Ninety percent of the lightening creams sold today contains a compound called Hydroquinone: which is a major cause of skin cancer.

Now that we know the dangers of using bleaching creams, how then does one achieve a lightened skin tone naturally?

Below are five natural methods to achieve an even and healthy lightened skin.

HONEY

Honey is a natural substance that helps moisturize and lighten up the skin to give clear flawless one. Honey has antibacterial properties that can help fade age spots and acne scars, clear out black spot which most toning creams do not do.

How to Apply

•    Get an original made honey (you can find them in popular grocery stores)
•    Gently apply the honey on your face and any other region of your body you desire a change in complexion.
•    Leave the honey mask on your face for about 20-30 minutes.
•    Rinse with lukewarm water (be careful not to apply extra force on your face when washing)
•    Do this daily for effective results and preferably at night before going to bed.

To make a skin-lightening mask, combine one teaspoon each of honey and lemon juice, one tablespoon of powdered milk, and one-half teaspoon of almond oil. Mix them well and apply it gently on the skin. Leave it on for 10 – 15 minutes and then wash it off with cold water. Do this every other day.

LEMONS

The acidic property in lemons work as a natural bleaching agent for the skin and the high amount of vitamin C in them encourages new cell growth. Also, lemons have antioxidants that are very good for skin complexion.

How to Apply

• Dip a cotton ball in freshly squeezed lemon juice and apply it directly on your face. You can even rub a cut lemon directly over the affected skin and allow the juice to stick to the skin. Leave it on for at least an hour and then wash your face with water.
• Mix three teaspoons of lemon juice and one teaspoon of turmeric powder. Apply this mixture on the skin and leave it on for half an hour. Wash off with water.
• Alternatively, mix together one teaspoon each of lemon juice, powdered milk and honey. Apply it on your skin and leave it on for 15 to 20 minutes before rinsing it off.
• Do this daily or every other day.

When using these remedies, be sure there are no open wounds on your skin. The acidic nature of lemon juice can cause pain in open wounds. Also, lemon juice may not be suitable for sensitive skin or if you are allergic to lemons.

YOGHURT

Yogurt, a by-product of milk, has many nutrients that are good for the skin and effective for skin toning.. It is very hard to believe that Lactic Acid in yoghurt can help lighten up one’s skin when consumed.

How to Apply

• Gently rub plain yogurt onto your skin. Leave it on for a few minutes and then wash it off with lukewarm water. Continue with this until you get the desired result you want.
• Alternatively, mix one tablespoon of fresh yogurt with one-half tablespoon of honey. Apply the mixture on your face and neck. Leave it on for 10 to 15 minutes and then wash it off with water. Do this daily to improve your skin tone and complexion.
• You can also add a little lemon juice and some oatmeal to yogurt to make a thick paste, and apply it as a face mask. This remedy will also help keep your skin supple and moisturized

ORANGES

Vitamin C is a very important ingredient in skin care which can be got in abundance from oranges. In addition, oranges have bleaching properties that can lighten your skin tone.

Research has shown that regular consumption of fresh orange juice can greatly improve the overall texture of your skin as well as its suppleness.

More oranges means More Vitamin C and More Vitamin C equals Better Skin Texture/ Beauty
To lighten your skin, oranges can be used in two different ways.

How to Apply

• Combine two tablespoons of orange juice and a pinch of powdered turmeric. Apply this mixture on your face and neck or in areas you desire an improved complexion before going to bed. You can also apply it on your hands and legs. Wash it off after 20 to 30 minutes. Do this daily.
• Grind dried orange peels into powder. Mix one tablespoon of the powdered peels with one tablespoon of plain yogurt to make a paste. Apply the paste on your skin and leave it on for 15 to 20 minutes. Rinse it off with water. This will help lighten spots and other marks on your face. Do this once or twice a week, but no more than that.

Turmeric is also available for sale in some local grocery stores.

ALOE VERA

This is one common home made ingredient for skin lightening. Aloe vera works against hyperpigmentation to restore your skin’s original colour. Hyperpigmentation is one of the main causes of uneven skin tone. Aloe vera has a cooling effect which helps to regenerate new cells and rebuild damaged tissue.

• Cut the outer layers of an aloe vera leaf. Squeeze out the thick, jelly-like substance.
• Apply the gel thoroughly on your skin.
• Leave it on for about 30 minutes, and then wash it off with water.
• Do this at least twice daily for two weeks.

This remedy using aloe vera gel lightens dark spots and improve overall skin complexion.

These Home remedies are purely natural and will in doubt produce effective results if strictly adhered to. You can share ideas and more on natural ways to achieve a healthy even lightened skin.

The post 5 Natural and Healthy Ways to Achieve Skin Lightening appeared first on Hermaze | Relationship, Beauty, Fashion, Family Articles for Women.

Recently, I have been seeing a lot of bright girls pass by. You know what I mean by “bright”? You decide to take a stroll round your neighbourhood and all you find is orange– Now I know why they say orange is the new black.

People who are naturally dark skinned- black! Would decide to go orange, they wake up one morning with the decision to bleach their skin and turn themselves orange. I hear the men are not left out of this craze.

The orange I see everywhere has left me wondering why girls bleach.

According to Merrick Garland, there is a general perception that the fairer you are, the more successful and attractive you become either socially, economically or romantically.

For instance, most people have come to believe that about 7 out of 10 men are most likely to date a light complexioned girl compared to a dark one, doesn’t matter how equally beautiful they both look. Thus the perception that many men will choose the fair complexion woman over the dark ones.

Racism

People have concluded that being dark skined makes one disadvantaged. They see the light ones as being superior and at the centre of things, thus the decision to bleach their skin.

Look at it as racism between people of the same race/colour. These women have become racist in their thinking/mindset hence a decision to brighten themselves to be classified amongst the supposedly favoured ones: the fair skinned side.

Blemish

Some women have come to say that bleaching their skin fades away skin imperfections like acne/pimples. These skin lightening products fade scars, spots and discolourations, before finally giving in to the temptation to completely lighten their skin.

Low Self-Esteem

Ladies with low self esteem are not comfortable in their skin, they have not come to embrace and adore their pretty dark skin but believe that the only way one can be beautiful, attractive and accepted is to be light skinned. These ladies will stop at nothing until they have lightened their skin away to suit their belief.

Bullying 

Some light complexioned ladies make other dark complexioned ladies feel very uncomfortable in their skin. They make hateful comments such as: “blakky, charcoal, duduyemi, black monkey etc”. As such ladies who have self-esteem issues may not be able to handle the comments and pressures that come from this, hence may be pushed to succumb to bleaching.

No confidence

Some women are raised to loathe the dark complexion, because colourism is sometimes transferred from generation to generation. This fosters self-hatred and a desire to forget all they have been told, mars their beauty. Hence they lighten their skin.

The Bandwagon Effect

Some ladies are not complete in themselves, they are hardly satisfied with anything not even their skin or complexion. Just because their friends are bleached out/toned up they get all so jealous of their friends and decide to do same. People like this have no reason for making certain decisions, they see all their friends/contemporaries do, they become jealous and become a “copy-cat”  all because they find others do so.

The Man Factor 

Just because a selected few are of the opinion that fair-skinned individuals tend to be regarded as better looking or beautiful by Nigerian social standard, we have considered it fashionable to bleach our dark skin to look good and attractive to the men. Some even say the are toning all to make themselves appealing and acceptable to the opposite sex.

Ladies forget the side effects of these creams, all they see is the “glow” they get all so carried away and begin to use all forms of skin lightening creams with low doses of over protective pigmentation which has negative effect on the skin. Many people who bleach ruin the melanin in their skin. Once the skin has been ‘bleached’ it loses its natural protective barrier, making it susceptible to damage by the sun’s rays.

Black will always be firm and beautiful: an adorable complexion worth celebrating and embracing.

What do you think about bleaching? Would you bleach your skin?

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The post Skin Lightening: 7 Reasons Why Girls Bleach appeared first on Hermaze | Relationship, Beauty, Fashion, Family Articles for Women.

To decide on the right red lippies shade you need to know your skin tone and your undertone (if you think your skin has 2 layers, it is the layer underneath the top skin). For your skin tone, you are either dark/olive, fair or a medium skin tone. You can carry out several tests to reveal your undertone. These tests are:

The Jewellery Test –

Get a piece of jewellery, could be a silver or gold. Try it on, if you prefer the way silver looks against your skin, then you’re more of a cool undertone but if you look better in gold, you could be a warm undertone. If you really look good in the two, you are more of a neutral undertone.

The Colour Test –

If your looks are better in colours like blue, green and bluey-reds then you are more of a cool undertone and if it is yellow or orangey-reds than then you have a warm undertone.

The Veins Test –

If your veins look blue then you have a cool undertone, if it is green you would be a warm undertone. If you cannot tell which is your vein colour then you have a neutral undertone.

Now, that we have settled the skin tone and undertone, getting your right red lipstick shade will be just about ease.

Orangey-Red lipstick shade (Bold/Bright Reds)-

This is for the warm undertone skin tone, majorly the fair skinned ladies you would do better with the orange and yellow toned red lipsticks rather than the blue toned ones.

Blue/Purple toned Red Lipstick shade (Deep Classic Reds) –

This is for the cool and neutral undertone skin tone, preferably the dark skinned ladies.  Red lippies with blue tones will just be perfect for you. You may also use a lip liner beneath your lips.

Ladies should avoid red lipstick with a gray, ashy or pale feel, because it may end up making your look sickly, unhealthy and less attractive.

Following these steps would help prevent you from wearing the wrong red lippies shade.

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