How I Faded Discoloration in My Face Using Natural Ingredients

A few years ago I was involved in an accident at work. You see, I am an inspector at construction places, and this particular day, we were called to come to this new building. When we were walking through the basement, one of the hot water pipes exploded and the steam burnt my face. Although, luckily they were not severe injuries, I was still left with hideous burn marks all over my face.

My confidence came down, I did not know what to do. I tried expensive creams that my doctor recommended and honestly it just seemed to make things worse as my skin became extremely delicate to chemicals. After months of unsuccessful treatments, I decided to take the matter into my own hands and started researching online about DIY masks and non-irritating natural ingredients I could use to renew my skin and get rid of the dark spots and dark scars I was dealing with.

During what seemed to be an eternity of research, I kept on reading about the same potent whitening ingredients that could work, so I decided to give them all a try and here is what I found:

Vitamin C: Probably the most famous natural ingredient for skin whitening. Not only acts as a great antioxidant, it also acts as a melanin inhibitor, attacking deep in your skin where the pigment is made and preventing the excess formation of it. I opted for the following homemade scrub:

Mix 2 tablespoons of orange juice, 2 teaspoons of lemon juice and 1 teaspoon of sugar. Mix thoroughly and exfoliate your face with the resultant mix. Gently rub the skin till sugar granules dissolve completely. Wash off with cold water.

Papaya: Yes, not only does it make a delicious breakfast, it also acts as a great skin lightening agent. Papaya contains Papain, which is an enzyme that has alpha hydroxy acids (AHAs) which are effective in helping cell turnover via exfoliation. For this I used the following face mask:

½ cup of papaya, with 1 whipped egg white + 1 teaspoon of honey. Mix well, apply on your face for 15 minutes and rinse with warm water.

Hibiscus Flower: I was actually pretty surprised when I read about this one because I happened to have a plant in my garden. Hibiscus is a beautiful flowering plant, it comes in different colors, typically red and pink. Hibiscus is used in India, Philippines and Hawaii for its skin lightening properties. Hibiscus is a natural source of AHA’s that exfoliate and brighten the skin. Giving you a healthy glow and skin whitening effect.

To make a face mask you will need Hibiscus Powder (I got mine from tea I had at home, just make sure it’s only Hibiscus in the ingredients list) Mix 2 teaspoons of hibiscus powder and add just enough yogurt and aloe vera gel to form a thick paste. Apply on your face for 15 minutes and rinse with cold water.

Shiitake Mushroom: This mushroom is used in mostly Japanese cuisine for its very beneficial properties that support the immune system. One of its main components is Kojic Acid, which happens to be great against discoloration and hyperpigmentation + it fades out scars! I found a soap specifically made of Kojic Acid and used it every day to wash my face. However this method caused some irritation in the long run due to the other cleansing ingredients found in the soap I was using, so I stopped it. This might not be the case for everyone but my skin became super delicate during the recovery period. 

Licorice Plant: Licorice is widely used by Asian cultures as tea for its many benefits, however when applied topically it can act as a spot fader! I bought a Licorice Extract oil and diluted it with water before applying it all over my face for 15 minutes and rising. 

Bearberry Plant: Bearberry extract is a natural skin brightener that’ll help us attain a more uniform and brighter complexion. It slowly evens out skin tone by eliminating age spots, acne scars, freckles, and excess melanin. The way to use this was a little bit complicated, you see the actual component in the Bearberry plant that treats hyperpigmentation is called Arbutin, so to incorporate this in a DIY mask/homemade cream I had to order its powder form. Once the powder form arrived I realized I had no idea what I was doing, and I couldn’t find a proper way to use this powder, so it was a waste of time.

Lactic Acid: It’s another powerful AHA used for skin renewal, improving fine lines and wrinkles, and lightening dark spots. Lactic Acid is formed when certain foods are going through the fermentation process, such as pickles, yogurt, and more. This is when things started to get tricky… I was simply not going to put pickle juice on my face. I needed to find a way to use a Lactic Acid serum that had no other harsh chemicals. Which is when I found NELLA skincare.

NELLA’s whitening serum is made of the pure form of all the natural ingredients I mentioned before. It truly felt heaven sent. It’s made with all natural ingredients and specifically for delicate skin ( if you are like me, you probably understand the struggle of having to always buy baby products due to lack of skincare for sensitive skin types).

This serum turned out to be the perfect blend of Alpha Arbutin (Bearberry Plant), Kojic Acid (Shiitake Mushroom), Lactic Acid, Licorice Extract, Papain (Papaya Enzyme), Vitamin C, and Hibiscus Extract. Meaning I could finally stop doing 3 different homemade brightening face masks with egg whites, and nasty consistencies and just apply this one serum with the strength of 7 different potent lightening plants that could give me the same results, with less messiness and in a faster time frame.

After just a couple of months using it daily twice a day I was able to achieve my desired result and my skin completely evened out. I think I am able to say that my skin is looking better than before the accident. Here is my before and after (I apologize in advance if the image is too graphic, I tried to used the least triggering one):

Nowadays, I recommend it to all my friends that are dealing with any type of dark spots and hyperpigmentation. It is the most effective and safe skin lightening skin care product that I have used. It made me gain back my confidence and gave me the glowy, clear skin I struggled to achieve.