11 Methods To Brighten Skin Naturally At Home

Everyone has skin care troubles, and most of us wish for bright and glowing skin. Most of us would have also searched for instant skin brightening tips and skin brightening supplements online. But how many of them worked? Your skin becomes dull and lifeless due to several factors, including dust, sun exposure, pollution, and other skin issues, causing skin darkening. What if we tell you the solution is available in your pantry? Wondering how? This article introduces you to herbal remedies for skin brightening made with ingredients available in your kitchen. Read on to know more!

11 Natural Treatments To Brighten Your Skin

1. Banana Face Pack For Skin Brightening

You Will Need

• 1 ripe banana
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon honey
• Towel

Prep Time

2 minutes

Treatment Time

15 minutes

Treatment

1. Blend all the ingredients together until you get a smooth mixture.
2. Wash your face with a mild cleanser and pat dry with a towel.
3. Apply the banana mixture onto your skin and leave it on for about 15 minutes.
4. 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-brightening home remedies you can try. Bananas are packed with vitamins A, B, and E. They are also an abundant 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 aging (2). The vitamin E helps prevent oxidative damage while also building your skin’s defense against the harmful rays of the sun (3).

Quick Tip

While honey is generally considered safe, some people may be allergic to it or pollen. So, do a patch test before using it on your face.

2. Baking Soda For Skin Brightening

You Will Need

• 1 tablespoon baking soda
• 1 ½ teaspoons water
• Towel

Prep Time

2 minutes

Treatment Time

5 minutes

Treatment

1. Combine the baking soda and water until you get a smooth paste.
2. Wash your face with a mild cleanser and pat dry with a towel.
3. Gently massage the paste onto your face in circular motions. Leave it on for about 5 minutes.
4. 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 the pH of your skin (4). It has anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, and antifungal properties that may help clear acne from your skin(5), (6). It may also help unclog your pores while removing the damaged and darkened skin from the top layers, revealing fair and healthy skin. But people with dry and sensitive skin or open wounds should not try this.

Gin Amber, a YouTuber conducted an experiment with baking soda for her acne, cleansing her face with it once daily every other day for 10 days. She said, “It’s really good. It’s really helping. I am so happy. This is so cheap and it helps make your skin look better (i).” She added, “I have no more pimples, red spots! I have very little scars, that’s it.”

3. Gram Flour For Skin Brightening

You Will Need

• 2 tablespoons gram flour
• 4 tablespoons rose water
• Towel

Prep Time

2 minutes

Treatment Time

20 minutes

Treatment

1. Combine the ingredients until you get a smooth mixture.
2. Wash your face with a mild cleanser and pat dry with a towel.
3. Apply the mixture onto your skin as you would a face pack. Ensure to avoid the delicate areas around your eyes and mouth.
4. Leave it on for about 20 minutes.
5. Rinse off with lukewarm water and pat your skin dry.

How Often Can You Do This?

2-3 times a week.

Why This Works

The gram flour helps control the oil production in your skin while also maintaining its pH levels. It helps remove grime and toxins to leave your skin looking radiant. It is also a gentle exfoliant, helping remove dead skin cells while encouraging the healthy production of new skin cells (7).

4. Lemon For Skin Brightening

You Will Need

• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon honey
• Towel

Prep Time

2 minutes

Treatment Time

15 minutes

Treatment

1. Combine the ingredients until you get a smooth mixture.
2. Wash your face with a mild cleanser and pat dry with a towel.
3. Apply the mixture onto your skin as you would a face pack. Ensure to avoid the delicate areas around your eyes and mouth.
4. Leave it on for about 15 minutes.
5. Rinse off with lukewarm water and pat your skin dry.

How Often Can You Do This?

Twice a week.

Why This Works

It is one of the best skin-brightening tips that takes only 15 minutes to try. Lemon’s rich vitamin C content helps lighten pigmentation and dark spots, evening out your skin tone (8). It is also rich in antioxidants that help prevent oxidative damage (9). This lemon and honey mask purifies and refines your pores while also killing harmful bacteria that can cause breakouts. The combined bleaching properties of lemon and honey help control melanin production, brightening your skin tone.

Dr. Anna Chacon, MD, FAAD, a double board-certified dermatologist, says, “You will notice a change in your skin’s texture and tone within one to two months. Lemon juice can also be added in little amounts to the mixture. This bleach will function more quickly.”

Quick Tip

Always use diluted lemon juice as the acidic nature of lemon may damage your skin, especially if you have extremely sensitive or dry skin.

5. Multani Mitti For Skin Brightening

You Will Need

•  5-6 peeled cucumber slices
• 2 teaspoons Multani mitti
• 1 tablespoon rose water
• Towel

Prep Time

5 minutes

Treatment Time

15 minutes

Treatment

1. Blend the ingredients together until you get a smooth mixture.
2. Wash your face with a mild cleanser and pat dry with a towel.
3. Apply the mixture onto your skin as you would a face pack. Ensure to avoid the delicate areas around your eyes and mouth.
4. Leave it on for about 15 minutes.
5. Rinse off with lukewarm water and pat your 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 pack helps brighten your skin and may even fade skin discoloration (10), (7). The rose water adds an instant pink glow to your skin. Multani mitti is also rich in minerals that help nourish your skin. It has strong bleaching, cleansing, and oil-absorbing properties that brighten your skin while keeping it clean and healthy (11).

6. Papaya Face Pack For Skin Brightening

You Will Need

• 1 papaya slice
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon milk

Prep Time

2 minutes

Treatment Time

20 minutes

Treatment

1. Blend the ingredients together until you get a smooth mixture.
2. Wash your face with a mild cleanser and pat dry with a towel.
3. Apply the mixture onto your skin as you would a face pack. Ensure to avoid the delicate areas around your eyes and mouth.
4. Leave it on for about 20 minutes.
5. Rinse off with lukewarm water and pat your 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 bright skin. In combination with papaya, it can give you good results. This is because both lemon and papaya enzyme masks have bleaching properties that can help brighten your skin tone and leave it with a radiant glow (12), (8). If you have dry skin, you can add a little milk to this mix to make it more hydrating.

7. Tomato For Skin Brightening

You Will Need

• 1 Ripe Tomato
• Towel

Prep Time

2 minutes

Treatment Time

20 minutes

Treatment

1. Blend the tomato to a puree consistency.
2. Wash your face with a mild cleanser and pat dry with a towel.
3. Apply the tomato puree onto your skin as you would a face pack. Ensure to avoid the delicate areas around your eyes and mouth.
4. Leave it on for about 20 minutes.
5. Rinse off with lukewarm water and pat your skin dry.

How Often Can You Do This?

Every day

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 heal your skin and keep it hydrated, the vitamins prevent premature aging and boost healthy cell production. Tomatoes help you achieve radiant skin and their lycopene content protects your skin from the harsh UV rays of the sun (14).

8. Turmeric For Skin Brightening

You Will Need

•  ½ teaspoon turmeric
• 1 teaspoon milk
• Towel

Prep Time

2 minutes

Treatment Time

1 hour

Treatment

1. Combine the ingredients until you get a smooth mixture.
2. Wash your face with a mild cleanser and pat dry with a towel.
3. Apply the mixture onto your skin as you would a face pack. Ensure to avoid the delicate areas around your eyes and mouth.
4. Leave it on for about 1 hour.
5. Rinse off with lukewarm water and pat your skin dry.
6. If your skin looks yellow, dip a cotton pad in some milk and rub this on your face for a couple of minutes.
7. Proceed to rinse your face again.

How Often Can You Do This?

Thrice a week.

Why This Works

Milk has excellent cleansing properties that help get rid of grime, dead skin, and other impurities from your skin (15). These turmeric face masks work as an effective treatment for acne scars, pigmentation, acne, and dark spots (16). Turmeric also helps inhibit melanin production with its curcumin content. Curcumin helps block the production of ACTH, a hormone that triggers excessive melanin production (17), (18).

9. Ubtan For Skin Brightening

You Will Need

• 1 tablespoon gram flour
• 1 tablespoon rice flour
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons milk

Prep Time

2 minutes

Treatment Time

25 minutes

Treatment

1. Combine the ingredients until you get a smooth mixture.
2. Wash your face with a mild cleanser and pat dry with a towel.
3. Apply the mixture onto your skin as you would a face pack. Ensure to avoid the delicate areas around your eyes and mouth.
4. Leave it on for about 20 minutes.
5. After 20 minutes have passed, wet your hands and gently rub the dry mask on your face as you would a scrub.
6. Rinse off 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 help add a glow to the skin while improving its health (19). The use of multiple ingredients in an ubtan makes it an effective skin health-boosting face pack. This pack contains the goodness of gram flour, milk, lemon juice, and rice flour.

10. Aloe Vera For Skin Brightening

You Will Need

• 1 aloe vera leaf
• Towel

Prep Time

2 minutes

Treatment Time

10 minutes

Treatment

1. Slice an aloe leaf in half and scoop out its gel.
2. Blend the gel to bring it to a smooth consistency.
3. Wash your face with a mild cleanser and pat dry with a towel.
4. Apply the gel onto your skin as you would a face pack. Ensure to avoid the delicate areas around your eyes and mouth.
5. Leave it on for about 10 minutes.
6. Rinse off with lukewarm water and pat your skin dry.

How Often Can You Do This?

Twice a day

Why This Works

This remedy may help you achieve instant glowing skin in 10 minutes. Aloe vera gel contains about 150 nutrients, which include enzymes, lignins, salicylic acids, sterols, saponins, amino acids, minerals, and anthraquinones (20). About 96% of the gel is water, which makes it extremely hydrating for the skin (21). It contains minerals like magnesium, zinc, and selenium that repair and protect the skin from damage-causing factors, such as chemicals, the harsh rays of the sun, and pollution. The vitamins and minerals in this ingredient also help inhibit melanin production and brighten your skin (22).

11. Orange Peel Face Pack For Skin Brightening

You Will Need

• 2 tablespoons of dried orange peel powder
• 1 tablespoon of yogurt
• 1 tablespoon of honey

Prep Time

7 minutes

Treatment Time

20 minutes

Treatment

1. Mix the orange peel powder with honey.
2. Add yogurt and mix well until you get a smooth paste.
3. Apply the mixture evenly to your face and neck.
4. Leave the face pack on for 15-20 minutes until it is dry.
5. Gently wash it off with tepid water.
6. Pat your skin dry and apply a light moisturizer.

How Often Can You Do This?

Twice a week

Why This Works

Orange peel is rich in vitamin C that brightens skin by reducing the melanin pigment (23). Yogurt contains lactic acid that gently exfoliates skin and promotes a smoother, even complexion (24). Honey possesses antimicrobial properties that may help acne-prone skin (25).

There are other skin-brightening tips that you can follow as well. Dr. Chacon says, “All you have to do is combine a sprinkle of turmeric powder with a tablespoon of honey, two tablespoons of lemon juice, and three to four pieces of almonds with almost two cups of yogurt. Blend everything well.”

Infographic: Easy Natural Remedies For An Instant Glow

The skin often gets dull and lifeless due to dust, exposure to the sun, and pollution, all of which darken the skin. For protection from their harmful effects and to achieve instant fairness, follow the natural remedies listed in the article, but some of them might be challenging, so to know about the easiest natural remedies for brighter skin, check out the infographic below!

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Illustration: StyleCraze Design Team

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Frequently Asked Questions

Can hydrogen peroxide lighten the skin?

Dr. Chacon says, “Among its numerous uses in skin care, hydrogen peroxide is a bleaching and oxidizing agent. It can help lighten the skin tone when used in a suitably low dosage.” However, do not use it without consulting your doctor.

What drinks make your skin glow?

Detox drinks and juices of vitamin C-rich fruits and vegetables may make your skin glow.

Is coffee good for the skin?

Coffee helps protect the skin from oxidative stress and photoaging and reduces hyperpigmentation (26).

Can we apply lemon juice to the face directly?

Yes, you can apply lemon juice directly to the face if your skin is not sensitive. Those with sensitive skin may need to dilute the juice with water or rose water before applying.

Can we apply coffee to the face overnight?

Yes, there is no problem in applying coffee to the face overnight. You can make a coffee overnight face pack, apply it before bed, and rinse it off the next morning. However, always do a patch test before applying.

Image: Stable Diffusion/StyleCraze Design Team

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Discover the ancient secret to radiant skin with a homemade multani mitti body/face pack. Say goodbye to dullness and hello to a natural glow. Watch the video below for more information.

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Dr. CP ThajudheenMD

   

Dr. CP Thajudheen has over 20 years of experience in various lasers, light-based devices, and other advanced equipment. He was one of the beginners who introduced cutaneous lasers in India. He carries out dermato surgeries regularly, including hair grafting and vitiligo surgeries. He runs multiple laser centers in Kerala and Tamil Nadu and has trained many doctors in lasers and...more

• Dr. Anna ChaconMD, FAAD

  Dr. Anna Chacon, MD, FAAD, is a double board-certified dermatologist with over 7 years of experience. She has authored many peer-reviewed articles and managed clinical research studies during her fellowship. She completed her medical school in the PLME (Program of Liberal Medical Education) at Brown University.
  
  Dr. Anna Chacon, MD, FAAD, is a double board-certified dermatologist with over 7 years of experience. She has authored many peer-reviewed articles and managed clinical research studies during her fellowship. She completed her medical school in the PLME (Program of Liberal Medical Education) at Brown University.

Arshiya SyedaSenior Editor

 

Arshiya Syeda is a senior editor at StyleCraze with 7 years of experience. Prior to that, she was a content writer and combined her writing and research skills to write over 200 high-performing articles on hairstyles, hair care, and skin care. She holds a bachelor's degree in literature and psychology from Osmania University, Hyderabad, and a post-graduate diploma in psychological...more

Ramona SinhaEditor

Ramona is an editor at StyleCraze with 11 years of experience in writing and editing. She has authored over 200 articles on skin and hair care. She graduated from the University of Calcutta, West Bengal, and did her post-graduation from the University of Kalyani, West Bengal. She also did a certificate course in dermatology offered by the Novosibirsk State University...more

Swathi ESenior Beauty & Lifestyle Writer

Swathi has a postgraduate degree in English literature from The English And Foreign Languages University, Hyderabad, and over two years of experience in writing on health and lifestyle. She also has a diploma in English journalism from the Indian Institute of Mass Communication, Kottayam, and is a certified skincare coach. She writes on skin care and aims to present well-researched...more