What freckles are
Freckles are small, flat spots that are tan, light brown or brown. Each one is a little patch where your skin made extra melanin, the coloring in skin.
They often show up where the sun touches most, like your nose, cheeks, shoulders and arms.
Babies usually aren't born with freckles. Freckles often start to pop out when kids are little, after time in the sun.
Freckles often get darker and easier to see in summer, then fade a bit in winter.
Why some people have more
Whether you get freckles, and how many, depends mostly on your genes, the body instructions you were born with.
Freckles are more common in people with light skin and red or blond hair, but people with any skin color can have them.
Sunlight brings them out. A kid who spends lots of time in the sun may get more freckles than a kid who stays in the shade.
Lots of people love their freckles. Some people even call them sun kisses!
What moles are
A mole is a small spot where color-making cells grow in a little cluster. Moles can be brown, tan, pink or black, and flat or a little raised.
Moles are very common. Lots of grown-ups have somewhere between 10 and 40 of them, and that's normal. Kids often get new ones as they grow.
Some people call a mole on the face a beauty mark.
Keeping an eye on moles
Most moles stay the same for years and are nothing to worry about.
If a mole gets bigger, changes shape or color, itches, bleeds or looks different from your other moles, tell a grown-up. They can ask a doctor to take a look.
Doctors check moles all the time. It's quick and it doesn't hurt.