Men and women who have a naturally darker skin tone are always looking for ways to lighten their skin tone. While it can be achieved with cosmetic procedures, there are homemade remedies that are cheaper and that work just as well.
Here are a few home remedies for complexion lightening. While these homemade tips can help you improve the health and tone of your skin, if you are looking for a drastic change, you will need to visit a doctor or a skin specialist.
Egg white: Mix an egg white with two spoons of honey to create a pack that should help tighten your skin and give you a youthful look. Apply it on your face for 15 minutes, and rinse it off after 15 minutes. Do this thrice a week. You could also add a teaspoon of milk to egg yolk and egg white along with a teaspoon of honey to create a fairness pack.
Honey: Honey not only contains healing properties, but when combined with curd or lemon juice it also works as a lightening agent.
Lemon: Lemons contain vitamin C that is a natural cleansing agent. Before having a bath, cut a lemon in four and rub it on your body as a natural substitute for soap, wash it off after 2 to 3 minutes. This will lighten your skin.
Papaya: Papaya contains antioxidants and is a well know home remedy for fair complexion. Cut a ripe papaya, and apply it on your face in the early in the morning; you can also crush a fresh papaya that is ripe and mix it with two teaspoons of milk. Apply the concoction all over your body 10 to 15 minutes before a bath.
Potato: Potato acts as a good bleaching agent; cut a potato and rub it on your face to lighten it.
Sandalwood: Sandalwood powder mixed with rose water is one of the best home remedies for fairer skin. Use it every day half an hour before having a bath.
Turmeric: Turmeric is another ingredient that helps give you fairer complexion. Mix some turmeric powder with quarter cup of milk and two tablespoon of gram flour to form a smooth paste. Apply on your body 5 to 10 minutes before you bathe. Turmeric will give your skin a glow, while gram flour is a good exfoliating agent and milk helps whiten your skin.
Cucumber Juice: Cucumber juice is equally effective in lightening skin tone. Mix cucumber juice and lime juice in equal proportions and apply this to the skin. You can also apply plain cucumber juice to get the desired effect.
Oatmeal and Tomato Juice: You can mix yogurt with oatmeal and tomato juice. Even this will work as an effective scrub. It takes around 15 minutes for it to work its magic. You can make another scrub out of finely ground almond powder, sandalwood powder, and milk. You can also add a few drops of almond oil to this mixture. Apply this on you skin, especially on those area that are darker than the rest.
Saffron: Add 3-4 strands of saffron to 3 tablespoons of warm milk and let it soak overnight. In the morning, add a tablespoon of almond powder to this milk. Mix it well and leave it alone for half an hour. Then apply this evenly on your skin and let it dry.
All these remedies, used consistently over a period of time will definitely show positive results.
Meditation and yoga: Meditate or do a 20 minute yoga session on an empty stomach early in the morning; this should help you distress while also getting rid of dark circles under your eyes. This works well for men as well as for women. This could also be accompanied by the above mentioned home remedies without the worry of side effects.
Skin care: For women, this is a very important tip. Always remember to remove makeup from your face before sleeping. Wash it off with a mild soap or use a makeup remover, and moisturize your skin at the end. Also, try washing your face with warm water instead of very cold water. These natural tips are essentials for healthy glowing skin.
Essential Oils: Essential oils such as bergamot, geranium, grapefruit, lime, lemon, mandarin, palmetto and rose are known to be very effective as skin lightening agents. However it is necessary to get approval of your doctor and use the right quantities in order to avoid side effects of the use of oil.
Good diet: Maintaining a well-balanced nutritional diet with foods that are rich in vitamins and essential nutrients will help you get fairer skin. Eating berries leads to your body producing collagen that helps tighten your skin. Drinking green tea also helps due to the antioxidant properties that it contains.
Hydrate yourself: The more water you drink the better your skin cells are hydrated, and this keeps wrinkles and sagging skin away. The recommended intake is eight to ten glasses a day.