1. What are freckles?
Many people know about freckles, but they don't know why they are called freckles. Does it have anything to do with sparrows? Yes, the name does have something to do with sparrows. Specifically, it has something to do with sparrow eggs. Anyone who has seen sparrow eggs should know why the spots on his face are called freckles. Accurately speaking, freckles are commonly known as "finches", and the origin is that "if sesame seeds are sprinkled on the face, they look like the color of finches' eggs", so they are called freckles. There are many folk names, such as "fly excrement", "soil spot" and "silkworm excrement" (Shanxi).
[Skin lesion characteristics] (performance characteristics)
Pigment spots are punctate, round, oval or various irregular shapes; It is most common on the face, especially around the nose and cheeks. It is as big as a needle tip to a grain of rice, and its diameter is generally below 2 mm, ranging from light brown to dark brown. There are dozens and hundreds, most of which are densely distributed, but they are not integrated with each other. Isolation cloth is scattered around the face, and in severe cases, it can also be seen in exposed parts of the body, such as the back of the hand, neck, ears, ear cavity, shoulders, arms and so on. Most of them are symmetrical.
1. Generally, children aged 5- 10 are obviously more women than men, which can also happen to adolescent girls. After adulthood (after the age of 20), most spots are still and stop developing.
2. The color of freckles and the number of freckles depend on heredity, light intensity, age, region, race, occupation, working environment, and even different moods and adequate sleep. However, these relationships are mainly related to the genes of freckles.
Second, the cause of freckles?
Freckles are caused by genes.
The activity of tyrosinase in the basal layer of "Freckle Genetic Gene" increases under ultraviolet irradiation, forming melanin, which is both freckles and gene spots. It is an innate fixture in the fetal period. Hereditary freckles can be divided into obvious spots and invisible spots. The obvious spots began to form at the age of 6- 12 and reached the peak at the age of 18. Most invisible spots appear on the face after pregnancy, which is why some people divide freckles into congenital freckles and acquired freckles. In fact, the endocrine of pregnant women will change greatly after pregnancy, which will stimulate the hidden freckles to break out, not to say that their freckles are formed the day after tomorrow. As long as freckles are genetic. The inheritance of freckles is characterized by atavism, which is why some parents have no freckles and their children have freckles. Although one or both parents' freckles did not appear, one or both parents' freckles were passed on to their children.
Third, the pathological structure of freckles
There are certain melanocytes scattered in the basal layer of human skin, which constantly produce melanin and play a role in resisting the harm of various rays (mainly ultraviolet rays) in the universe to human body. Because the melanin content in skin is different, there are black people, yellow people and white people. Freckle spots are formed by genetically mutated melanocytes. Mutated melanocytes are larger than ordinary melanocytes, and their dendrites are more and larger. Dendritic processes are filled with melanin, and dark spots appear on the skin surface. Mutated melanocytes are like the mother of anemones, and dendrites are like many tentacles on anemones. Physical freckle removal methods such as laser, freezing and grinding all destroy the subcutaneous structure of freckles by mechanical action, but melanocytes are scattered in the basal layer of skin. If the damage is too deep, reaching and exceeding the basal layer, the damaged part can not be repaired normally, and a scar will be formed. Therefore, these physical methods only dare to damage the epidermis above the basal layer, that is, only destroy the branches and close the windows, or only stab the melanocytes. It's like cutting off some tentacles of an anemone, or just stabbing its mother, but the anemone will soon repair the wound and grow new tentacles. Such as freckles, that is, mutant melanocytes grow new dendrites, which are full of melanin. Freckles appeared on the skin again. The principle of beauty freckle removal is to use hydroquinone and its derivatives to prevent amino acids from transforming into black cells to produce melanin. General freckle-removing cosmetics also contain a certain amount of skin peeling agent, which promotes the epidermis to be updated as soon as possible, thus achieving the effect of freckle removal and diluting the color of spots. However, because the pathological structure and causes of freckles are different from other spots, many cosmetics that have obvious effects on freckles have little effect on freckles.
Fourth, because there is no systematic and authoritative understanding of freckles at present. Including many doctors only know about freckles or have a partial understanding, not to mention ordinary patients' understanding of freckles, so many patients are prone to detours in the treatment of freckles. Let's talk about the misunderstanding about freckles first.
1, which layer of skin is freckles on?
The melanin particles of freckles are located in the basal layer (growth layer), that is, the lowest layer of epidermis, and there is no such melanin particles in dermis. If we can accurately separate epidermis from dermis without damaging dermis, we can achieve the goal of "eradicating" freckles without leaving any skin damage. If the dermis is damaged during freckle removal, but the skin is not grafted during the healing period, scars will be formed later, or strange skin without sweat glands and sebaceous glands, hair and light will be formed. At present, the technology that can really remove freckles is this process or similar processes (laser, photon, freezing, etc. ). Therefore, patients should understand the skin structure.
Skin structure
cuticle
The outermost layer of skin tissue, its thickness varies with body parts, the epidermis is thickest in the palm and sole, and thinnest in the eyelid. It is responsible for the important function of cell self-renewal, that is, cell metabolism. The epidermis can be divided into four layers from the outside to the inside.
L stratum corneum
Located in the outermost layer of epidermis, it is composed of flat keratinocytes, such as overlapping fish scales, which can prevent water loss.
L granular layer
It consists of 3-5 layers of flat cells, which are filled with thick and irregular transparent keratin particles, which have the functions of refracting light and blocking ultraviolet rays in sunlight, and will be thick cocoon-shaped when abnormal.
L spinous layer
The thickest layer of epidermis consists of 8- 12 layers of polygonal cells, and lymph flows between cells, which can provide nutrition for epidermis.
L grassroots
Located in the deepest part of epidermis, it is closely connected with dermis, and the joint is wavy. Basal cells are square or low columnar and have the ability of cell division. In addition to basal cells, there are melanocytes in the basal layer. There is about one melanocyte in every 10 basal cells, which is dendritic. After melanocytes form melanin, melanin particles are transported to basal cells or hair through dendrites.
corium
Located under the epidermis, it is a dense and elastic tissue. It can provide nutrition for epidermis and skin accessory organs, and has a buffering effect on external mechanical impact. The dermis is mainly composed of protein fiber connective tissue, including collagen and elastic fiber, which makes the skin have a certain tensile strength and appear flexible and elastic. The dermis also includes sebaceous glands, hair follicle tissues, nerves and capillaries that provide nutrition to the epidermis.
L sebaceous gland
Sebaceous glands open in hair follicles and mainly secrete oily substances, namely sebum. Some sebaceous glands are distributed in the skin around the head, face, sternum and scapula. Its activity varies with age, and it is the most vigorous in adolescence.
L sweat gland
Sweat glands are divided into apocrine glands and eccrine glands. Apocrine glands are mainly distributed in hairy parts of the body, and the glands are mostly in subcutaneous fat. Secreted substances are viscous emulsions containing protein, lipids, carbohydrates and salts, which are decomposed by bacteria to produce odorous substances such as volatile lower fatty acids, thus producing body odor; Eccrine glands are distributed all over the body and directly open on the skin surface. The soles of the feet, palms, foreheads and armpits are the densest parts of eccrine glands. The sweat secreted is mainly water, which has no peculiar smell and has the function of regulating body temperature.
Hair follicle tissue
Including hair, pores and hair follicles. Hair is composed of keratin, which is an appendage of the skin and develops in tubular hair follicles. Hair covers most of the body and protects the skin of the body; Hair is also an opening on the skin surface, which is connected with sebaceous glands and hair follicles. It is a conduit for hair growth and oil transportation, and the size of pores is directly proportional to the size of connected sebaceous glands. Hair follicle is the internal tissue of pore, which is composed of epidermal cells around hair root.
corium
It is a layer of tissue extending from the lower part of dermis. It consists of loose connective tissue and fat lobules, and its thickness varies with individual nutrition and body parts. It plays a buffering role for external stimuli, and subcutaneous fat is a good heat insulator.
Some people say that freckles are hereditary and cannot be eradicated. It seems reasonable, but it is not.
Freckle is an autosomal dominant pigmented spot, which is obtained from the previous generation's genes. Everyone in the freckle family has this freckle fragment in their genes, which has been passed down from generation to generation, but not everyone shows it. Freckles, like many human genetic characteristics such as human five fingers, skin color, eye size, etc., are all characteristic manifestations influenced by the previous generation of genetic genes.
These human genetic characteristics have been artificially modified, which can change their performance characteristics, such as surgical removal of diseased tissues, Jackson bleaching skin beauty, and contemporary artificial beauty cutting double eyelids. And the same is true for freckle beauty. When this artificial transformation (medical behavior) is successful in someone, it doesn't mean that this person's genes have changed, and their descendants still show the genetic characteristics of their predecessors because their genes have not changed.
To be exact, "incurable" means that the current science can't solve the problem of freckle gene transmission from generation to generation, rather than restoring the original characteristics (recurrence) after artificial transformation. Excuse me, can the fingers missing from trauma still grow out? Can the inflamed appendix grow out after excision? The answer is no, however, its descendants still fully display the genetic characteristics of the five fingers and appendix. So are freckles.
It has long been a fait accompli to remove freckles from people with freckles. However, it is still impossible to block the transmission of freckles from generation to generation at the genetic level.
Recently, scientists in China have locked the human freckle-causing gene in the 32-34 region of the long arm of chromosome 4. This means that freckles can be completely eradicated from the genetic level in the future. The eradication of freckles is just around the corner. But there is still a long way to go to really get rid of freckles from genes.
3. Six diseases that should be distinguished from freckles
Although freckles are easy to identify, some spots are easily confused with them.
1, brown-blue nevus of zygomatic region; Black-gray spots are symmetrically distributed in the zygomatic region with obvious boundaries, and the number is about 10-20, which is more common in women. Beauty salons are called dermal spots or zygomatic moles. The reason is not clear.
2. Freckle nevus; The onset age is about one or two years old, and the color is darker than freckles, which has nothing to do with sun exposure, and has no change in summer and winter, and can occur anywhere. Pathology showed that the number of melanocytes increased. Under normal circumstances, the density is average.
3, xeroderma pigmentosum; There are telangiectasia around freckled pigment spots, and the size, depth and distribution of pigment spots are different. It has atrophic spots and is sensitive to light.
4. There are freckles and moles in the middle of the face; Rare, often onset at about one year old, brown concentrated in the center of the face, accompanied by other deformities, such as epilepsy, mental retardation and so on.
5. Pigmentation-intestinal polyp syndrome; Pigment spots are black, common in oral and buccal mucosa, not affected by sunlight, and often accompanied by polyps.
6, chloasma; Light brown to dark brown pigment spots are symmetrically distributed on the face and do not involve eyelids and mouth. The edges are clear or diffuse, sometimes butterfly wings. Women of childbearing age are more common.
4. Is freckles related to blood?
In the outpatient service of pigmented diseases, we often encounter the problem that freckles are related to blood and cannot be removed.
This statement is unscientific. In other words, this is an ancient folklore.
Freckles are obviously hereditary. Women are more prominent, and there are not a few men with freckles. Generally speaking, I just like tall, short, big eyes, small eyes and skin color. Is determined by parents' genes. It has nothing to do with blood.
5. Freckles have nothing to do with endocrine.
There are some puzzling sayings about freckles, a familiar "feature" of human body, such as "freckles are caused by endocrine, which will take a long time to be cured" and "freckles can be divided into two types: first and the day after tomorrow, which are caused by endocrine disorders, and if cured, they must be treated both internally and externally". These statements are unscientific, and they are all folk rumors or misleading by some medical beauty institutions. Even some doctors in regular medical institutions think so. Looking at the freckle products currently sold orally will mislead patients: freckles are caused by endocrine disorders. All these misleading and rumors are deeply rooted in people with freckles. These factors affect their treatment direction, and it is easy to take detours and be deceived.
Freckle is a genetic disease, and it is congenital. It's just that the onset age of this disease is not natural, but a little later, about 7-8 years old. As we all know, endocrine disorders usually occur after pregnancy or childbirth.
The onset age of freckles is mostly 7-8 years old. How many freckles have grown on the child's face, saying that this is caused by endocrine disorders? You may think that today is April Fool's Day.
6. Will the face turn white after freckle?
The skin color of the face is innate, and nothing can change it.
In some cases, skin does change color, such as tanning, peeling dead skin (cuticle), using certain drugs and so on. However, these are temporary. After stopping these external factors, the skin will soon return to its original color, and if those hormone products are used, there will be some side effects.
Real freckle removing products and technologies, the purpose of freckle removing is to remove it and make its original freckles the same as the skin without spots around it. Instead of freckle, let the face turn white. Unless it's some temporary behavior.
7, in addition to freckles pigmentation
Laser, photon, grinding, chemistry, ultra-low temperature, high frequency, ionization and other methods. In the recovery period, most of them will have different degrees of cloud pigmentation. There are many reasons, which may be related to self-peeling, excessive sun exposure, potential chloasma, dark skin texture, Asian race and so on. This pigmentation process is very similar to the transient deepening of skin pigmentation after trauma or inflammation, that is, the process of removing spots and stimulating the temporary activity of pigment cells to produce a large number of pigment particles.
Fortunately, this process is temporary, and it will disappear at the earliest one month after the end of the treatment. Most of them disappear in 3-6 months, and very few of them can persist for one year, and there is no precedent for lifelong retirement. At present, there is no scientifically proven effective method to accelerate the regression of this pigmentation.
Once pigmentation occurs, in addition to strictly avoiding direct sunlight (umbrellas and sun hats) and using full-spectrum sunscreen, retinoic acid surface coating is the first choice for freckle and light spots, which has good treatment and placebo effect. Long-term use is safe and has no side effects.
It is impossible to predict whether there will be pigmentation before treatment, but customers with older skin, dark skin, freckles with a little chloasma and zygomatic nevus should use it with caution.
The most difficult thing is that chloasma and zygomatic nevus grow while the cloud pigmentation fades. Customers often say "not before". In fact, it's like treating stomach disease and kidney disease at the same time. Many things in the world are coincidences. The explanation before treatment is easy for customers to understand, and the explanation after treatment is often invalid. Some people say that it makes sense to regard pigmentation as a science rather than an art.
8. Freckles are difficult and easy to treat.
Freckle is a difficult problem in the field of medical beauty at present. Because its onset is related to genetics, and diseases related to genetics are generally difficult to treat. Freckle is a stubborn pigmented skin disease. Many freckle removal methods can only be diluted, and some can be removed, but they will recur (rebound) in a short time. Therefore, it is generally believed that freckles cannot be rooted and can only be diluted. Therefore, freckles are a headache for the medical and beauty industry.
A, in that case, why do you say freckles are easy to treat?
The cause of freckle is determined by freckle gene, and its pathological cause is simple, so the research and treatment are targeted. In this way, if an effective freckle-removing product can appear, its treatment is of universal significance, that is, it will not be effective for one person but ineffective for another. Here it is necessary to look at another common skin pigment disorder:
Chloasma!
【 Etiology and Pathogenesis 】 The pathogenesis of chloasma is very complicated, and the melanocyte function in the lesion site is active, but the reason for the real change of melanocyte function is still unclear. This disease is more common in summer and southern China, suggesting that sunlight is one of the important pathogenic factors. Ultraviolet radiation of 290-400 nm can enhance melanocyte activity and cause pigmentation. Applying sunscreen can alleviate the condition. Another common cause is endocrine abnormality. About 20% of women who take oral contraceptives can have chloasma. During pregnancy, excessive estrogen and progesterone in the body can stimulate melanocytes and promote melanin production, and yellowish brown spots appear on the face, also known as pregnancy spots, which can gradually disappear after delivery. In addition, patients with chronic liver diseases and chronic wasting diseases such as tuberculosis and tumors can also have chloasma. Chloasma also has a genetic background. In addition, the prevalence of this disease among women may also be closely related to the use of cosmetics.
Because the pathogenesis of chloasma is diverse, it is much more difficult to treat chloasma than to treat freckles.
B, what freckles are easy to treat?
Isn't freckle a simple skin disease? Are freckles still classified? Of course not, but it is undeniable that freckles are also diverse. Some people have freckles all over their faces (up to hundreds), while others have only a few freckles (at least one or two). Some people have heavy freckles; Some people have faint freckles. You wouldn't know she had freckles unless you look carefully. Sometimes, the same person has obvious freckles for a while, and the color of freckles becomes heavier for a while. In this way, some people are prone to some problems when treating freckles: for example, some freckles are hidden during treatment, so they appear again after a while, and then patients think that the treatment effect is not good, etc ... But the important point to be said here is that many freckles patients think that light freckles are easier to treat than dark freckles! In fact, this understanding is misunderstood, at least for now (in view of the current treatment status). Here's an example: take a newspaper with clear words printed on it and cover it with a thin piece of white paper, and the words will be blurred. The spot is the same as the words in the newspaper. The heavier the spots, the lighter the spots and the deeper the spots. The shallower it is, the easier it is to get rid of it, and the deeper it is, the harder it is to get rid of it. Therefore, people who know about freckles and treat freckles like to treat freckles with darker colors. Therefore, in the treatment of freckles, light freckles are not as good as dark freckles. But many people (including medical facial make-up people) take it for granted that light freckles are easy to treat.
What are the methods for treating freckles at present?
There are many claimed treatments for freckles on the market now. But the representative ones are as follows. It is worth mentioning that freckles are caused by heredity, so unless genetic science develops to eradicate freckles from genes, freckles can only be alleviated (cosmetics) and eliminated (medical surgery) through external products. But to say that eating something to remove freckles can remove freckles, it's just a cover my ears.
A. At present, in order to make freckles disappear from the face quickly and effectively, the most common representative method and choice is medical laser. The principles of other quick freckle removal are similar or the same. Be careful when choosing a laser. Many patients don't understand that there are actually many kinds of lasers (including He-Ne laser, argon ion laser, carbon dioxide laser, Nd-doped laser, dye laser, copper vapor laser, ruby laser, hydrogen laser, frequency doubling laser and 10 medical laser). According to the principles of thermal effect, mechanical effect, photochemical effect and electrochemical effect when light radiation acts on the skin, it acts on related pathological tissues through burning, carbonization, gasification, coagulation and other ways, so as to inactivate biological tissue enzymes and protein degeneration. If you want to use laser to remove freckles, you should choose high-tech Q-switched laser instead of other lasers. But the problem is that if you want to choose a high-tech Q-switched laser, the cost is generally 4000-6000 yuan, which is unbearable for ordinary people.
B, at present, the most widely used freckle cosmetics at home and abroad (high, medium and low). The most influential person in China is "Dr. White"! However, most freckle cosmetics contain prohibited chemicals, such as hydroquinone, bleaching agent, lead and mercury, stripping agent and so on. Effective in a short time. But it can only fade freckles, and long-term use is harmful to the skin. Because of its huge advertising scale, convenient purchase and low price, it still has many users. In addition, because it is mechanical bleaching, although the causes of chloasma, freckles, sunburn, age spots and even acne marks are different, one product can be used for a variety of spots. Faded freckles sometimes embarrass patients (these words can be understood by patients without words ...)
C, at present, there is no national medicine quasi-word medicine specialized in freckle removal in China. At present, there are several Chinese traditional medicine quasi-word products on the market. But the scope of treatment includes chloasma, freckles, sunburn, senile plaque, skin pigmentation, and even acne and acne pigmentation. There is a problem: macula and macula have different causes. Even if the same macula (chloasma) has different causes from macula and acne, one medicine can treat so many. It is known that it has effects on other macula by oral administration, but its effects on freckles caused by heredity should be unknown. Moreover, according to the course of treatment, the course of treatment is long and the cost is not low. The cost generally ranges from 1000-2000 yuan, and there are often follow-up costs.
What effect will freckles have on patients? (for people with more freckles)
"Personality will become introverted, the mind will be sensitive, I don't like (involuntarily) interacting with strangers (I like to stay in the circle of acquaintances), I will blush when I speak, my eyes will droop, and I dare not look at people, especially when I face the opposite sex. My eyes will always drift away unnaturally!" There is a etiquette problem, that is, when communicating with people, we should look at people (the triangle of the face). One of the main parts of freckles is on the bridge of the nose. Therefore, people with freckles don't know how many embarrassing things they have to bear and how much inner suffering they have to bear than ordinary people! Patients try various methods to remove freckles, and because freckles are mainly a hereditary skin disease that affects the appearance of the face, it will cause great pressure on their patients' psychology. In addition, freckles are mostly in youth, usually starting at the age of 5. With the increase of age, freckles will gradually increase and stop appearing around the age of 20! Young only once, these people also pay special attention to their own image, so patients, especially serious patients, will have a great impact on their friends, spouses and careers, and also make these people have greater psychological pressure than ordinary people! Patients with severe freckles are even prone to anxiety and depression! Among them, students who need to interview for further study or those who are engaged in marketing, sales, public relations, advertising and other work will pay more attention to and worry about the influence of freckles on their future! It is very important to say here, especially the patients with severe freckles have a great influence on the love between men and women, so that patients are frustrated again and again in love, or are hit again and again. Girls who love beauty or men who pay attention to appearance are the victims of this spot. Young people should be the most energetic and confident generation, but freckles slowly push patients' confidence to the abyss! Of course, people who have never suffered from this disease often can't feel the abnormal thinking and feelings experienced by patients, which makes them miserable! ! !
Helpless to treat freckles, calm to treat chloasma!
It means chloasma is easier to treat than freckles? No, this is for patients. The common onset age of freckles is before 18 years old, and it reaches its peak around 18 years old. This age group is mainly students (period). Although I am worried about my freckles, I still live on my parents' financial resources, and there is no big source of funds. Therefore, it is generally better to buy freckle cream and freckle cleanser for tens of dollars, hoping to freckle. Many freckle patients have been buying and using these things even though they know that freckle is useless, because it is just a behavioral conditioned reflex and a habit. As for students who go to beauty salons or hospitals for freckle treatment, unless they have family support, they can only be accompanied by freckles until they have no financial means. What's more, because of the atavism of freckles, many parents don't have freckles, but their children do. In this case, it is easy for parents to ignore their children's feelings about freckles instead of paying too much attention. That is to say, for freckle patients themselves, "freckles" can be said to be an indecent skin disease and a special psychology of freckles. Many people with long spots seldom seek treatment from their parents. Generally, I rely on myself to find or consult freckle products and methods. However, the products and methods of freckle removal on the market are too disorderly, and there are very few products and technologies that can satisfy patients. Therefore, these can be said to be young and inexperienced students, who have encountered helplessness again and again.
Let's take a look at the situation about chloasma: the onset age of chloasma is generally after 20 years old. At this time, women generally have a certain economic foundation and social experience. Therefore, the cost of treatment is several thousand yuan, which is generally affordable. So sometimes money is not important to them, as long as they can get rid of chloasma. Therefore, you can decide whether you can remove freckles and how much you need. Generally speaking, the thinking of this group is relatively mature, and relatively speaking, in the face of chloasma, the psychological endurance will be much more calm.
Male friends also have spots!
Many people think that spot is a "patent" for women and has nothing to do with men. Actually, it is not. The incidence of freckles in men is also relatively high. According to statistics, 78% of men suffer from freckles, and this absolute number is also considerable. Many men are very painful for this, so they say, "Sadly, I am a man, how can I have spots!" " But because freckles are caused by genetic factors, there is no way unless freckles are solved genetically. Generally speaking, as long as men say they have spots, they can basically be said to be freckles. But unfortunately, it seems that the freckle market ignores male friends. Off-topic: In fact, men also love face. It is also a good choice for merchants to subdivide this market and occupy it.
The gene causing freckles was found in China;
Known as the "decimal point on the face"-beauty lovers trapped by freckles will have new hope. According to the Health News, the Institute of Dermatology of Anhui Medical University recently located the gene that causes human freckles in the 32-34 region of the long arm of chromosome 4. This means that freckles will be "eliminated" at the genetic level.
This scientific research achievement has been published in the Journal of Dermatology Research, the most authoritative international publication in the field of dermatology published in the United States. Freckle is an autosomal dominant hereditary pigmentation spot. At present, decolorant, cryotherapy and laser therapy are commonly used in clinic, but they may form scars or pigmentation. It is reported that this is the first time in the world that freckle genes have been found on chromosomes.