Although every skin color and texture is beautiful, fair skin is considered flawless and without blemishes. Skin color is regulated by the production of pigments in the skin by melanocytes.
While some people are naturally born with increased melanin production, others experience it from sun exposure, poor skin care, acne marks, and other factors that can darken the fair complexion you were born with.
This awakens the desire for a light complexion. But skin lightening treatments are expensive and can also be harmful to the skin in the long run. So are you looking for natural alternatives to lighten your skin?
If so, here are the 12 best easy ways to lighten your skin. We also have a few tips for you on how to maintain your fair complexion and prevent your skin from getting darker.
Table of contents:- Part 1: Do you really need to lighten your skin?
- Part 2: 12 simple home remedies for skin lightening for you
- Part 3: Other ways to lighten skin tone at home
- Part 4: Conclusion
Do you really need to lighten your skin?
The skin tone you want is up to you. Beauty is not defined by skin tone because it is in the eyes of the beholder and it is all about how you feel about yourself. Moreover, skin tone is a combination of various factors such as blemishes, scars, texture, acne and more.
If you focus on making the skin healthy and supple, it will naturally look fresh and radiant. However, there is nothing wrong with wanting to lighten your skin using home remedies or at the salon. So what you do with your skin is your business and should not be influenced by society's norms.
12 simple home remedies for skin lightening for you
The best home remedies for skin lightening are the following. These remedies include both face masks and drinks that you can ingest.
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Rub potatoes on the skin
The easiest trick to lighten your skin in one step is to slice a potato and rub it on your face, hands and the areas you want to lighten. Rub gently for a few minutes and leave for 20 minutes before washing off any spots with lukewarm water.
The vitamin C, antioxidants and whitening properties of potatoes make them an effective skin lightening agent.
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Tomato and lemon mask
The fastest way to fight uneven hyperpigmentation. Both tomatoes and lemons have skin bleaching properties and are packed with skin-lightening vitamin C.
You can also add honey to this mask to reduce melanin production, which will noticeably improve your skin tone 15-20 minutes after applying the mask.
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Rice flour and milk
Do you see how beautiful, flawless and crystal clear the skin is? Well, the secret lies in the use of rice in the skin care products. You only need rice flour and milk to make your skin whitening cream at home.
To make this, take about half a cup of finely ground rice flour and add a few tablespoons of milk to make a creamy mixture. Otherwise, you can simply make fermented rice water and use it as a toner every day to lighten the skin.
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Fresh fruits
Fruit smoothies like strawberries and juices like oranges show exceptional results in lightening the skin tone as they provide your skin with a large amount of vitamin C and minerals that lighten the skin.
These fruits can also be used for skin lightening facial masks.
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Green tea tonic
Green tea has anti-tanning properties because it contains high levels of polyphenols. It also helps cleanse the skin and shrink pores. You can make a tea infusion by taking a green tea bag, hot water, 1 tablespoon of honey and a few drops of water.
Mix the tea well, store it in the refrigerator and use it every day to get a radiant complexion. Green tea also helps detoxify the body and lighten the skin tone.
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Saffron
Saffron is a wonderful ingredient for the skin. It not only lightens the skin tone but also improves skin texture, reduces the appearance of blemishes and gives the skin a healthy glow.
The reason for this is the antioxidant, skin lightening, skin healing and anti-inflammatory properties of saffron. Also, it is important to know that saffron works better when taken in a drink with milk than when applied.
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Aleo Vera and rose water
Regular use of aloe vera helps to combat the tanning that you get after being in the sun for a whole day. Simply take a ready-made aloe vera gel or squeeze the fresh gel from an aloe vera leaf. You can apply it to your face after washing it thoroughly and leave it overnight for best results.
You can also mix aloe vera gel with rose water to make skin-lightening aloe vera cubes for morning use.
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Yoghurt and turmeric
Yogurt lightens the skin thanks to its exfoliating properties through lactic acid and its skin-conditioning effects through vitamin B, while turmeric directly reduces melanin production by blocking the stimulating factor.
So, make a face pack of turmeric and yogurt in a ratio of 1:2 and apply it on your face for 20 minutes to get fresh, glowing skin.
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Orange peel peeling/juice
While orange pulp also contains vitamin C, the largest amount of this skin-lightening ingredient is found in the orange peel. Wash an orange well, squeeze the juice from the peel, apply it to your clean skin for a few minutes, then rinse.
You can also save the orange peel for later by drying it in the microwave or in sunlight and use it mixed with rose water when needed.
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Papaya and honey
Papaya is known for its skin lightening effects caused by its high concentration of lightening enzymes and alpha hydroxy acids, as explained in the benefits of papaya for skin lightening . When you add honey to papaya, this effect doubles as melanin production is kept in check.
Therefore, you can make a face mask using half a cup of mashed papaya and 1 tablespoon of honey. It works best if you leave it on your skin for 20 minutes.
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Banana face pack
Bananas are rich in minerals like potassium and vitamins like vitamin E, A and B. Vitamin B nourishes the skin, vitamin E is an oxidant that protects the skin from oxidative damage and vitamin A as retinol helps in healing the skin. The overall effect of these vitamins helps in skin lightening.
You can mash a banana, add honey and a few drops of lemon to make a skin lightening face mask.
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Multani Mitti and Cucumber
Multani Mitti is a rare but effective ingredient when it comes to skin lightening. In India, Multani Mitti is known for its purifying properties on the skin. You can make a face mask by adding cucumber juice and rose water to it.
Allow the mask to dry completely before rinsing and your skin will look brighter.
Other ways to lighten skin tone at home
Here are the tried and tested methods to lighten your skin tone and prevent it from getting darker.
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Protect yourself from the sun
If you have fair, untanned and flawless skin, the sun is your worst enemy. The sun's UV rays stimulate the melanocytes and trigger the production of melanin, which leads to darkening of the skin.
So try to stay home often and stay in the shade when you go out. Also wear a hat and sleeves with UV protection and apply sunscreen regularly throughout the day.
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Do not damage the skin barrier
Uncontrolled use of harsh chemicals, excessive use of makeup, mistreating your skin, picking pimples, and touching your face with unsterilized hands damage the skin barrier. The damaged barrier leads to uneven areas of hyperpigmentation and scarring.
So be gentle with your skin and gradually change the habits that affect your skin barrier.
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Remove hair regularly
Hairy skin looks dark because of the shade of the hair. One of the safest ways to instantly lighten skin is to remove the hair. You can use methods like waxing, threading, and shaving. However, the hair always comes back.
Therefore, it is better to invest in a semi-permanent IPL hair removal device such as the Invest in Ulike Sapphire Air3 IPL hair removal device to get rid of unwanted hair and dull complexion.
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Use skin lightening products
Finally, you can use skin care products with skin lightening ingredients like vitamin C, glutathione, collagen and more. They can help you lighten your skin tone naturally.
Conclusion
The best home remedies to lighten skin include healthy drinks, natural toners and DIY face masks using easily available ingredients that you have at home. We have listed the ingredients and the combinations in which you can use them.
What all of these remedies have in common is that they contain large amounts of vitamin C, antioxidants and melanin-reducing enzymes. These ingredients are what make the remedies presented in this article so effective.
