People want to lighten their skin tone for many different reasons. Many women with dark-colored skin desire to have fair skin as they feel it looks more beautiful. Sometimes, the skin get discolored due to damage caused by excessive sun exposure. Middle aged women often get age related skin problems of freckles and age spots that gives them an uneven skin tone. Scars may appear on the skin after healing of the wounds. Knowing how to lighten skin helps to eliminate all such spots and get an even skin tone.
How to Lighten Skin Tone with Skin Care Products
There are so many skin lightening creams in the market which claim to work well. Among them, those with hydroquinone as a component have been found to be highly effective. The percentage of hydroquinone varies in each product. Those which are prescription creams have higher percentage of hydroquinone than those available over the counter. Mild skin discoloration caused by acne can be treated with tretinoin cream and is available by prescription only. It is rich in vitamin A which promote growth of new healthy skin cells that replaces the damaged ones. Alpha hydroxy acids available in the form of glycolic acid chemical peel and can be used for home skin whitening. This helps in improving the skin complexion of sun damaged skin. The drawback of all these products is that they have adverse side effects like irritation, reddening, dryness of skin, etc.
Natural Ways to Lighten Skin
You can lighten your skin tone by some natural means as well. The best part is that the natural ingredients do not have any side effects and they are not very expensive.
Papaya: The enzymes present in papaya have an amazing effect on freckles and other such spots on skin. Make a smooth papaya paste by putting a few slices of papaya in a blender. Apply it on the skin and wait for 15-20 minutes. Then wash off with water. It should be done twice or thrice a week.
Lemon Juice: Juice extracted from fresh lemon has excellent bleaching properties that can naturally lighten your skin tone and remove dark patches. You can apply it directly on the skin with a cotton ball and wash it off with cold water after 15 minutes. Or else, mix it up with turmeric powder an apply the paste on the skin in the same way.
Licorice Extract: Licorice extract has a natural component glabridin which acts as an excellent skin lightening agent. Wash your face with mild cleanser and pat it dry. Then apply the extract on the skin in the form of a thin coat. Once it is absorbed into the skin apply the skin moisturizer that you use regularly. It should be applied twice a day: once in the morning and once in the evening.
Oatmeal: Oatmeal acts as an excellent skin exfoliating agent that eliminate dead skin cells and helps lighten skin tone. To increase the exfoliating effect, you can add equal amount of brown sugar to the oatmeal and then add some milk to obtain a thick paste. Apply this paste on the skin and scrub it gently with small circular motions. Then rinse off with plain water and apply moisturizer. You must exfoliate the skin once in a week.
Face Mask: The main ingredients of this homemade skin lightener are sandalwood paste, cucumber juice, lemon juice and tomato juice. Take one teaspoon of each of these ingredients and mix them thoroughly to prepare a thick, consistent paste. Apply it on the affected skin in the form of a thick layer and leave it untouched for drying. Later, wash off with water. You can notice a glowing effect just after one application.
Once you lighten skin tone with skin whitening products or natural skin lighteners, you have to prevent any further darkening of the skin. To protect your skin from discoloration, you must apply a generous amount of good quality sunblock with SPF value of at least 15 on all the exposed parts of the body every morning after washing your face. This will not only provide protection from harmful radiation of sunlight but will also fight off signs of premature aging.
