Lina Zong, Department of Dermatology, Specialty Medical Center (formerly 306 Hospital).
Edited by Liu Yan/Cui Yan, Medical Science Popularization Center
Summer is coming, and people with freckles on their faces will be more troubled. This is because the face is already freckled, and in the summer, when ultraviolet rays are strong, these spots become more pronounced when exposed to the sun.
About freckles, everything you want to know is here, you can follow the editor to look down......
What are Freckles?
Freckles are black-brown or brown spots that tend to occur on the face, with a diameter of 1~5 mm, round, oval or irregular, several to hundreds, isolated but not fused, and generally without conscious symptoms. It can occur in childhood, even for life, and is obvious in summer, and becomes shallow or disappears in winter, affecting the patient's appearance.
What causes freckles?
The pathogenesis of freckles includes genetic factors and environmental factors. Genetic factors are the main factor in the development of freckles; Environmental factors are mainly sun exposure or excessive X-ray and ultraviolet exposure, which can induce or aggravate freckles, so sun protection is very important!
Why are freckles dark brown?
Freckles are caused by the increase of melanin in the basal layer of the epidermis, so they show black-brown or brown spots, which generally do not involve the dermis, so the goal of treatment is to remove melanin.
What are the freckles treatments?
The traditional treatment methods for freckles are: cryomy, drugs, chemical peels and CO2 lasers, etc., which are non-selective destruction of melanin, which is more damaging and has more side effects, such as easy post-inflammatory pigmentation, and the treatment effect of facial freckles is still controversial.
You who love beauty, don't be sad to see this. The times are advancing, and so are the treatments for freckles, such as intense pulsed light, Q-open ruby laser, and Q532 nm laser for the treatment of freckles.
Intense pulsed light is photon, which is different from laser, it is a kind of intense light emitted in the form of pulses, which is formed into a wavelength in the range of 400 ~ 1200 nm after focusing and filtering, and then filtered out the light below or higher than the wavelength required for a certain treatment through a special filter, and finally outputs the corresponding band of intense pulsed light.
The wavelength of ruby laser is 694 nm, which can be selectively absorbed by the pigment cells and pigment particles of the skin, so that it is dissolved and broken by heat, and gradually metabolized and absorbed by the body, without damaging the surrounding normal skin.
The Q-switched 532 nm laser works on the same principle as the ruby laser, which has a blasting effect on the pigment particles, and has little damage to the skin, and the skin is not easy to bleed.
The principle of their treatment of freckles is the theory of selective photothermal action, that is, according to the biological characteristics of different tissues, as long as the appropriate laser parameters (wavelength, pulse duration, energy) are selected, it can ensure the most effective treatment of the lesion site while minimizing the damage to the surrounding tissues. This theory realizes the unity of the effectiveness and safety of laser treatment for freckles.
What is the care after laser treatment?
(1) Immediately after the treatment, apply an ice pack for half an hour.
(2) After treatment, wear strict sun protection, wear a parasol or wear a sunhat.
(3) During the treatment, try not to eat light-sensitive foods and drugs such as celery, figs, coriander, tretinoins, etc.
(4) If there is no redness, swelling, blisters, etc. on the second day after IPL treatment, you can take a normal shower, try not to take a sauna and take a high-temperature bath, and please seek medical attention in time after adverse reactions.
(5) After Q-switched ruby laser and Q-switched 532 nm laser, avoid water staining in the treated area for 7~10 days.
(The picture comes from the Internet)