The desire to acquire a fairer skin stems from the age old association of whiter skin with nobility and higher social status. Every civilization has it own skin bleaching tips in its traditional beauty care methods. With the advent of technology, the last century witnessed a huge surge in skin bleaching products and with it came associated problems which required precautions to be adopted while undertaking skin bleaching. During the fifties many chemically strong products containing phenol-hydroquinone, carbolic acid and mercury hit the markets in an attempt women into instant whitening formulas. The adverse health impacts that arrived with these products led various government agencies to ban such products and create widespread awareness regarding skin bleaching tips and precautions that ensure the safety of the skin. Today the trend has changed and more and more people are aware that along with the desire for fairness there needs to be many precautions while using skin bleaching products. Natural products and processes are considered as the safest as they contain minimal amounts of chemicals that can have side effects.
Understanding Skin Bleaching
Skin bleaching is a proven technique to lighten the appearance of the skin and involves whitening the facial hair which ultimately results in fairer looks. It additionally helps reduce dark spots, hides heckles and evens out the complexion of the skin. The effects of bleaching vary drastically depending on the skin type and have been found to be most effective on darker skins. Standard mild bleach normally lasts for about 15 to 20 days after which it requires to be redone in order to maintain the appearance.
Natural Skin Bleaching Tips
The natural means of skin bleaching are far better as they not only suitable for all kinds of skin but also ensure that the skin is not exposed to harmful chemicals contained in most of the commercial products. While the natural skin bleaching techniques may take a little longer to provide results they will certainly not put you into grief with skin irritations and rashes found so often when using commercial products.
- A mixture of equal proportion of lemon juice and cucumber juice added with a pinch of turmeric powder is one of the best natural skin bleaching formulas that has been in use since time immemorial. This paste needs to be applied on the face and neck and left to dry for about 20 minutes after which it can be rinsed off with lukewarm water.
- The wonderful properties of sandalwood powder can be employed for skin bleaching by making a mixing it with lemon juice, tomato juice and cucumber juice in equal parts and making a thick paste. This paste can be applied on the face for about 15 minutes before being washed off. This paste also lends firmness to the skin along with whitening effects.
- Orange peels are known to be great for the skin in all the forms. Dried orange peels grinned and mixed with milk to form a paste are another formula that can be applied on the face and neck for 15 minutes for best skin bleaching results.
- A paste of honey and almond also does wonders for skin bleaching providing a clear and fairer skin within no time. A thick paste needs to be made and applied on the face for half an hour before rinsing it off with lukewarm water.
- Glycerin when mixed with cucumber and lemon juice with a few drops of rose water added can be a fairness agent when applied regularly for a sustained period of time. It has the additional benefit of smoothening blemishes on the skin along with providing a whiter tone to the appearance.
- The milk bleach formula used by many women is a safe combination even for the most sensitive skin and can be prepared by mixing milk powder with ammonia. The elements of milk powder neutralize any residual reaction that might occur due to ammonia and make the formula safe for skin bleaching at home.
- A combination of bleaching powder, hydrogen peroxide and ammonia is a powerful whitening agent that can be applied on the facial skin for 15 minutes for amazing results. The proportion of hydrogen peroxide is half that of the other two ingredients.
Skin Bleaching Precautions
While skin bleaching is a common activity regularly undertaken by most women at home itself, there are few precautions which must be adhered to in order to protect the skin from side effects of chemicals in the bleaching formulas.
- The first step is to identify and make a list of chemicals that are harmful to your skin. As a golden rule any no commercial product should contain any chemical in excess of 2 % in its formulation. Be sure to stay away from mercury at all costs as it is the most harmful of all the chemicals when it comes to whitening of the skin.
- Before trying out any formula whether commercial or home made testing it on a small scale is an essential precaution in skin bleaching techniques. The smartest way is to apply the formula on your elbow or palm to check out allergies before using on the sensitive skin of the face and neck. Watch out for itching and irritation to check allergies and if you are not comfortable the best way is to wash the area with cold water.
- A very important precaution that must be borne in mind while carrying out skin bleaching is that no formulation should ever be applied on areas of damaged skin, burns or bruises. These exposed parts of the skin can react vigorously with chemicals and cause extremely painful and potentially dangerous situations.
- Prior to applying any paste or formula on the facial skin, remember to remove all make up that has been used there. Rinsing off the make up and washing will open up the pores on the skin surface which help the process of skin bleaching.
- Whenever applying skin bleaching products on the face a good precaution is to cover the eyes with slices of cucumber in order to protect them from chemical fumes or residues.
- After having washed of the skin bleaching agent from the face, apply moisturizer and massage the face in circular motions. This sweeps away any residues of the bleaching agents and improves the blood circulation in the face area which also aids brighter and fairer skin.
- Limiting exposure of the skin to bleaching products to a maximum of about 15 minutes is a standard precaution which is written on the products. Any further exposure will only damage the skin.
- After having bleached the face avoid going out in the sun for some time. Exposure to sun will burn the face skin made tender by the bleaching agent and will ultimately make the skin darker. Sitting inside an AC room for about 1 hour after bleaching is a precaution against such darkening effects.
While most women still covet a fairer skin and resort to skin bleaching to achieve that, a few simple tips and easy precautions will help them in doing so without causing damage to the skin. Use of commercial skin bleaching products without adequate precaution will not only hamper the process of whitening the skin but even result in permanent hyper pigmentation or discoloration of the facial skin. Precautions and care while exposing the sensitive skin of the face to chemicals is one safety measure that no self conscious woman should ever ignore.
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