Get Rid Of That Sun Tan Once & For all

Everything You Need To Know About Tan Removal 

Even after posting an article on homemade mask to remove tan, you must be wondering why I’m covering the same topic again. See, I keep getting questions daily on how to remove sun tan & only then I realized that just throwing a casual article on a face mask that removes tan is not enough for most.

Although I still believe that face mask recipe is awesome (find it here: http://thebeautyblogoflove.blogspot.com/2018/08/extremely-effective-tan-removing-diy.html ) & if used on a daily basis, can significantly improve the tan. But I also understand that there are severe conditions where home remedies mostly fail.

Those cases shall need extra attention & help of active ingredients that penetrate deep; & most importantly YOUR PATIENCE.

So let’s get started with answering your common questions about sun tan first & then we’ll move on to its treatment & ways we can prevent it in future.

1.       Why does suntan occur on the first place?

à Sun tan or simply tan occurs due to sun light, as simple as that. UVA & UVB can both cause significant tanning but UVA takes it longer than UVB, however, the effects of UVA are more damaging than shorter wavelength UVB which causes the skin to tan quickly. Just like that, tanning caused by the quick acting UVB is easier to get off rather than the deep penetrating UVA whose damage is more at the DNA level.

2.       Can Suntan be permanent?

è Yes it can, if you don’t do anything to remove it, it can not only be permanent but also build up over time. I remember, when I was a teenager, our school uniform shirt was short sleeved & it caused me significant tan & as I had no idea of sunscreens & all back then, when I finally decided to get rid of it, it took me 7 long years to get back to my natural skin tone. Yes even with chemical peels.

So yes, if you don’t take necessary steps, your tan may last forever.

3.       Can winter sun tan you? & can you suntan through glass?

è Yes indeed. Winter sun, even though it seems much milder & harmless & we really enjoy it, can cause a good amount of tanning. Same goes about a rainy day.

On the second question, Glass stops UVB from penetrating but not UVA & it’s no good news. UVA has longer wavelength & causes greater damage than UVB with speeding up ageing by breaking down collagen, elastin & damaging DNA it may also cause cancer/melanoma.

4.       So can a bad suntan be removed or tan be reversed?

è Yes ofcourse. That’s what we’re talking about in this post. But you need to understand that you cannot skyrocket your expectations.

With any skincare routine, to see any results, you need to be consistent & you need a lot of patience. You can’t just leave it in between or believe, it’s not gonna work for me.

So, let’s talk about Tan Removal

Before moving on to hardcore tan removal procedures, we must talk about how to prevent new tan in the mean time or the whole treatment produce is never going to be successful.

You got it right, I’m going to talk about sunscreen, the holy grail of beauty. To prevent further tanning & keep the skin from acquiring more while it’s on a treatment, you need a broad spectrum sunscreen, ideally SPF 50 PA +++ & you need to reapply it atleast thrice during the day even at home, everyday.

Also cover any exposed area of your body with protective clothing like long sleeved shrugs/summer jackets, leggings, tights etc. & also cover your face when going out in the sun.

It’s very important that you wear protective clothing even at home just like sunscreen application. I know how overwhelming it may sound to a beginner (trust me, I’ve gone through this) but it’s going to benefit you immensely & save all our LBDs & minis for evenings & night outs.

Sunscreen alone cannot guarantee complete protection on its own. So, protective clothing becomes a must.

Now, let’s move to the remedies:

 Natural DIY Remedies To Make Homemade Facemask To Remove Tan

To do this, you don’t need much investment. Most Indian kitchens are well equipped to conquer suntan all by themselves. We are so rich in spices & herbs that regular usage of just a few can not only remove the existing tan but also prevent its future occurrence, provided that you’re at least using sunblock.

Most face masks need a base. A base can be anything powdery in its dry state & should be able to form a thick paste when added to water & mixed. Without a proper base, the mask will be covering the skin in an irregular manner. 

So a proper base can be clay, which is amazing for oily to combination skin & we have plenty of them available. Most popular is fuller’s earth or multani mitti. It’s not only cheap but works very well in not only being a base but also like a sponge to squeeze all the dirt & oil on your skin.

There is also bentonite clay, principally found in two forms Sodium & Calcium Bentonite, of which I prefer the former. Adding a little bit kitchen salt to calcium bentonite will convert it to sodium bentonite. However, since bentonite clay works because upon addition of water, it becomes negatively charged which draws out toxins which are mostly positively charged, as found in nature; I don’t generally recommend messing with its pH value by adding a whole lot of ingredients to it, especially those either acidic or alkaline. If you must add something to bentonite, opt for a neutral pH ingredient like turmeric, honey, milk etc.

Then comes rhassoul clay. Dry skinned people who are afraid to use clay in order to avoid resulting in a drier skin can easily use them. Rhassoul clay suits all kinds of skin types, but doesn’t really give much relief to oily skinned people. It feels a bit oily. But rhassoul, like sodium bentonite works kind of the same way, so better not make complicated recipes with too many ingredients with rhassoul as base because it may mess with its pH & hamper its natural task.

So the best form of clay to be used in a tan removal face mask is multani mitti.

If you don’t have it currently, you can simply use Bengal Gram Flour or Besan. It not only makes excellent base but also exfoliates mildly which encourages shedding of dead skin cells.

Even plain white flour can be used as well as oat powder. Technically any starch can lighten skin tone by removing tan. Flour is available in every kitchen.

Now to make a strong face mask to lighten tan & improve your complexion, you need citrus ingredients like these:

·         Vinegar

·         Yogurt

·         Lemon Juice

·         Pineapple Juice

·         Tomato Juice

·         Orange Juice/peel pasted

·         Tamarind Paste (Imli)

Just add one or two of the above in your face mask. But remember, overuse of citrus ingredients may over-dry your skin. However, this is why such masks are excellent for oily skin but they may irritate dry to sensitive skin. So, we have our alkaline options to lighten & brighten skin tone:

·         Potato juice

·         Cucumber Juice

The above ingredients are safe for all, including those with sensitive skin. But you have to remember one thing: the above ingredients from potato juice to almond paste are mostly alkaline & vinegar-tamarind as listed are citrus ingredients.

Never ever mix a citrus ingredient with an alkaline agent in the same mask.

I’ve seen many suggesting mixing lemon juice & cucumber juice together. Seriously, they not only neutralize each other but also lower the effectiveness altogether.

Okay, let me give you a very popular example. A few years back, suddenly a new hoax appeared in the market suggesting lemon juice & baking soda to be mixed & applied to lighten skin. This is probably the dumbest idea I’ve ever heard, I mean come on, all of us have some knowledge of 10^th grade chemistry & look, mixing a citrus agent like lemon with baking soda, which is alkali; neutralize the whole thing & give rise to hydrogen peroxide.

Hydrogen peroxide is the same thing that generates reactive oxygen species or what is popularly known to us as free radicals, of which we’re warned against. H2O2 may give you temporary lighter skin but do you know how? By killing the melanosomes- cells containing melanin, but you should know that these things called free radicals do so rather indiscriminately, so in the act of killing your most hated melanin containing cells, they also kill other cells & damage the whole skin in the process which instead accelerates skin ageing & fine lines & wrinkles start to appear.

So are you ready to trade lighter skin for a face full of wrinkles?

 If yes, go ahead & use those tricks & mix citrus agents with alkaline ones in your face masks all you want but if you don’t, stick to only one kind of agent at a time.

Neutral agents like coconut water/milk, milk powder, honey, turmeric, saffron can be added in any kind of face mask to enhance its effectiveness but never from now, mix lemon juice with cucumber or potato.

Take some cues on the procedure to make skin whitening/ tan removal face mask recipe from here: http://thebeautyblogoflove.blogspot.com/2018/06/diy-home-remedy-for-easy-tan-removal-or.html

Ayurvedic Remedies for Effective Tan Removal

Indian ayurveda, in this case provides a whole lot of remedies to remove sun tan & overall improve the complexion & get rid of pigmentation caused by over-exposure to sun. A few of them are:

·         Licorice:  Licorice or Mulethi (Hindi) or Yastimadhu (Sanskrit) is the gold standard in pigmentation removal. It is basically a root but in it’s most natural form is tremendously hard & fibrous & it makes it even harder to make a paste. But fret not, these days licorice powder is available readymade online & can be easily available.

Among other usage, licorice has potential skin lightening properties & these days, not only in face masks but it is widely available in over the counter formulations (example: DEMELAN Lite , which has 40% conc. of licorice extract), used as an active agent to remove unnatural pigmentation.

·         Manjistha: This in the gold standard in ayurveda tp remove tan & render you glowing skin. The bright red powder (manjistha powder is available online just like licorice) looks a lot like rhassoul clay but the wooden texture is also very hard to make a paste of.

·         Amla or Indian Gooseberry: This is not only an amazing natural reservoir of vitamin C. but also a kickass tan removal agent. Amla can be easily crushed at home & added to your DIY recipe for skin lightening where it works as both: a tan removal active ingredient & due to its rough texture, mildly scrubs the skin.

But the problem with crushed amla is, it’s hard & fibrous & has the chance of falling off during application & makes the texture of the mask gritty which some find annoying. So, I’d rather ask you to stick to readymade amla powder. It also works as a great anti oxidant because of its high vitamin C conc.

·         Sandalwood (Santalum Album):  Oldest ayurvedic recommendation & is found in every Indian household as it not only has usage in face masks but also as a prominent poojan samagri. No festival is complete without this. It’s considered holy, maybe because of its wide usage on different conditions.

Sandalwood or Chandan paste is mildly antiseptic & also a non drying acne fighting agent which makes it suitable for all skin types including those with sensitive skin. It can calm an irritated skin, fights acne, cools down inflammation, removes tan, improves complexion & may be many more properties still unknown.

The only downside of this I know is that Indian Sandalwood is very expensive. If you want to use this, buy the most expensive option available as cheaper products are nothing but mostly adulterated versions.

·         Red Sandalwood/ Rakht Chandan:  Widely used in India for Kali Puja, red sandalwood earns its name from being similar in texture to white sandalwood; however it is not exactly the same genus.

Red sandalwood is also available as powder but is not as expensive as the real sandalwood, but works really well in removing tan. It is, like it’s white cousin a potent anti septic.

·         Triphala: Ayurvedic formulation containing Indian Gooseberry or Amlaki (Emblica officinalis), Haritaki (Terminalia Chebula) & Bibhitaki (Terminalia Bellirica) & has wide variety of usage which includes its excellent property of removing tan & improving skin brightness.

Because of its composition, it is high in vitamin C, acting as a potent antioxidant which also gives it an excellent anti-ageing property. I remember the first time I used triphala churna in a DIY face mask, I saw the difference right then, the first time itself.

So the above are some excellent ayurvedic agents to be used in your tan removing DIY face mask. Apart from the above, there are many more like turmeric, saffron, honey, almonds etc. but I guess it’s okay to just mention the most important ones; you know the rest.

Now, let’s move to what cosmetic dermatology has to offer.

These days, technology has advanced so well that we get even the strongest formulation right in our local shops. Let me explain what I’m talking about,

·         Glycolic Acid:  Guess you knew it. I’m a huge fan of this alpha hydroxy acid which is found mostly 6-12% conc. in medical formulations & work perfectly well. It simply mobilizes the upper damaged skin layer & helps our skin to shed them in exchange of healthy new cells of normal color.

  

·         Kojic Acid Dipalmitate + Arbutin :  Kojic Acid, as a skin lightening agent was originally highly unstable thing & thus, we’ve got a new derivative Kojic acid Dipalmitate which is widely used in OTC skin lightening formulations & is considered quite safe.

Arbutin, on the other hand is a modern derivative of the much disputed hydroquinone, minus its side effects & thus because of its high effectiveness, it’s also readily found in many new age skin lightening creams, both cosmetic & pharmaceutical formulations. Naturally found in the skin of pears, which can also be pasted & used in a DIY homemade mask to lighten skin, nonetheless it’ll take time in this form to show results.

These two are mostly found together in clinical formulation & this is why I’ve preferred to mention them together.

·         Azelaic Acid: A 20% conc. Azelaic Acid cream is considered as good as hydroquinone albeit, it does not have HQ’s strange side effects & thus is much safer. But let me tell you something; it never worked for me.

·         Topical Retinoids: Not only does it exfoliate the skin to encourage new cell growth which has no pigmentation abnormality, but also enhances penetration of other active agents when used together, at the same time.

Ideally, I’d apply tretinoin (most popular topical retinoid) first & then the active ingredient of my choice, like a formulation based on arbutin + kojic acid dipalmitate.

When I was working hard to remove tan & also post inflammatory hyperpigmentation from chemical peels I had a routine like this:

1.       In the morning after a shower, I’d apply tretinoin .05% & then a cream based on Arbutin & Kojic Acid Dipalmitate. Then apply sunscreen & cover the area with protective clothing & keep it like that (even indoors) until evening.

2.       At night, before bed, I’d apply glycolic acid cream on the affected area.

Well, the above routine suited me the best & I do not guarantee that it’ll suit you as well. You should contact a dermatologist first before trying any of the clinical formulations mentioned above including professional treatments like Chemical Peels, Dermaroller etc. Remember, this is for information purpose only, which I’ve added to the best of my knowledge & does not substitute a professional consultation. Read disclaimer: http://thebeautyblogoflove.blogspot.com/p/disclaimer.html

Now finally, I’d like to mention a few simple tan removal toner recipes. No, like what popularly people believe, I don’t think toner application should be a mandatory part in your beauty routine but I’d occasionally suggest it if it has some kind of active ingredient serving a specific need, like in this case tan removal.

Rose Water Toner to Remove Tan:  Rose water itself is believed to remove tan & is widely used in DIY face masks for the same reason. It also tightens pores, which is a good news for people with oily skin. You can add a few drops of sandalwood & rose essential oils & shake well to preserve it in a all tight glass jar to use at night before application of creams. Both the oils are popular as skin lightening agents.

Vitamin C Serum to Remove Tan: Crush two 500 mg vitamin C tablets to fine powder & add them to ½ cup distilled water & shake well. You’ve got your DIY vitamin C serum. You remember, shake well before each time you use it because this powder precipitates at lot. Also make them in small batches because vitamin C is notorious in getting spoiled fast, having horribly low shelf life, so better keep it in an air tight colored glass jar, away from sunlight.

You can add vitamin E to the above or any such toner but since vitamin E is oil soluble, consider adding a bit of carrier oil (argan oil, cucumber oil etc.) in that toner before adding vitamin E & shake well.

Green tea & Vinegar Toner to Remove Tan: Boil green tea leaves in water until the water changes color. Now let it cool down & add 2 tsp of vinegar (or apple cider vinegar if you wish) in 1 cup tea. Add a few drops of essential oils of your choice. I’d recommend Frankincense & Lavender oil & use it at night.

Now remember, any procedure like that is supposed to take some time to show results. So be consistent & stick to your regimen & yes, DO NOT FORGET THE SUNSCREEN EVEN INDOORS.

Also, let me know how it went & it’d be amazing if it’s the former & don’t forget to follow me on social media (buttons on the collapsible sidebar ß)

Thank you for reading.

Cheers!!!

Koyel M.