If the skin on your face is dulled by brown age spots, red acne marks, or other unsightly facial blotches, we’ve got good news: you can easily restore the radiance of your youth with a number of at-home skin brightening treatments. Simply follow the beauty tips below for brighter, healthier-looking skin.
Exfoliate with Acid
Exfoliation is one of the best gifts you can give your complexion. When you slough off your outermost layer of facial skin, you uncover the more youthful layer of fresh skin hiding beneath it. The act of exfoliation stimulates healthy cell production and promotes the turnover of dead, pore-clogging skin cells. Use an alpha hydroxy or glycolic acid-based product to scrub off your top layer and reveal a brighter complexion immediately.
Right after you exfoliate, your skin is more receptive to the active ingredients found in skin brightening agents. Follow exfoliation with specialized skin care products that use one or more of the following ingredients:
Vitamin C
Antioxidant vitamin C is a popular skin cream ingredient, known for its ability to fight wrinkles and keep skin looking soft and smooth. It also helps fade bothersome areas of hyperpigmentation.
Licorice Root
The Chinese have used licorice root to brighten the skin for thousands of years. This magical ingredient hampers the body’s production of melanin, helping to diminish the appearance of unwanted dark spots.
Melanozyme
If you’re plagued with brown age spots, search your local beauty aisle for a product containing melanozyme. It’s safer than its skin-irritating cousin, hydroquinone, and helps fade ugly brown marks.
Skin-Loving Botanicals
Botanicals provide plant-derived nourishment to the skin. Some, such as bilberry and angelica root extract, supply valuable protection against discoloration and sun damage.
Soy
Soy protein helps diminish the lingering redness that follows an irritating acne flare-up. Choose products with soy-based ingredients to help calm the redness.
You don’t have to live with blemished, blotchy skin. If you’re seeing spots, experiment with the products mentioned above to discover what works best for you.
While I agree that all the products that are mentioned in the article are helpful at improving skin discolorations, I will also say that they are all relatively minimally effective and there are certainly medical-grade skin care lines that are much more active in their ability to reduce pigmentation. We also have devices that are extraordinarily effective at treating pigment including broadband light, which is an extended form of intense pulsed light, and also microlaser peels and even ProFractional Laser treatments especially when in combination with broadband light can provide wonderful rejuvenation to skin with very minimal downtime. Ultimately, it really depends on the patient’s expectations and ultimate desires as far as the endpoint of their skin as to whether or not these more aggressive treatments are worth the time and expense.
