Do you think freckle makeup is mostly for those with pale skin? Nah, boo. Freckles for darker skin tones are amazing and we all know it. So why don’t we hear more about freckles for darker skin? Let’s talk a little about the science of freckles (we won’t go too deep. promise.) and then we’ll cover tips for darker skinned beauties who want to up their freck game.
What’s a Freckle?
Ok this seems like kind of a stupid question considering basically we think freckles are life. BUT let’s reign in the passion for one sec and we’ll answer that question from a ‘Bill Nye the Science Guy’ point of view. A freckle is a dark spot on your skin, duh. But honestly it would be ok if you wondered if a freckle can be lighter than your skin, especially if we’re talking about freckles on darker skin tones. Science says no. A spot that is lighter than your skin is not a legit freckle - so rule #1 is freckles have to be darker than the surrounding skin.
Rule #2, and this is a cool one, is freckles are often caused by a gene! It’s called the MC1R gene and tbh you probably don’t care but give us our one minute to geek out on freckle science. So this gene doesn’t guarantee you will or won’t have freckles. There’s a lot more to it than that, including the one factor we all probably know about - sun exposure. If you don’t have natural freckles (which is ok because hey - that’s literally what we’re here for), you may still be able to have little freckle-faced kiddos if you partner up with someone with the freck gene. Cool beans.
Rule #3 explains a little bit about why we hear less about freckles for darker skin tones. Before we lay this one out, keep in mind that anyone could have natural freckles. But rule #3 says that the people MOST likely to have them are lighter skinned people, especially those with red hair. This kind of sucks because science says only 1 - 2% of the population has red hair. If this is you, major props. If this is not you, welcome to the club. Last science fact, we swear: people with red hair tend to have freckles because red hair is caused by that same gene, MC1R.
Ok science class is over. Let’s get to the full on beauty portion of our freckles for darker skin tones sesh.
How to Highlight Freckles for Darker Skin Tones
If you’re lucky enough to have freckles and a darker skin tone, we hope you’re on board with showcasing them as often as you can! Here are a few suggestions for how to love your beauty routine, without letting a heavy-hand hide any of those awesome frecks.
- Avoid concealer if possible. Sure, a dab of concealer here and there can help to hide any imperfections, but don’t let your freckles fall victim to concealer! Far from imperfections, these dark dots can be the key to a beautiful face.
- Focus on eyes or lips. If you’re looking to highlight natural freckles, the natural first move is to focus on skincare rather than foundation. If you wanna rock the no-makeup-makeup look without going totally barefaced, we recommend choosing between eyes and lips. Break our your Lid Lick Fluid Liner with Fenty’s Full Frontal Mascara (our fav for a low-key look. Or get the perfect simple bitten lip by finger applying Cheekslime (collagen infused liquid cheek & lip tint) while focusing most of the product toward the inside of your lips & fading outward. Keeping it simple will really bring your natural frecks the attention they deserve.
- Strong brows. Good eyebrow game can really help freckles pop by bringing shape to the face, without distracting from the main attraction - your freckles! If you look at our Instagram, you’ll see almost all the boos we feature have gorgeous, brushed up brows. They’re all using Soap Brows, which is a product we swear by. Or- head to your fav beauty salon to get a brow lamination for 6-8 weeks of perfect 0 maintenance brows.
Getting Freckles for Darker Skin Tones
At Freck, we luv natural freckles but ‘fake it til you make it’ is our way of life. You don’t need to have natural freckles to look like you do! For darker skinned people who want freckles, makeup can be your BFF. If you have a darker skin tone, you can let the formula develop on your skin longer before blotting them out. This will result in a darker freck application to make sure they stand out on top of your gorgeous natural skintone. Check out our site and look for our most popular product - Freck OG - to get natural looking, perfect freckles every time. And remember, we offer easy, free returns- everyone’s skin tone & type is different and we want to make sure anything you take home from Freck Beauty is suited to you.
Many people think of freckles and picture the most fair skinned people. But let’s think outside the box! There are plenty of people rocking the ‘freckles for darker skin tones’ look, and we’re here for it. If you have a darker skin tone and freckles, stand up and let them shine! If you’ve got darker skin without freckles… give ‘em a try. You may find your next fav beauty staple.
