AIBU to be mildly annoyed with the lady from Boots who told DD and her friends that if you ahve more than 6 freckles it is a sign of skin damage?

[Hulababy]

A lady from boots visiting DD's school recently to do a talk on staying safe int he sun. Good idea I thought.

However one thing bugged me, and I know it bugged DD's teacher too. This woman told the girls that if you have more than 6 freckles then it means your skin has been damaged by the sun.

My DD's face is covered in freckles. LOL @ more than 6. She has more than 60! Possibly more than that on her nose alone!

TBF she did comment that you should look for signs of them changing, such as size. But the idea of more than 6 freckles always being sun damage is just not true.

Grrr.

feckles are caused by uneven melatonin distribution in your skin which is genetic but they don't appear until you've been out in the sun

no, im pretty sure they are always caused by exposure to the sun. My sister is a dermatologist and im sure that's a medical fact (although im relaying this info 2nd hand from her, but i dont think she would have made it up!)

I'm doomed if that's the case!

YANBU. She was talking shit.

well - youre not doomed. having freckles doesnt mean that you are going to get skin cancer.

Well technically she is right.

Freckles are a collection of cells containing melanin that are then further stimulated by UV-A and UV-B light (sunlight).

In individuals who are susceptible, sunlight exposure to both UV-A and UV-B radiation induces freckles by stimulating melanocytes to produce melanin.

So freckles are a sign that the skin has been exposed to UV-A and UV-B light, both of which are factors in skin damage - this has a bit more about sun and skin.

I don't know where she got the bit about 6 freckles though - seems a bit arbritrary to me!

doesn´t ´freckles´ look like a funny word the more you look at it?

oops melanin not melatonin!!!

I have zillions of freckles!