Another day, another bizarre beauty trend. Apparently, in the wake of the royal wedding, women are heading to their local tattoo parlors to ink a constellation of faux freckles on their faces, often in the hopes of looking like Meghan Markle. Remember when we all wanted to emulate Princess Diana’s iconic hairdo after her wedding to Prince Charles? This is way more extreme, and possibly more regrettable.
So now women are subjecting themselves to a procedure called freckling to achieve Meghan’s look. In the procedure, which takes around 45 minutes, individual freckles are inked onto the skin using a needle as opposed to a traditional tattoo gun, as you can see in this video.
As you’d expect, getting stabbed in the face repeatedly by a needle is a little painful (and, according to the video, at $200 a pop, it’s not cheap either). The pigment used to create the spots will fade over time, depending on skin, care, and sun. The results can last up to three years. Professional freckler Bethany Wolosky told Harper’s Bazaar that the procedure is quite in demand right now:
There is definitely a trend right now to look as natural, youthful and fresh faced as possible. Freckle tattoos help achieve this without the negative consequences of actually spending time in the sun. [They’re] also a great way to camouflage or detract from acne scarring or hyper pigmentation.
I’m Irish, pasty, and naturally freckled. Does this mean I’m on trend now? This trend sounds so silly to me, but maybe it’s because I got mine for free and without the assistance of needles. As I get older, I can only hope that age spots and wrinkles get trendy…and the sooner the better, if you know what I mean.
Photos: WENN, Getty, Instagram
I can’t believe this is a thing!
Am I a terrible person for thinking…it’s CUTE and I’d consider it…leaving fast now😬
Just shoot me now!
Ugh… can’t ever imagine doing this! lol
I’d like to tell them: “Girl, freckles are NOT going to make anyone look like Meghan. They do not look natural, and what are you going to do as they fade? Your face will just look muddy.” SMH…
And you cover them up if you add makeup! I love freckles, but this is nuts.
Yikes, those freckle tattoos look so fake. Why couldn’t freckles be trendy when I was a kid? I always hated mine and wanted to get rid of them. Now that they’ve faded I want them back.
Both of my kids are adorably freckled and they both hate it. Why??! Freckles are and always were awesome. I think it’s pretty cool that this is a trend now.
Hated mine as a kid. Even now, I am glad that they faded a bit (still dark enough to make the whole “makeup” thing an issue). But I am very fair and the freckles are very dark (as dark as freckles could go) so they are also very noticeable. Now that I am older, I have a bit of a tan in the warmer months plus they have faded to a lighter brown. Still noticeable but not as stark a contrast. At least until February when the tan is gone and I look sallow.
Wow lasts three years. Well that’s enough time for you to regret it and then count down to fading.
Now if only that kind of procedure existed when I got my tramp stamp at age 18. Of all my tattoos it’s the only regrettable one.
But still there’d be such a huge market for tattoos that fade so you could change things up every couple of years. Imagine changing your sleeves every couple of years depending on what you’re into.
Age 18: bikes and babes
21: skulls and flames
25: song lyrics and sunsets
35: kids baby portraits and more song lyrics
44: your dad’s initials, your life’s motto
Omg they need to make this happen.
You think tats are addictive now??
Yes, fading tattoos would be amazing. I got one on my arm at 18 that I’ve spent my entire professional life having to hide. My brother has his ex wife’s name on his arm and it’s HUGE. I’d get tattoos all of the time if they only lasted three years!
I would too! Really, why haven’t they made semipermanent tattoos happen by now? You’d think Gen X chemists would have gotten right on that. I mean, dude, that sounds way easier than curing cancer or something.
This is crazy to me. I’m fair with freckles and I always hated them when I was young. I love them now and also my pale as a ghost skin! But this is just so crazy! Lol
Me too! I remember reading somewhere that they would fade if you put lemon juice on them and I tried so desperately to get rid of them. I love them now, but I can’t believe this is a thing. They look really fake, too.
This has got to be the stupidest thing I have ever heard of. And I thought tattooed eyeliner and eyebrows were bad.
I’ve considered doing the permanent makeup thing, because I’m lazy, but I can’t deal with the commitment
LOL … I’m a natural redhead with freckles, all of which has faded as I’ve gotten older — along with thinning eyebrows and lighter eyelashes, hence, I have permanent eyeliner (very subtle and moss green) and eyebrows (pale brown/gold). It has made my life soooo much simpler. Still, I understand the judgment. I have a Persian friend who’s had very dramatic, black eyebrows, eyeliner and deep rose lips tattooed. I think it would scare me to wake up in the morning to that, but that’s me.
I guess that’s what I need to do. Something so subtle it will just make me look better on a normal day, and then when I want to go dramatic I still have the option of putting something on over that! I was thinking it had to be dark or why bother. Thanks!
This has been a thing for a while. I remember there was a big surge of it a few years ago – they were also selling different makeup/stencils to draw on freckles. This isn’t something new at all – it might have gained some popularity recently though. I mean – there are blog and news articles from 2013 and earlier talking about tattooing freckles.
That’s wierd. My bff used thick makeup to cover hers, but now people are actually tattooing fake freckles? Do they end up covering them with makeup too?
I think freckles are cute but I would never do this.
Sorry but freckle tattoos have been “trendy” for a few years now.
Yeah, have you ever seen the rainbow multicolored ones?
I love freckles but these don’t look real to me. You can easily fake them for a day with eyebrow pencil. They look way more natural than these.
My daughter did makeup freckles for a cosplay once, and I was amazed how natural they looked. She used a bristly sponge to apply them.
Another day, another dose of stupid.
It’s been a thing for at least three years. There is a place next door to my workout studio. They have been doing the freckle tattoos for a while now, before Meghan.
I think that after the royal wedding, the popularity increased, but like I said this trend has been around for a minute.
I am sorry but it looks like blackheads for me. Natural freckles are the best and will never be achieved!
Meghan’s freckles are nice and she’s so pretty,it’s easy to want to emulate that.No insult to Megs but some look like age freckles (I have them too,you know,not quite age spots yet,but a bit more than an innocent freckle)I like mine even if they are from sunning too much in the ’90’s.Anyhow,the trend looks unnatural too me.Back in my day we used deep brown eyeliner and drew on our Cindy Crawford moles.HA!At least that washed off,or would sweat off,and that was embarrassing for those who claimed hell or high water that theirs were real!
I agree they look like my age freckles which I adore! Because I don’t have wrinkles and look younger I flatter myself to think they are freckles 😉 I love them. Tattooed freckles, well, who cares. It’s a personal choice.
Hey @Slowsnow I’ve read your comments here and often look forward to what you have to say.That said I’m thinking we may be about the same age ?42?I think you may have commented before that you like your face in your 40’s or maybe that was someone else.I too love my age freckles bc I get mistaken for being younger too sometimes and only have lines around my eyes when I smile then they disappear.Im with Corey though that I’m hoping age spots and wrinkles will someday become a thing-you know-Like age spots are the new dimples 😉😉🙃
Thanks @Spicecake38! Blushing here!
Yes, I am 42 too.
Indeed, I have finally learned to appreciate my face, my skin and my body. Being fitter contributed but the rest I think is shedding some immaturity. It takes so long to grow up!
I’m with Corey too. I was looking for youtube tutorials for curly hair and could only find teen-age or girls in their teens. No women our age. Bummer. Hopefully age spots, loose skin and bat arms will be the new Pinocchio buts.
One can only hope 😉
They look fake!
The blond woman’s tattoo-freckles look pretty natural. The others do not.
But it’s not much different than a lid or brow tattoo, is it? Or even a straight-up tattoo you get because you like the artwork.
I personally think it’s absurd, but if Kat Von D can get little stars tattooed on her face, then there’s zero reason to get flappy about fake freckles.
The freckles that are freshly done won’t look totally natural but once they heal they will which is the same for any semi-permanent makeup tattoos. Nowadays they know how to make all of this come out really natural which is great for people that want to have eyebrows when they wake up. They differ from a regular tattoo because these are meant to look natural and fade.
I love them and plan to get them done as soon as possible!