Woman Goes Viral For Getting Freckles Tattooed On Her Face—Is This The Newest Beauty Trend?

Last year, we had the whole buccal fat removal debacle, where women reportedly began taking the fat pads out of their cheeks to appear gaunter. Now, we’ve moved on over to freckle tattoos, a semi-permanent cosmetic procedure growing in popularity. The cost ranges anywhere from $150 to $350, depending on how much you want, and it apparently lasts anywhere from one to three years.

One woman on TikTok went viral this week after a tattoo artist, @yassatattoo, uploaded a video of her client receiving a freckle treatment. 

She uploaded another clip on the platform to show her audience what it looked like after one week. 

I’ll be honest, if I saw her in person, I never would have guessed her freckles were tattoos (I mean, duh); they actually look natural and not overdone. But here’s what other users have to say about it: "People went from bullying people with freckles, to tattooing freckles within my short lifetime. People are crazy," writes @TheGreatChrisB.

@KCizzle adds, "please if you are watching this thinking of doing this please please do NOT."

A user named Brooklian says, "What the actual heck. Literally cracks me up."

Meanwhile, others were impressed. "She looks amazing with freckles!" writes a woman named Jennifer. "It looks natural like they were always meant to be there."

Still, are they worth it? In their defense, @yassatattoo does a great job at making the freckles look natural, but, as with any cosmetic procedure, some risks are still involved. For one, there’s no guarantee you’ll go to someone who can execute the job very well – meaning, there’s a chance you won’t like the end result.

In 2021, Grace Wiseman booked an appointment to get freckles tattooed on her face. She paid £50 and walked out feeling "ugly and distraught." She turned to a different artist, Liarna Jessica Yearwood, who had to fix the botched freckles. “Grace’s was the most shocking case I have seen because the tattooed freckles were so dark and unnatural,” explains Yearwood. ”She had paid £50 to get freckles tattooed on her face by a newly qualified permanent make-up artist under the agreement of being a 'model.' When she looked in the mirror afterwards, she felt so self-conscious, ugly and disappointed. She also felt deceived because she'd trusted the artist to do a good job.”

Some dermatologists advise against the trend, stating the procedure could cause some scarring. “However, tattooed freckles may not be easily reversible if you don’t like them and may cause scarring,” dermatologist Lesley Loss shares on New Beauty. “Filters on social media seem to be contributing to this trend, however, freckle tattoos are unlikely to look like the filter on a person’s actual skin.”

There are also concerns over the type of ink that's used. "There are more concerns arising from the safety of tattoos because of the increased variety of pigments and diluents being used in tattooing," says Elaine Kung, a dermatologist based in New York. "More than fifty different pigments and shades are in use, and the list continues to grow. Although color additives are approved for use in cosmetics, none are approved for injection into the skin. Many pigments used in tattoo inks are not approved for skin contact at all. Some are industrial-grade colors that are used for printing or automobile paint.”

Trends are like a pendulum. Sometimes, you have to try your hardest not to get swept up in its motion and remain confident about your natural beauty. Luckily, cosmetic tattoos aren’t as awful or damaging as buccal fat removal or Brazilian butt lifts, but if you’re considering it, remember this: You don’t need it, and you don’t have to be so easily influenced, either.

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