Skin brightening face pack

Cleansing and exfoliating your skin using masks and scrubs will ensure that all the dirt, grime, and impurities are removed along with the dead skin cells. Once cleansed, moisturize your skin to keep it hydrated and nourished. Before you step out in the sun to soak in some vitamin D, it is extremely important to use a good sunscreen so that the sun’s UV rays do not cause any damage to the skin cells.

How To Lighten Skin?
Let us now see how simple concoctions that you can brew up at home can work wonders in lightening your skin.

Masks For Skin Lightening

1. Papaya And Honey Mask
resh papaya is not only tasty to eat but is also excellent when it comes to its benefits for the skin. It contains enzymes such as papain and alpha hydroxy acids that have the ability to dissolve dead cells and remove impurities, which lead to glowing skin (1, 2). The other ingredient in this mask, honey has antibacterial properties that can protect the skin (3).

What You Need
½ cup fresh papaya pieces
1 teaspoon honey
What You Need To Do
1. Mash the papaya pieces till you get a smooth and thick paste.
2. Add honey to this paste and mix thoroughly.
3. Apply the paste to your face and keep it on for about 20 minutes.
4. Wash your face with warm water.
5. Rinse again with cold water and pat your skin dry.

How Often You Need To Do This
Every night before sleeping.

Best Suited For
Oily skin, normal skin

Caution
Papain can cause allergic reactions in some people. Do not use this remedy if you are allergic to papaya and its products.

2. Dried Orange Peels And Yogurt
Orange is a commonly found fruit in most households, and it works really well in whitening the skin (4). It is also rich in vitamin C that acts as a good depigmenting agent (5).

What You Need
A few orange peels
1 tablespoon unflavored yogurt
What You Have To Do
1. Dry the orange peels in the sun for two to three days.
2. Once they become almost crisp, grind them till they turn into powder.
3. Mix one tablespoon of this powder with the yogurt till you get a smooth paste.
4. Apply the paste to your skin (after cleansing it) and keep it on for about 15-20 minutes.
5. Rinse with warm water.

How Often You Need To Do This
You can do this every alternate day before going to bed.

Best Suited For
All skin types

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3. Tomato, Yogurt, And Oatmeal Mask
The lycopene in tomatoes, which gives them their characteristic red color, has photoprotective properties that can protect the skin from aging and other age-related issues (6). Due to the abundance of antioxidants, tomatoes are one of those foods that can make your skin glow (7). In a Germanic study, the lycopene in tomatoes was also found to protect the skin from cancer (8).

Oatmeal acts as a gentle exfoliant and improves skin health (9).

What You Need
1 tomato
1 teaspoon yogurt (fresh and unflavored)
1 teaspoon oatmeal
What You Have To Do
1. Cut the tomato in half. Take a teaspoon or two of its juice.
2. Take the oatmeal in a bowl, and add the juice and yogurt to it. Mix well.
3. Apply the mask to cleansed skin and leave it on for about 20 minutes.
4. Rinse with warm water.

How Often You Need To Do This
Preferably two to three times in a week.

Best Suited For
Oily skin, normal skin, combination skin

4. Milk, Lemon Juice, And Honey Mask
Lemon juice is rich in vitamin C that has been found to have skin lightening effects due to its ability to reduce the production of melanin, the pigment responsible for skin tanning (10).

What You Need
1 tablespoon milk
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon honey
What You Have To Do
1. Mix the ingredients in a bowl.
2. Apply the paste to your face (after having cleansed your face) and leave it on for about 20 minutes.
3. Rinse your face with warm water.

How Often You Need To Do This
Do this every alternate night before going to bed.

Best Suited For
All skin types

Caution
If you feel any burning sensation because of the acidity of the lemon juice, take the mask off immediately and rub an ice cube on the area.
5. Gram Flour And Rose Water (Or Yogurt)
Gram flour has been found to possess antimicrobial properties that can protect the skin from infection. Rosewater can revitalize and moisturize the skin and give it a refreshed look (11).

Yogurt has been found to improve the brightness of skin (12). The probiotic bacteria in yogurt have also been found to keep your skin healthy and make it glow (13).

What You Need
2 tablespoons gram flour
2-3 teaspoons rose water or yogurt
What You Need To Do
1. Mix the ingredients till you get a smooth paste. Use rose water for normal and oily skin and yogurt for dry skin.
2. Apply the mask all over your face and let it stay on for about 20-30 minutes.
3. Rinse with warm water.

How Often You Need To Do This
You can do this thrice a week before going to bed.

Best Suited For
All skin types

Caution
Make sure you use yogurt instead of rose water if you have dry skin, else this mask will make your skin drier.
6. Sandalwood Powder
Sandalwood has skin brightening and lightening properties. It inhibits the activity of tyrosinase, thus reducing melanin production (14). Almond powder and milk provide essential nutrients and cleanse the skin, making your skin healthier and lighter after a few applications (15).

What You Need
1 tablespoon sandalwood powder
1 tablespoon almond powder
Milk
What You Have To Do
1. Mix the sandalwood and almond powders with enough milk to make a smooth paste.
2. Apply this to clean skin and leave it on for 20 minutes.
3. Wash with lukewarm water. If you feel any dryness after washing, moisturize your skin well.

How Often You Need To Do This
Apply this mask two to three times a week.

Best Suited For
All skin types

Caution
If you have never used sandalwood powder before, do a patch test on a small area on your forearm and observe for 24 hours. If no reaction or irritation develops, you can use this mask on your face.
7. Pumpkin Mask
Pumpkin is a powerhouse of antioxidants and exfoliating acids. It consists of beta-carotene and vitamins A and C, all of which help in lightening and brightening the skin (16).

What You Need
2 teaspoons pumpkin puree
½ teaspoon honey
½ teaspoon milk
What You Have To Do
1. For the pumpkin puree, first cut a pumpkin into several pieces. Later, boil them and put them in an immersion blender.
2. Mix two teaspoons of this puree with the honey and milk till you get a uniform paste.
3. Apply this paste to your face and leave it on for about 20 minutes.
4. Rinse with warm water.

How Often You Need To Do This
You can try this before going to bed at night. It is recommended to use this two to three times in a week.

Best Suited For
All skin types

Caution
If you suffer from dairy-related allergies, substitute the milk with rose water or aloe vera juice.

8. Citrus Mask
The citric acid in lemon and grapefruit cleanses and brightens the skin. It acts a natural bleaching agent and also tightens the pores (17). The proteins found in egg white are found to have antibacterial properties (18). These can help protect the skin from external infections.

What You Need
1 egg white
1 teaspoon grapefruit juice
1 teaspoon lemon juice
2 teaspoons sour cream (should not be fat-free)
What You Have To Do
1. Beat the egg white in a bowl till it is fluffy.
2. Take the sour cream in another bowl and mix the juices of grapefruit and lemon with it.
3. Now add this mixture to the egg white and mix thoroughly.
4. Apply the mixture to your face and leave it on for 15 minutes.
5. Rinse your face with warm water.

How Often You Need To Do This
Thrice a week before going to bed.

Best Suited For
Oily skin, combination skin, normal skin

Caution
People with dry skin can also try out this remedy, but make sure to moisturize your skin well afterwards.
9. Potato Juice
Potato juice is rich in vitamin C and has antioxidant properties. It is a mild bleaching agent that whitens your skin and also removes dead cells (19, 20).

What You Need
1 potato

What You Have To Do
1. Peel the potato and cut it into inch-sized pieces.
2. Rub the pieces of potato on the areas you want to lighten so that the juice is spread onto your skin.
3. Leave it on for 15-20 minutes and wash with water.

You can also grate the potato, squeeze out the juice, and apply it with the help of a cotton pad.

How Often You Need To Do This
Repeat this thrice a week.

Best Suited For
All skin types

Caution
Potato juice can be slightly drying for the skin. Do not forget to use a moisturizer that suits your skin once you rinse the juice off.
10. Rice Flour And Milk Face Pack
Rice water and rice powder have been used since long by Asian women for softer, lighter, and healthier skin. Studies have proved that rice can protect the skin from UV rays and also possesses anti-aging benefits (21). Milk soothes the skin and gives it nourishment (22).

What You Need
½ cup raw rice
3-4 tablespoons milk
What You Have To Do
1. Grind the raw rice to get a fine powder. Mix this powder with the milk to make a paste.
2. Apply this paste onto your skin and leave it on for 20-30 minutes.
3. Wash with warm water.

How Often You Need To Do This
Repeat this two to three times a week.

Best Suited For
All skin types

Caution
Substitute milk with regular water or rose water if you are allergic to it.
11. Blueberry Skin Brightening Mask
Blueberries have excellent immunity-boosting properties that can help your skin glow (23).

What You Need
A handful of fresh blueberries
½ cup plain yogurt
What You Have To Do
1. Crush the blueberries and blend the paste with the yogurt.
2. Mix well and apply the mask to your face.
3. Leave it on for 15 minutes, and then wash off with warm water.

How Often You Need To Do This
Do this twice a week before going to bed.

Best Suited For
All skin types

Caution
Check for allergic reactions if you are unsure if blueberries will suit your skin or not