How Can You Lighten Facial Hair Naturally?
In the mood for safe and effective alternatives to facial shaving? Try some lightening ingredients.
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Constant visits to the salon to bleach your hair can be an expensive and time-consuming affair. On top of that, constantly exposing yourself to chemical bleach can be more harmful to your skin than you think. If you are looking to ditch those chemicals, there are a few ways to lighten your facial hair naturally. In this article, we look at some of the natural ingredients from the pantry you can use to lighten your hair.
In This Article
5 Tips To Lighten Facial Hair
1. Lemon Juice
Lemon is rich in vitamin C, a nutrient widely used to treat pigmentation. It also is often used as an ingredient in cosmetic bleaching agents (1). Hence, it may help in lightening facial hair.
You can use lemon juice as follows:
- Squeeze lemon juice into a small bowl.
- Dab a clean cotton ball with a teaspoon of the lemon juice.
- Apply it to your face.
- Leave it on for 15-20 minutes before rinsing with water. Repeat this once every day.
Caution: Lemon juice extract can cause skin irritation. Do a patch test before trying this remedy.
2. Turmeric
Turmeric mixed with lemon juice can help in lightening facial hair. Lemon juice extract is rich in vitamin C that can aid in bleaching facial hair while turmeric has been used for ages to remove superfluous hair (2).
- Mix turmeric powder and lemon juice into a thick paste.
- Apply it all over your face with a cotton ball and leave it on for 15 minutes.
- Rinse your face thoroughly with water.Repeat two times in a week.
Caution: The turmeric paste might leave a yellow tinge on your skin. Hence, don’t leave it on for a long time. Also, wear old clothes to prevent staining.
3. Tomatoes
Tomatoes are great sources of vitamin C. Tomato paste mixed with lemon juice can aid in lightening facial hair.
- Make a paste of tomatoes.
- Mix this paste well with a teaspoon of lemon juice.
- Apply the mixture generously to the affected areas on your face.
- Leave it on for 15-20 minutes before rinsing with cold water. You can try this remedy one to two times a week.
4. Papaya
Papaya contains an enzyme called papain. Papain extracts were found to have depilatory effects (3). The paste of papaya mixed well with lemon juice extracts can help lighten facial hair.
- Make a paste of papaya fruit by mashing it.
- Mix this well with a teaspoon of lemon juice.
- Apply it to the affected areas of your face and leave it on for 20 minutes.
- Rinse thoroughly with water. You can repeat this two times a week.
5. Chickpea Flour
Chickpea flour is one of the oldest used remedies for facial hair removal. The paste of chickpea flour sticks to the skin as it dries. Upon rinsing, the fine hair that sticks to the paste can be removed easily.
- Take two tablespoons of chickpea flour and mix it well with turmeric and water to make a thick paste.
- Apply it to the affected areas of your face with a cotton ball and leave it on for 15 minutes.
- Gently scrub with a soft cotton pad using warm water. Repeat one to two times a week.
These are the ways you canlighten your facial hair. But why should you go for these options? Why not opt for commercial bleaching?
What Are The Side Effects Of Bleaching Facial Hair?
Commercial facial bleaches contain chemicals like hydrogen peroxide(4). Regular exposure to such chemicals can cause significant harm to your skin. The side effects caused by chemical bleaches include:
- Skin irritation
- Itchy rashes
- Swelling
- Redness
- Skin discoloration
A lot of women have facial hair. They go to parlors for bleaching procedures to minimize the appearance of facial hair. All of these chemical reactions may lighten facial hair at some point. However, keep in mind that these chemical ways of lightening facial hair might be harmful to the skin over time. As a result, it is preferable to avoid using chemicals and instead try to lighten facial hair naturally. Follow the tips discussed in the article to lighten facial hair. You may consult your dermatologist before using natural ingredients on your face. This will help avoid the risk of allergic reactions.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does potato juice lighten facial hair?
Potato juice can act as a bleaching agent and lighten facial hair. For this, you need to take a slice of potato and rub it onto your skin for about five minutes. Rinse thoroughly.You can repeat this two times a week.
Does plucking chin hair make it grow worse?
Hormonal or genetic factors control hair growth. Hence, plucking or tweezing chin hair does not make it grow worse.
Sources
- The Hunt for Natural Skin Whitening Agents, International Journal of Molecular Sciences, US National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2801997/ - Turmeric, the Golden Spice, Herbal Medicine: Biomolecular and Clinical Aspects. 2nd edition. US National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK92752/ - Histological evaluation of hair follicle due to papain’s effect, International Journal of Pharmaceutics, ResearchGate.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/6491843_Histological_evaluation_of_hair_follicle_due_to_papain’s_effect - Skin Bleaching and Dermatologic Health of African and Afro-Caribbean Populations in the US: New Directions for Methodologically Rigorous, Multidisciplinary, and Culturally Sensitive Research, Dermatology and Therapy, US National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5120641/
