Love to mix, brew, and whip up your own lotions and potions? Then you're probably on the hunt for effective DIY skin lightening solutions to transform dull, spotty skin into a brighter, even complexion.
As many skin lightening lotions and potions exist on the market, some of us like the comfort of knowing exactly what goes into our skin care products. And of course, there's the fact that a homemade whitening cream costs just a fraction of what the big brands are charging.
Not to mention another huge perk of DIY skin lightening: you get all the brightening, lightening benefits without having to leave the house.
Admittedly, not all homemade recipes are fool proof either. You have to know the most effective ingredients to actually get results and then figure out how to mix these ingredients together into a potent recipe.
And that's exactly what we're here for. Get ready to roll up your sleeves and whip up some homemade whitening recipes not just for creams but also for serums, scrubs, masks, what have you that are made from ingredients that are actually proven to both lighten the skin and keep it healthy!
DIY Skin Lightening Papaya Mask
There's a reason that papaya is a popular ingredient among products that promise to lighten the skin. Walk through any skin whitening aisle in the grocery and you're bound to come across numbers of papaya based soaps and other products.
It's all because papaya contains the enzyme papain which encourages exfoliation and skin cell turnover as well as vitamin A to reduce dark spots – all contributing to its skin whitening effects.
Honey, on the other hand has antibacterial properties that protect and nourish the skin. When used together, they create a powerful mask that can help whiten your skin in no time.
Here's how to make the mask:
- Mash ½ cup of fresh papaya pieces until you get a smooth and thick paste
- Add 1 teaspoon of honey to this paste and mix thoroughly
- Apply this paste onto your face and leave on for about 20 minutes
- Rinse off with warm water and rinse again with cold water
Repeat as often as you want for brighter, smoother skin!
DIY Skin Lightening Vitamin C Mask
While papaya, with its gentle and effective exfoliating enzymes, is great for skin brightening - oranges are where it's really at for natural skin lightening.
Oranges are one of those lovely fruits that are just as good when applied topically as it is when consumed on a regular basis. Its claim to skin lightening fame? Oranges are a fantastic source of vitamin C, which is not only essential in keeping the skin glowing and healthy but also is a melanin inhibitor that helps fade dark spots and naturally lighten the skin.
And when used alongside yogurt, it makes the perfect tag team. You see, yogurt is not only staple diet food - it also, contains lactic acid, which is a gentle exfoliant, helping to get rid of dead skin cells so the vitamin C can penetrate deeper and better.
Aside from this, yogurt also contains healthy amounts of zinc, calcium, and B vitamins which all help in keeping the skin healthy and nourished. When used individually, both ingredients help lighten the skin with regular use but they work even better when used together.
Here's how to do it:
- Dry a few orange peels in the sun for 2 to 3 days (go for organic oranges so you're not dealing with pesticides in the peels)
- Once they become nearly crisp, grind them until they turn into a powder (yes, it takes time but once you have the powder, you'll be able to use it over and over again)
- If you want, you can just buy organic orange peel powder - much more convenient 🙂
- Mix 1 tablespoon of this powder with 1 tablespoon of unflavored yogurt until you get a smooth paste
- Apply this paste onto clean skin and leave on for about 20 minutes
- Rinse off with warm water
This is an easy, gorgeous DIY skin lightening mask that will leave your skin glowing. And you can add so many other great, skin lightening ingredients into this recipe - i.e. ginger powder, turmeric powder, gram flour and so on.
Another tip? You can even use the orange peel powder as a DIY skin lightening cleanser - just add it into your regular face wash as a natural, grainy exfoliant!
DIY Skin Lightening Vitamin C Serum
Vitamin C masks are great and all...but they only stay on your skin so long. Which is why it's best to follow it up with a more potent Vitamin C serum - and you can whip one up yourself right in the comfort of your home.
Here's what you'll need:
- Pure Ascorbic Acid powder - shop it here. There's a few Vitamin C compounds but ascorbic acid is the most effective. Make sure you get a fine powder since it'll be much easier to dissolve.
- Distilled water
- Glycerin
You can also add in essential oils of your choice as well as other skin care goodies like aloe vera gel and Vitamin E oil, but the above 3 ingredients are all you need for a bare bones DIY Vitamin C serum.
Here's how you make it:
- Dissolve 2 teaspoons of the Ascorbic Acid in 7 teaspoons of distilled water
- When it's fully dissolved, add 1 teaspoon of glycerin
This will make a 20% Vitamin C serum. The thing is, though, that Vitamin C is very unstable. So once you have this serum, make sure you store it in a dark, air-tight container and aim to make a fresh batch every couple of days or at the latest once a week.
DIY Skin Lightening Milky Sandalwood Mask
Sandalwood powder has long been used as a whitening agent because of its ability to inhibit tyrosinase activity which in turn reduces melanin production. Almond powder on the other hand provides essential nutrients that brighten the skin and provides a grainy exfoliation to remove dead skin cells.
Lastly, milk – like yogurt – has lactic acid which is a natural chemical exfoliant, further helping to speed up cell turnover.
The three ingredients perfectly complement each other giving you a mask that will not only give you a lighten complexion but will also keep your skin healthy and glowing.
Here's how to make it:
- Mix 1 tablespoon of sandalwood powder and 1 tablespoon of almond powder with enough milk until you get a smooth paste
- Apply this paste onto your skin and leave on for about 20 minutes
- Rinse off with lukewarm water
So simple, so effective. Just keep in mind that this mask can be slightly drying so use just a few times a week and make sure to follow it up with moisturizer!
DIY Skin Lightening Arbutin Lotion
If you haven't heard of arbutin by now, it's one of the most effective all natural skin lightening ingredients around - it's a naturally-occurring cousin of hydroquinone that's found in bearberry extract and has the ability to whiten your skin by inactivating tyrosinase, an enzyme responsible for producing melanin.
The difference is that arbutin is a totally natural, botanical-based compound that has the same skin whitening benefits as synthetic hydroquinone – without the side effects or risks.
Plus, it's so darn easy to whip up your won DIY skin lightening lotion or cream using it. All you need is pure, 100% bearberry extract. And then simply mix it into your favorite lotion or cream!
Extra tip: Want an extra dose of skin lightening benefits? Get thee some pure licorice root extract as well to mix into your lotion!
DIY Skin Lightening Pumpkin Mask
Pumpkins are such an underrated skin brightening ingredient. In fact it is loaded with antioxidants and exfoliating acids paired with beta carotene, vitamin A, and vitamin C, which all help in brightening lightening the skin.
They're also loaded with fruit enzymes and alpha hydroxy acids (AHAs) that brighten and smoothen the skin through increased cell turnover. If that's not enough to convince you of its skin brightening effects, I don't know what will.
Meanwhile, milk is loaded with lactic acid which helps speed exfoliation and even skin tone while honey is known for its moisturizing and antibacterial properties. When added together, you get a mask that will make your skin lighter and healthier.
How to make the mask:
- First make a pumpkin puree by cutting a pumpkin into several pieces, boiling them, and putting them in an immersion blender
- Mix 2 tablespoons of this puree with ½ teaspoon of honey and ½ teaspoon of milk until you get a uniform paste
- Apply this paste to your face and leave on for about 20 minutes
- Rinse off with warm water
By the way, this mask smells delicious - like pumpkin pie. Oh, and it actually is good enough to eat.
DIY Skin Lightening Rice Scrub
Got sensitive skin and want instant whitening effects? You'll want to whip up some of this scrub. Aloe vera is an all purpose, amazing skin soother that contains over 75 nutrients, 20 minerals, 12 vitamins, 18 amino acids, and 200 active enzymes - no wonder it's so beneficial for your skin.
Rice flour, on the other hand, is full of para aminobenzoic acid, ferulic acid, and allantoin, among others that protect and lighten the skin. Applied topically, rice powder has been shown to inhibit tyrosinase, an enzyme involved in the formation of melanin pigments.
Plus, the fine coarseness of the rice flour makes the perfect natural exfoliant to remove dead skin cells and impurities that have accumulated on the skin.
Here's how to make the scrub:
- Cut open an aloe vera leaf to expose the gel present inside
- Dip the gel side of the leaf into the rice flour
- Rub this gently on your skin in circular motions for a few minutes
- Rinse off with warm water and rinse again with cool water
Oh, last step: admire your newfound smooth, glowing, nourished skin.
DIY Skin Lightening Lycopene Mask
All you need is tomato, yogurt and oatmeal - which most of us have in our kitchen anyway. These three ingredients when combined together will give you an effective skin lightening mask that leave your skin happy and glowing.
How? Tomatoes are loaded with antioxidants, namely lycopene, which has been shown to provide protection from free radicals. Yogurt is no slacker, either, and has been a popular skin whitening agent for a very long time with Cleopatra herself known for taking daily sour milk baths. Since yogurt is a by product of milk, it contains lactic acid, a natural exfoliant. It also contains zinc, calcium, and B vitamins that all contribute in lightening the skin and keeping it healthy.
Lastly, oatmeal is not only a super food that is a staple for dieters, it is also an effective exfoliant that sloughs off dead skin cells and helps lighten scars, dark spots, and discoloration. And if that's not enough – its lipids, proteins, and antioxidants all keep the skin moisturized and nourished.
Here's how to make the mask:
- Cut a tomato in half and take a teaspoon or 2 of its juice
- Add this juice with 1 teaspoon of oatmeal and 1 teaspoon of plain unsweetened yogurt into a bowl and mix well
- Apply this mask onto the skin and leave on for about 20 minutes
- Rinse off with warm water
This mask is gentle enough to use everyday and won't just brighten your skin - it'll leave it smooth, hydrated and cut down on oiliness. Perfect for those with oily, blemish-prone skin!
DIY Skin Lightening Sour Oatmeal Mask
All you need for this mask are lemon and oatmeal - these two very different ingredients work perfectly together. Lemon is chock full of Vitamin C, a powerful antioxidant that lightens skin tone and prevents hyper pigmentation. It also helps slough of dead skin cells and promotes the production of new skin cells. It even interrupts the action of the enzyme tyrosinase which stimulates melanin production.
The only downside is that it's a strong ingredient and can be too much for your skin. Which is where oatmeal, the super soother, comes in. Oatmeal, as you know is loaded with amino acids, saponin, lipids, proteins, and antioxidants. It's also very, very soothing, which helps counteract the sting and irritation that can be caused by lemon juice.
Here's how to make the mask:
- Cook 1 tablespoon of dried oats. You can cook it in the microwave for 2 minutes for convenience (do not use pre packed oats)
- After the oatmeal is cooked, mash it up
- Add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice and ½ teaspoon of warm water into the mashed oatmeal and mix thoroughly
- Apply onto the skin and leave on for about 30 minutes
- Rinse off with warm water
As great as lemon juice is, it can be strong so if you have sensitive skin, go ahead and dilute it with some water or yogurt. Also, keep in mind that Vitamin C does increase sun sensitivity and always remember to use sunscreen before heading out!
These are just a few of the homemade whitening recipes that actually work in lightening the skin. When creating your own masks, serums, creams, etc, you have to be careful in choosing your ingredients and use the ones that actually have properties proven to effectively whiten the skin. There are a lot of recipes out there that use ingredients that don't actually do anything for your skin.
Also remember that when using any ingredients for the first time, it is best to first conduct a skin test on a small patch of your skin to ensure that you do not have any bodily aversions to the ingredient.
You do not always have to spend on countless products or shell out half your monthly paycheck on a procedure that you aren't sure will work on you anyway. Sometimes the best solution to your remedy is already sitting in your kitchen. Here's to not only lighter, but also healthier skin!
