The skin is a translucent material, and so, whatever lies beneath the skin will reveal itself in the upper layers of the skin. So, a complete skin lightening regime to treat blemishes like age spots, acne scars or melasma should consider other factors, above and below the skin, that contribute to the skin?s overall tone.
Skin Ecology
Skin ecology is a perfect analogy for understanding the skin all the elements influencing the skin?s health and color. Skin ecology means the interactions and relationships between the skin and its environment. Everyday the skin interacts with the sun, wind, rain and a whirlwind of emotions. Each of these factors influence how the skin looks.
Skin Roughness
Age, along with this constant influence of environmental factors, can lead to a roughen skin texture. Roughened skin essentially creates hills and valleys of dead skin cells on the surface of the face. So, when light hits this uneven, bumpy texture, it creates several shadows over the face. This shadow effect gives the skin a darker appearance.
Removing this roughen skin with an exfoliating agent like one part baking soda mixed with two parts water will help brighten the face and reduce the shadow effect.
Blackheads
Like a roughened skin texture, blackheads also contribute to an uneven skin tone. Blackheads are plugs of hardened oils and skin debris that block the pore and bare a black appearance at the tip. In fact, deep seated blackheads can make the skin appear darker even when lightening the skin pigment is successful.
To make the skin look brighter, it is critical to completely remove blackheads. Blackheads can often range from two to five millimeters in length. Because of this length, improperly removing blackheads with tapes or constant squeezing can leave part of the blackhead trapped in the pore where it will only make the skin look darker.
Remove blackheads completely by safely and thoroughly steaming the pores first. Facial steaming can be done in a sauna or by applying warmed towels to the face.
Large Pores
Besides making the skin appear darker, blackheads can also increase the size of the pore by as much as 30%. Large pores, or enlarged holes, on the face create shadows on the skin just as roughened, bumpy skin does. Using deep cleansing clay masks and steaming help cleanse the pores and return the pore to its normal, minimized size.
Excess Facial Hair
Perhaps one of the cheapest and fastest ways to brighten the skin is to remove excess facial hair from around the eyebrows, cheeks, upper lip and chin area. Like other skin blemishes, excess hair on the face creates a physical darkness, because one, the hair is usually dark and two, the hair also creates a shadow. Once the straggling hair is removed, the face instantly looks brighter.
In short, skin whitening done right is about taking a complete inventory of your skin?s health, not just focusing on a spot or a scar. By addressing all the conditions that contribute to the skin?s overall color, you will get much better results from your skin lightening regime.
Naweko Nicole Dial San-Joyz founded Noixia, a San Diego based research firm dedicated to helping people intelligently, safely and affordably enhance their image by offering custom skin solutions to people with acne scars on the face and body. San-Joyz She has appeared on radio stations, in newspapers and on TV shows across the United States promoting beauty through health consciousness. Anyone seeking to enhance their image and remove acne scarring can find custom, clinically proven solutions at Noixia.com.