10 ways to naturally lighten skin at home
Everyone has skin care issues and most of us desire glowing and glowing skin. Most of us would also have searched online for instant skin lightening tips and skin lightening supplements. But how many of them worked? Your skin will become dull and lifeless due to various factors including dust, sun exposure, pollution and other skin problems, resulting in skin darkening. What if we told you the solution is available in your pantry? You wonder how? This article introduces you to herbal skin lightening remedies made from ingredients found in your kitchen. Read on to find out more!
1. Banana face pack for skin whitening
you will need
1 ripe banana
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon of honey
Hand towel
preparation time
2 minutes
treatment time
15 minutes
Treatment
Mix all ingredients until you get a smooth mass.
Wash your face with a mild cleanser and pat dry with a towel.
Apply the banana mixture to your skin and leave it on for about 15 minutes.
Rinse your face with lukewarm water and pat dry.
How often can you do this?
Twice a week.
Why this works
It is one of the best skin lightening home remedies that you can try. Bananas are high in vitamins A, B, and E. They’re also a plentiful source of the mineral potassium (1). These nutrients help even out rough skin while reducing the appearance of dark spots and blemishes. They also improve skin elasticity and prevent skin aging (2). The vitamin E prevents oxidative damage while strengthening your skin’s defenses against the sun’s harmful rays (3).
2. Baking soda for skin whitening
you will need
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 ½ teaspoons water
Hand towel
preparation time
2 minutes
treatment time
5 minutes
Treatment
Mix baking soda and water until you get a smooth paste.
Wash your face with a mild cleanser and pat dry with a towel.
Gently massage the paste onto your face in circular motions. Leave it on for about 5 minutes.
Rinse your face with lukewarm water and pat dry.
How often can you do this?
2-3 times a week.
Why this works
Baking soda is a gentle exfoliant that also helps neutralize your skin’s pH (4). It has anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, and antifungal properties that can help clear acne from your skin (5), (6). It can also help unclog your pores while stripping away the damaged and dark skin from the top layers, revealing fair and healthy skin. However, people with dry and sensitive skin or open wounds should not attempt this.
3. Gram flour for skin whitening
you will need
2 tablespoons grams of flour
4 tablespoons rose water
Hand towel
preparation time
2 minutes
treatment time
20 minutes
Treatment
Combine the ingredients until you get a smooth mixture.
Wash your face with a mild cleanser and pat dry with a towel.
Apply the mixture to your skin like a face mask. Be sure to avoid the sensitive areas around the eyes and mouth.
Leave it on for about 20 minutes.
Rinse with lukewarm water and pat skin dry.
How often can you do this?
2-3 times a week.
Why this works
The chickpea flour helps control oil production in your skin while maintaining pH levels. It helps remove dirt and toxins to keep your skin looking radiant. It’s also a gentle exfoliant that helps remove dead skin cells while promoting the healthy production of new skin cells (7).
4. Lemon for skin lightening
you will need
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon of honey
Hand towel
preparation time
2 minutes
treatment time
15 minutes
Treatment
Combine the ingredients until you get a smooth mixture.
Wash your face with a mild cleanser and pat dry with a towel.
Apply the mixture to your skin like a face mask. Be sure to avoid the sensitive areas around the eyes and mouth.
Leave it on for about 15 minutes.
Rinse with lukewarm water and pat skin dry.
How often can you do this?
Twice a week.
Why this works
It is one of the best skin lightening tips that only takes 15 minutes to try. Lemon’s rich vitamin C content helps lighten pigmentation and dark spots and even out your skin tone (8). It’s also high in antioxidants, which help prevent oxidative damage (9). This lemon honey mask cleans and refines your pores while killing harmful bacteria that can cause breakouts. The combined bleaching properties of lemon and honey help control melanin production and lighten your skin tone.
dr Anna Chacon, MD, FAAD, a dual board dermatologist, says, “You will notice a change in the texture and tone of your skin within a month or two. Lemon juice can also be added to the mixture in small amounts. This bleach works faster.”
5. Multani Mitti for skin whitening
you will need
5-6 peeled cucumber slices
2 teaspoons Multani Mitti
1 tablespoon rose water
Hand towel
preparation time
5 minutes
treatment time
15 minutes
Treatment
Blend the ingredients until you get a smooth mixture.
Wash your face with a mild cleanser and pat dry with a towel.
Apply the mixture to your skin like a face mask. Be sure to avoid the sensitive areas around the eyes and mouth.
Leave it on for about 15 minutes.
Rinse with lukewarm water and pat skin dry.
How often can you do this?
2-3 times a week.
Why this works
The cucumber juice combined with the multani mitti in this face mask helps lighten your skin and may even fade skin discolorations (10), (7). The rose water immediately gives your skin a pink glow. Multani Mitti is also rich in minerals that nourish your skin. It has powerful bleaching, cleansing, and oil-absorbing properties that brighten your skin while keeping it clean and healthy (11).
6. Papaya face pack for skin whitening
you will need
1 papaya slice
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon of milk
preparation time
2 minutes
treatment time
20 minutes
Treatment
Blend the ingredients until you get a smooth mixture.
Wash your face with a mild cleanser and pat dry with a towel.
Apply the mixture to your skin like a face mask. Be sure to avoid the sensitive areas around the eyes and mouth.
Leave it on for about 20 minutes.
Rinse with lukewarm water and pat skin dry.
How often can you do this?
1-2 times a week.
Why this works
Lemon juice is one of the most popular treatments for glowing skin. Good results can be achieved in combination with papaya. This is because both lemon and papaya enzyme masks have bleaching properties that can help lighten your skin tone and give it a radiant glow (12), (8). If you have dry skin, you can add some milk to this mixture for better hydration.
7. Tomato for skin lightening
you will need
1 ripe tomato
Hand towel
preparation time
2 minutes
treatment time
20 minutes
Treatment
Puree the tomato until you get a puree consistency.
Wash your face with a mild cleanser and pat dry with a towel.
Apply the tomato puree to your skin like a face mask. Be sure to avoid the sensitive areas around the eyes and mouth.
Leave it on for about 20 minutes.
Rinse with lukewarm water and pat skin dry.
How often can you do this?
Daily
Why this works
Tomatoes are a rich source of vitamins A, B, and C. They also contain calcium, magnesium, and potassium (13). While the minerals help to heal and moisturize your skin, the vitamins prevent premature aging and promote healthy cell production. Tomatoes help give you glowing skin, and their lycopene content protects your skin from the sun’s harsh UV rays (14).
8. Turmeric for skin lightening
you will need
½ teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon of milk
Hand towel
preparation time
2 minutes
treatment time
1 hour
Treatment
Combine the ingredients until you get a smooth mixture.
Wash your face with a mild cleanser and pat dry with a towel.
Apply the mixture to your skin like a face mask. Be sure to avoid the sensitive areas around the eyes and mouth.
Leave it on for about 1 hour.
Rinse with lukewarm water and pat skin dry.
If your skin looks yellow, dip a cotton pad in some milk and rub it on your face for a few minutes.
Rinse your face again.
How often can you do this?
Three times per week.
Why this works
Milk has excellent cleansing properties that help remove dirt, dead skin cells, and other impurities from your skin (15). These turmeric face masks are effective against acne scars, pigmentation, acne, and dark spots (16). Turmeric also helps inhibit melanin production through its curcumin content. Curcumin helps block the production of ACTH, a hormone that triggers excess melanin production (17), (18).
9. Ubtan for skin whitening
you will need
1 tablespoon gram flour
1 tablespoon rice flour
2 teaspoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons milk
preparation time
2 minutes
treatment time
25 minutes
Treatment
Combine the ingredients until you get a smooth mixture.
Wash your face with a mild cleanser and pat dry with a towel.
Apply the mixture to your skin like a face mask. Be sure to avoid the sensitive areas around the eyes and mouth.
Leave it on for about 20 minutes.
After 20 minutes, wet your hands and gently rub the dry mask onto your face as you would a scrub.
Rinse with lukewarm water and pat dry.
How often can you do this?
1-2 times a week.
Why this works
Homemade ubtan face packs are usually used by Indian brides to add glow to the skin while improving their health (19). The use of multiple ingredients in one ubtan makes it an effective face pack for promoting skin health. This pack packs the goodness of chickpea flour, milk, lemon juice, and rice flour.
10. Aloe Vera for skin lightening
you will need
1 aloe vera leaf
Hand towel
preparation time
2 minutes
treatment time
10 mins
Treatment
Cut an aloe leaf in half and scoop out the gel.
Blend the gel to get a smooth consistency.
Wash your face with a mild cleanser and pat dry with a towel.
Apply the gel to your skin like a face mask. Be sure to avoid the sensitive areas around the eyes and mouth.
Leave it on for about 10 minutes.
Rinse with lukewarm water and pat skin dry.
How often can you do this?
Twice a day
Why this works
This remedy can help you get glowing skin instantly in 10 minutes. Aloe vera gel contains around 150 nutrients, including enzymes, lignins, salicylic acids, sterols, saponins, amino acids, minerals, and anthraquinones (20). About 96% of the gel is water, making it extremely moisturizing for the skin (21). It contains minerals such as magnesium, zinc and selenium that repair and protect the skin from damaging factors such as chemicals, harsh sunlight and pollution. The vitamins and minerals in this ingredient also help inhibit melanin production and lighten your skin (22).
There are also other skin lightening tips that you can follow. dr Chacon says, “All you have to do is add a pinch of turmeric ellen and even out your skin tone (8). It’s also high in antioxidants, which help prevent oxidative damage (9). This lemon honey mask cleans and refines your pores while killing harmful bacteria that can cause breakouts. The combined bleaching properties of lemon and honey help control melanin production and lighten your skin tone.
dr Anna Chacon, MD, FAAD, a dual board dermatologist, says, “You will notice a change in the texture and tone of your skin within a month or two. Lemon juice can also be added to the mixture in small amounts. This bleach works faster.”
