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Beauty is in the eye of the beholder Asia's fixation with clear, white skin means it can  be a harsh place for people with freckles

I KEEP MY eyes on the aisle ahead, trying not to look baffled by the watermelon-scented bath beads but, before I know it, not one but two sales assistants have marched up to my side.

'Wah! You like swimming? You must like to swim very much! Look at all your freckles,' says one  lily-white saleslady, her acrylic nails jabbing inches away from my cheeks.

They look at me, registering each 'blemish' as a tragic handicap. I tell them that I'm not interested, but the two women interpret my rejection as a cry for help.

'How old are you?' starts the one with the purple eyeshadow. But before I can answer,  she's already made up her mind on a plan of action.

'By the time you're in your mid-30s, you'll have wrinkles and more freckles,' she warns as she scans her shelf for what I imagine is her most potent whitening remedy.

I already have my back turned but she's persistent. I snap: 'Look, my boyfriend loves my freckles, OK!'

She looks at me, perplexed, before rushing to greet her next victim.

This is a typical encounter at any pharmacy for me - and probably for anyone else with freckles in Hong Kong. Women who do not have pale white skin have become the whitening craze's favourite target.

Women in Asia try everything from laser therapy to intense pulsed light treatment (neither of which is cheap) to get their skin whiter.

Public relations director Sarah Clark, who arrived in Hong Kong from Canada six months ago, has already noticed an unhealthy attitude towards freckles.

'I cannot count how many times I have been told that I have so many pimples, or that I should probably find a cream to get rid of my 'spots',' she says.

Ms Clark, who is in her mid-20s, admits she did not like her freckles when she was growing up.

'At home, freckles are a sign of youth and are considered very cute. In fact, moles and freckles are called 'beauty marks'. As a child, they are not very enjoyable because all you want is to look older.'

Her attitude towards her freckles changed when she grew up.

'As I became an adult, I learned to accept who I am and the way I look. Now I am proud to look younger than most of my friends.'

She says seeing freckle-faced beauties in the limelight has also helped her to appreciate her own skin.

'It sounds silly, but noticing that beautiful women like Julia Roberts and Nicole Kidman have freckles made me see the beauty in my skin type.'

She says her inability to tan is elsewhere regarded as a hindrance, but 'in Hong Kong, where clear, white skin is celebrated, I finally feel like my inability to tan is attractive.

'But, freckles here are regarded sometimes as poorly as pimples. I am not insulted by the comments as every culture celebrates different physical attributes.'

Freckles uncovered

So what are freckles and why are they seen as ugly in Hong Kong?

Dermatologist and avid horse-rider Tinny Ho makes it a point to emphasise the difference between freckles and age or sun spots.

'You have to understand that pigmentation and freckles are different things. Sun spots are the result of pigmentation and that's what Hong Kong women don't like.'

While freckles are often small, age spots cover a much larger area. Some can extend several centimetres. Freckles, or ephelides as they are known medically, are a different thing altogether, Dr Ho says.

Freckles are the result of a combination of one's genetic predisposition and sun damage. They often occur in people with lighter complexions.

Unlike many traditional Chinese medicine practitioners who associate freckles with liver damage, she says there is no medical evidence to support this claim. 'Freckles are not a health issue.'

Dr Ho is a walking advertisement for her occupation. Her skin is smooth, supple and, most importantly, free of blemishes and wrinkles.

To keep it that way she never ventures outdoors without a wide-brimmed hat and at least 'half a teaspoon' of SPF 15 sunscreen on her face.

This sunscreen must, she says, contain PA+++ protection to guard against harmful UVA light.

'The most important thing to me is the application,' Dr Ho says. 'There's no point in applying a pea-sized drop of sunscreen. The correct application is very important.'

But before you go on a sunscreen shopping spree, Dr Ho recommends doing research and reading labels carefully.

The good news is that, despite all the expensive sunscreens on offer (it is a multimillion-dollar industry after all), paying more does not always get you a better quality product.



A cultural obsession