Are freckle tattoos a harmless beauty trend or a step too far?

In the 80s and 90s tanning beds took the world by storm. The “perfect all-American girl” transformed into one with bronze skin, a symbol of health and wellness. Everyone wanted that summer glow, and they wanted it all year round.

That was until the bed’s UV risks became well known, leading to the rise in popularity of tanning lotions and spray tans as safer alternatives.

Now, with the advent of social media, new sun-kissed beauty trends are coming in thick and fast - but some of the permanent ones have raised concerns.

Tattooed freckles. Yes. The very feature Anne Shirley of Green Gables was bullied for is now all the rage - and people are signing the dotted line to have them forever.

It started out as a makeup trend. Beauty influencers jumped onboard teaching their followers - or whoever was shown the video at the whim of TikTok’s algorithm - how to place realistic looking freckles across the bridge of their nose and on their cheeks.

But like many beauty trends there is a way to make them permanent, and faux freckles have become the newest offshoot of the cosmetic tattooing industry.

And the process has been laid bare for everyone to see, with popular influencers documenting everything - even when they are in the chair with swollen skin.

Sierra Cannon, a TikTok and Instagram influencer, took her followers along the entire process and copped a fair bit of backlash when users saw how red her face was straight after she got the tattoo.

Cannon, who has more than 600,000 followers on TikTok, filmed the entire process, from when her face was numbed and the freckle “draft” was drawn on - to when the tattoo needle was actually in use.

TikTok users were quick to flood Cannon’s comments with mixed opinions.

“As a naturally freckled girl, welcome to the club!!” one user wrote.

“When I used to get bullied into oblivion for my freckles and now people are getting them tattooed,” another commented.

“This is a craziest trend to me!”

But the redness and severity of the pigment was only temporary from Cannon, who updated her followers after the tattoos had healed.

Some users were quick to apologise for their earlier comments.

“I did not trust the process,” one commented

“Hello I’m sorry for doubting you.”

Freckle tattoo horror stories are not hard to find - though it seems the mishaps arise when people try to do it themselves.

Take Tilly Whitfeld, who warned users not to get permanent freckles after she was left with dark purple spots on her face.

Dr Shah, or DermDoctor as he is known on TikTok, stitched Whitfeld’s video, warning users that they might cause permanent scarring to their face if they attempted the same thing.

It seems the marks Whitfeld was left with have since faded.

With social media pushing different beauty standards and makeup trends with a turnover rate like we’ve never seen before, it’s hard to say whether tattoo freckles are here for the long haul.