When freckle tattoos hit Instagram, I saw about a million comments criticizing them for being too dark and unrealistic looking — some went so far as to compare them to blackheads. Ouch.
But what those commenters failed to realize is that all those freckle tattoos look so dark in photos for a reason, and they certainly don't stay that way.
How do I know? I got freckle tattoos myself.
Here I am at the very end of my freckle tattooing session — I was red, blotchy, and my freckles looked way out of whack.
But bear with me, I'm about to explain why.
That's because I'd just had a comically large needle stabbed into my face repeatedly. Naturally, my skin was a little reactive.
The same rule of thumb applies to all piercings, tattoos, and body modifications — skin swells and reddens when it's exposed to sharp objects. In this case, my skin's reaction to the needle naturally caused my freckle tattoos to look redder and larger than desired.
Red and swollen skin alone altered the appearance of my tattoos, but the numbing cream applied immediately after the procedure only made them look weirder.
Numbing cream works by stopping blood flow wherever it's applied. Just after tattooing my face, numbing cream was applied with a toothpick to the very small, freshly poked spots.
As pointed out to me by my tattooer, Bethany Wolosky, the limited blood flow drains the skin's color around each freckle, and the heightened contrast makes them appear very dark at first glance.
The reason tattooed freckles so often look large, dark, and swollen is because tattooers usually photograph their clients immediately after the procedure.
Wolosky said she rarely receives pictures from her clients once their new freckles have healed — the only photos she has to add to her portfolio are of fresh freckles on swollen, irritated skin that's just been slathered in numbing cream — not ideal.
Tattoo freckles need a little time to heal and fade naturally into the skin. Even 10 minutes after my session, the freckles looked a LOT more natural.
After a single day of healing, they were still bold but looked better once my skin stopped screaming for help.
Now, a full week post-tattooing, my faux freckles are completely healed and are so subtle you'd never guess they weren't real.
If THIS was the stage you saw in all those Instagram posts, you'd be way more likely to try the procedure yourself, no?
Just goes to show you shouldn't judge a beauty trend by photos taken immediately after.
Patience is a virtue — and in beauty, it's always rewarded.
