Maybe you enjoy the occasional slice of lemon in your glass of water or you squeeze it over your favorite seafood dish, but have you ever thought to use it on your skin? Here are five ways you can use lemon to improve the quality of your skin. And we included an easy lemon sugar scrub recipe that you can whip up in no time!
Reduce Acne
Lemons contain vitamin C and citric acid, both vital ingredients for healthy, glowing skin. Not only will drinking a glass of warm lemon water daily improve your skin from the inside out, but applying fresh squeezed lemon juice via a cotton ball directly to acne prone areas will help promote healing.
Exfoliate & Remove Blackheads
When fresh lemon juice is applied to the skin directly, the lemon’s alpha hydroxy acids act as an exfoliant to remove dead skin cells and allow pores to breathe, thus diminishing blackheads. Hello, radiant skin!
Even Skintone
As a teenager, did you ever squeeze lemon juice on your hair and sit in the sun waiting to achieve that perfect sun-kissed blond? Well, the natural bleaching qualities of lemon can also be used to even your skintone by lightening and brightening dark age spots, acne scars, and even freckles.
Relieve Sunburn
Lemon juice diluted with water works to cool down sunburn as well as act as a disinfectant and antiseptic to help promote healing.
Lighten Discolored Elbows
As we age, the skin covering our elbows can darken due to thickening and callousing of that area. If this is something that bothers you, give lemon a try! Cut one lemon in half and stick each elbow in a half for 10 minutes. The acids in the lemon will help to break down the dark patches of skin.
Easy Lemon Sugar Scrub
- 1 cup granulated white sugar
- 1/2 cup coconut oil (or olive oil)
- 1 small lemon or 1/2 large lemon (juice & zest)
Mix the three ingredients together to make a paste and massage into skin using small circular motions. This can be used all over your body. Rinse and admire your smooth, glowing skin!
This Lemon Sugar Scrub also makes a great gift – just package it up in a pretty jar with a bow. Here are some cute, small canning jars that would be perfect!
This post is meant for educational purposes only. It is not intended to replace medical advice from your physician, doctor or health care professional. Please read our terms of use for more information.
Sources: Beliefnet.com, Livestrong.com, OrganicPassion.info
Photo Credit: Dreams To Do
