Lightening: Part I

A question I get asked all the time as a skin care professional is, "How do I lighten areas of my skin that are darker?" Discoloration, or hyperpigmentation, can occur when the skin experiences high sun exposure. It can happen with pregnancy, during or after. And also, as we get older, the skin develops liver spots or age spots.

You can go the more invasive route, and make an appointment at a spa/dermatologists office for a chemical peel, specifically designed to lighten pigment issues. That would be along the lines of a glycolic (for a gentler approach), or a TCA/Jessner peel (for a deeper penetration). Microdermabrasion has also been proven to help lighten, and is a manual exfoliation using aluminum oxide crystals, instead of a chemical exfoliation like a peel.

When I can't get a professional peel or microdermabrasion, a few ingredients from home can do the trick in between sessions.

I prefer to use organic ingredients, as these will be penetrated into your skin, and will go into your body -- so why not use something organic instead of produced.

Sicilia Organic Lemon Juice


Organic Cane Sugar


Cotton Rounds



All you have to do to create this gentle, but effective, skin lightening exfoliation is wet your face and neck with hot water. This will open the pores and allow the product to seep deeper. Saturate your cotton rounds with the lemon juice. Sprinkle a liberal amount of the granulated sugar onto the lemon-soaked pad. In small circular motions, rub onto face and neck area for at least 5 minutes, keeping out of eyes and nostrils. Make sure to do several passes over the skin to get a thorough exfoliation. I like to do the neck too, because the neck area shows just as many signs of aging as the face, so treat them both the same. Add more lemon juice or sugar as needed. Rinse with cool water, again avoiding the eyes (you do not want to get lemon juice in your eyes because it will burn!). Once all of the sugar is removed, your skin will feel incredibly soft, and you will have a brighter more glowy complexion. You can repeat this facial as often as you'd like to produce more visible results.