Alejandra Savoia, 24, is done hiding her freckles.
Some people have a few freckles—some
people have a lot of freckles. Alejandra Savoia definitely falls into
the latter group. The 24-year-old advertising consultant was born with a
series of large freckles on her body, including a giant congenital nevus
that covers most of her lower back. As she grew up, more freckles
started appearing on her skin, forming dark brown constellations across
her body.
[post_ads]Savoia's freckles make heads
turn when she goes to the beach, but thankfully her parents have always
encouraged her to feel confident in her skin. "I have another sister
who is four years older than me, and she has white skin and no
freckles," Savoia, who's from Barcelona, Spain, tells SELF. "My parents
never made it any different between us, and that made it easy for me to
understand myself."
Still, she
typically kept most of her skin covered, wearing long-sleeve shirts and
longer dresses. Then, last year, Savoia’s boyfriend posted a photo of
her on Facebook, and a local photographer reached out. The photog wanted
to shoot Savoia, and had one request: That she show her back in the
pictures. Savoia says she didn't think twice before saying yes. "I said,
'Let’s do it—let’s show my back to the world and how I am.'"
Savoia posed in front of a yellow
backdrop, her back to the camera with her freckles on full display. When
the photographer publicly uploaded the picture to Instagram in February
2016, Savoia initially felt a wave of nerves. "At first I felt like I
shouldn't have done it because it’s a personal thing," she says. But her
feelings quickly changed. "I felt better because it was a thing I’d
been hiding all my life, and with a simple upload of a photo I felt very
free and natural."
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Commenters on the
photo praised Savoia for showing off her #FrecklesForDays, and it made
posing even more worthwhile. "Lots of people started sending me messages
saying, 'You’re an inspiring person,'" she says. "I never felt like I
was inspiring for anyone."
Since then,
Savoia's posed for other photographers who reach out to her, including
one who did a whole series of freckle portraits. She even scored a spot
in Marie Claire Netherlends. For those who are wondering, she does get her freckles checked by a dermatologist once a year.
Overall,
Savoia hopes her photos will inspire other people with freckles—or any
unique beauty trait—to learn to love what makes them special.
"We are all diverse," she says. "It's not important that you are 'perfect'—you have to be comfortable however you are."
Check out more pictures of Alejandra Savoia's beautiful freckles below.
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Update 4/25/2017: This story was updated to include that the dark-colored patch on Savoia's back is a giant congenital nevus.
Related:
- 'Freck Yourself' Is a Cosmetic Kit That Will Give You Semipermanent Freckles
- 19 Stunning Women Who Prove Freckles Are Gorgeous
- Rainbow Freckles Are the Colorful Beauty Trend You Have to See
