increased pigmentation of the lips. When a cluster is formed in the pigment cells just beneath the surface layer of lip skin, these are called freckles. While skin on the other part of our body has several cellular layers, the skin on the lips is to thin and delicate with 3-5 layers only. This not makes the color of underlying blood vessels visible and also turns the dark spots on the lip surfaces more prominent. So, we could see the presence of the freckles on the lips very easily. They can appear in different sizes and numbers and are very common in light-skinned people.
Cause of freckles on lips
Frequent sun exposure is the common reason for the pigmentation of lip skin. As soon as the ultraviolet rays of the sun fall on our skin, it damages the cells beneath its surface. To save the skin from the adverse impact of UV rays, the natural defense mechanism of the body activates the melanin-producing pigmentation cells in the lip skin to clog. The clustering of melanin-bearing cells causes freckles. These spots may appear just after the sun exposure but in some cases, these might take years to surface. Smoking, tobacco consumption, and alcohol drinking are other main reasons which lead to skin freckles. Genetic predisposition and age may also lead to this condition.
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Risk factors for freckles on lips
1. Sun exposure
The skin cells produce some extra melanin to protect skin from sun damage. This is the reason why freckles appear after sun exposure. Freckles may appear over larger area of the skin and can become darker or reappear in the summer. Freckles also disappear in the winter, when new skin cells substitute old cells.
2. Genetics
Genetics play a vital role developing freckles based on the type of melanin their body produces.
The body can release two types of melanin – eumelanin and pheomelanin. Eumelanin protects skin from ultraviolet rays, while pheomelanin doesn’t. The type of melanin body produces depends on the gene MC1R.
- People with dark eyes, hair, and skin generally produce eumelanin and are less likely to have freckles.
- People with blonde, red, or light brown hair produce mainly pheomelanin and are more likely to have freckles.
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Effective cures for freckles on lips
Most of the people are not bothered about the presence of few freckles on their lips. Some people believe that the lip freckles are just unique facial features. How to get rid of the spotty pigmentation? Right, it could be challenging but not impossible. Below are some of the effective cures you should try.
1. Sunscreen lip balms
Sun protection is an important cure for lip freckles. Irrespective of the fact that the skin is prone to tanning or not, you need to apply good sunscreen lip balm before you go out in the sun. This would cure the lip freckles and also prevent from darkening with time. This practice would keep you protected from lip cancer.
2. Freckle-lightening creams
Lightening creams intended for the freckles on lips could help get rid of the problems due to regular application. The topical treatment is the least invasive and also quite safe to use.
3. Oral medications
There are some oral medications that can cure your lip freckles potentially. Consult the dermatologist to find whether it is a suitable option for you.
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4. Cosmetic removal surgery
In cosmetic freckle removal process, the spots are effectively removed from the lips with the help of surgery under local anesthetic. But, you should remember that it could leave noticeable lip scars.