Remove Sun Tan at Home
Pineapple: This fruit is the source of an enzyme call bromelain, which has superior skin exfoliation properties. It encourages a speedy removal of the top layers of the skin, which means reduced appearance of a tan. Mix together 1 tsp of fresh pineapple juice with 1 tsp of aloe vera gel. Now add in enough oat flour to make a thick paste. Apply on your skin and wash with lukewarm water after 12-15 minutes. Always follow with serum and lotion. An anti-pigmentation serum is the perfect choice to further remove a tan.
Jaggery: This is a beautiful ingredient commonly used as a sweetener in Indian cooking (also called gur). It is the closest you can get to plain sugarcane juice. So it goes through very little processing, which is great news for many reasons. One being that it retains a good level of the natural glycolic acid, which is an alpha hydroxy acid. Natural alpha hydoxy acids are wonderful to exfoliate the skin and remove a sun tan. They are also very useful to significantly reduce hyper pigmentation of skin. To 1 tsp of powdered jaggery add 1/2 tsp of instant coffee, 8 drops of fresh lemon juice and enough almond milk to form a paste. Then apply on the skin. Wash off in 15 minutes and follow with serum and lotion for your skin type. Don’t know your skin type. Don’t you worry! Read this page for help.
Orange juice: Amazingly high in vitamin C as well as the alpha hydroxy acid called citric acid. I already explained how alpha hydroxy acids help with removing excess sun tan. How does vitamin C help though? Does it? Yes it does. Vitamin C is a well known antioxidant. Excess tanning of skin is a result of long exposure to sunlight, which also causes free radical damage to the skin. Antioxidants can reverse and keep under check free radical damage to the skin. A few signs of free radical damage are pigmentation, dark spots, early line & wrinkles and dullness. to 1/2 tsp of orange juice add 1 tsp of rosewater and 10 drops of vegetable glycerin. Mix well and dab this liquid mask on your skin. Wash in 12-15 minutes and always follow with serum and lotion.
Potato juice: Now this might seem like an unusual ingredient to some of you. Others might be familiar with the fact that this ingredient is part of many Ayurvedic home remedies to help with excess tan and also to reduce hyperpigmentation of skin. How exactly does it work? We do not know. In scientific language we might say we do not know its mechanism of action (FYI: that is actually also true for many modern medications). In any case it has been used for centuries with successful outcome. The caution that goes with using potato juice on your skin is that it can leave your skin dry. So using your serum and lotion is a must. Pound or grind a few slices of potato juice to get enough juice. Now to one TSP of potato juice add 3 drops of vinegar (and no more) and 1 tsp of aloe vera juice. Mix well and dab on your skin. Wash in 10 minutes and follow with serum and lotion.
Coffee: Well coffee in itself cannot be said to speed up dead cell removal. It does have some awesome antioxidant and skin tightening properties though. But yes there is a way to use coffee to help remove excess sun tan. When used as a scrub. Here is how. To 1 TSP ground coffee (not instant) add 1/2 tsp of powdered brown sugar, 1/4 tsp nutmeg powder and plenty of jojoba oil to make a paste. Now use this to scrub your skin for 3-5 minutes using gentle pressure. Wash with lukewarm water and your cleanser. Then follow with toner, serum and lotion. This loosens up the upper dead layers of the skin and brings fresh and glowing skin to surface. Hopefully with a much reduced sun tan as well.
CAUTION: Do not scrub your skin if you have active acne.
