Skin Whitening

Cosmetic procedures to whiten or lighten the skin are generally known as skin whitening. Due to the high demand of people wanting to have a flawless blemish free skin, today’s market is full of skin whitening products.

Unfortunately, it has also been conditioned that looking good (by having blemish free skin) is a costly business; this false believe is forced to people’s mind through glamorous advertisements, attractive packaging of any skin whitening products, and great advertising blitz done by cosmetics companies or manufacturers. 

In reality, skin whitening procedure is actually cheaper than what most people thought it was. There is no need to spend a fortune to get that naturally glowing white skin. People just have to look into the refrigerator or go to the nearest grocery store to find the ingredients needed for a blemish free glowing skin.

Some of the natural great skin whitening ingredients are lemon and honey, certain vegetables like carrot, cucumber, and potatoes, dry fruits like almond when made into powder and used as face mask, and some plants and their leaves and roots like that of aloe vera, mulberry and licorice.

These are in fact the base ingredients for costly skin whitening products available in the market today. Daily use of these ingredients is not that difficult and is guaranteed will result in a glowing skin; for instance, regular use of a face mask made of fresh cream and turmeric powder will remove stubborn pigmentation mark of melasma. 

In short, there are lots of natural products available for skin whitening and they are not expensive. Products that contain vitamin A, vitamin C, and vitamin E are also good in helping nourish and protect the skin. Furthermore, ingredients that contain antioxidants provide additional rotection against free radical damage. Although there are some supplements like Glutathione that comes as pills, creams and injections, it is always wise to try natural ingredients and methods.

Careful must be taken to avoid products that contain steroids or mercury which is not only irritating to skin, but dangerous to health in general. It is true that to some extent, skin whitening products with natural ingredients are less effective than those with chemicals, but the harmful effects of these chemicals to health outweigh its benefit.

It should also be noted that the efficiency of any skin whitening product is dictated by the extent of the spread of the pigmentation in the skin. If the pigmentation only darkens the superficial layer, any product will virtually do. However, if it has gone beneath the outer layer of the skin, a multi pronged approach is required to return the natural glowing skin.

A multi pronged approach consists of several steps. First, the reasons that cause skin darkening must be discovered and preventive steps must be taken to counter these cause. The next step involves exfoliation of the darkened outer layer of the skin; granulated sugar and olive oil, or almond powder and fresh cream can be used for this purpose.

 The latest two also help in whitening the skin too. The final step is to use a product that inhibits excessive melanin production in the skin. In addition to these steps, a proper diet as well as some vitamin supplements intake will also help lighten the skin.

Skin whitening

Skin whitening, skin lightening and skin bleaching refers to the practice of using chemical substances in an attempt to whiten or lighten the skin. Flawless and clear skin helps get better appearance and boosts confidence. Skin pigment, melanin, is reduced by different methods to make the skin tone lighter during skin whitening procedure.

Using skin whitening products in routine along with proper skin care gives positive results and it will prevent skin from getting darker. The most widely used skin whitening agent is hydroquinone. But recently according to some studies, it has shown some toxic effects. There are safer alternatives like arbutin, kojic acid and licorice derivatives. 

Here are some simple home remedies that you can do to lighten the skin tone and get a lighter complexion. 

However, they must be done regularly and best results are obtained if they are inculcated as a part of daily routine.

. Apply a paste of turmeric powder and lime juice to reduce tan with their natural bleaching abilities.

. Prepare a mixture of 1 tsp milk powder, 1 tsp lemon juice, 1 tsp honey and ½ tsp almond oil. 

Apply it daily for 10-15 and rinse it off with lukewarm water. 

. Rubbing of raw potato over the blemishes and tan gives positive results because of its bleaching qualities.

. Take 4 blanched almonds and grind them with milk. Apply it over your skin overnight and wash with cold water. Within 15 days, you will see the change.

. Combine lemon juice with the same amount of honey and let it remain for roughly 15 minutes on your body. 

After this, you can gently wash off the lemon and honey mix.

. Mix a tablespoon of the chickpea flour with a pinch of turmeric and a tiny amount of milk. Make a thick paste and apply on your face, hands and neck. As it dries you will feel your skin tighten. You can use a small amount of water to rub off the paste.

. Mix 1 tsp of milk powder, 1 tsp of honey, 1 tsp of lemon juice, and ½ tsp of almond oil. Apply on face and wash off after 10-15 minutes. This pack helps bring shine to the skin and also removes tan.

. Mix oatmeal with curd and tomato juice and apply on the face. Keep it on for 20 minutes and then wash it off with cold water. It helps lightens the skin.

. Apply a paste of fresh ground mint leaves and leave it for about 20 minutes. Wash with cold water, continue for 15 days.

. Apply a mixture of grated tomato with 2-3 drops of lime juice on the face. Leave it for 20 minutes before washing off. Do this twice a day for 15-20 days for best results.

. Use a good quality sunscreen when going out in the sun to protect the skin from tanning as well as the sun's UV rays.

  . Include lots of vitamin C rich foods in your diet like oranges, papaya, strawberries, tomatoes, cabbage, green peppers, dark green leafy vegetables, broccoli and pineapple. These foods would help improve the skin texture.