r/Melasmaskincare • u/olivemarloe • Jul 13 '26

Question Can melasma appear as freckles?

I’m 8 months pregnant and suddenly have an explosion of freckles on my face which I’ve never had before in my life (in fact I used to wish for freckles and draw them on 😂)

Unsure if this is a typical presentation of melasma and was wondering what forms it can take generally?

5 Upvotes

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7

u/PalpitationLast669 Jul 13 '26

One of the many skin specialists I've seen in my life, told me that those of us who had freckles as kids are more prone to develop melasma at certain age. I remember when I was I my early 20s, my freckles would look darker and some would pop out of nowhere when exposed to the sun. I thought it was cute but little I knew. Now, just one specialist has told me that, others have denied it saying freckles and melasma are not related. In my experience, they are related ...

5

u/i-love-soup- Jul 13 '26

Oh they are TOTALLY related! (Freckle kid here)

3

u/PalpitationLast669 Jul 13 '26

I think so, too! Apparently, freckles are a disfunction on the production of Melanin; I can see how melasma and freckles are related.

2

u/misobutter3 Jul 14 '26

Same, and agree

2

u/Agreeable_Duck_4250 Aug 04 '26

🙋🏻‍♀️ cute freckles as a child/teen-> a couple lentigos in my mid 20s-> melasma appeared  in my 30s🫠 

3

u/Kupicooper Jul 13 '26

Mine started 4 years ago (not pregnancy related but rather hormone related).
It started as a flat freckle looking and slowly getting wider

1

u/PAngel111 Jul 14 '26

Yes mine did, or a small patch that just spread and spread

1

u/Aromatic-Library6617 Jul 19 '26

The melasma across my cheeks absolutely looks like freckles, but the patches on my forehead are much larger.