Freckles are usually brown in colour and may be more familiar to people with lighter skin tones. They are usually found on areas of the skin that enjoy the most exposure to the sun, including that on the face, hands and upper body and derive their distinctive appearance from the body’s overproduction of melanin.

Occurring at any age, freckles can be divided into two main categories: ephelides and solar lentigines. These can be differentiated by both size and presentation, with ephelides taking on the form of what most of us recognise as freckles and solar lentigines a much darker colour.