What is skin pigmentation? causes & natural home remedies for it
While dealing with beauty care, pigmentation is one of the unavoidable topics that need the lights on it. Pigmentation is a kind of headache for many as they are unable to find a solution for it. No worries. We have the query answered for you! We shall learn what pigmentation is, factors that cause or lead to pigmentation, and natural and home remedies for it.
WHAT IS PIGMENTATION?
Pigmentation means coloring. Skin pigmentation is a condition that affects the color of the skin. Our skin gets the color from a pigment called Melanin which is produced by specialized cells called Melanocytes. As per studies, there are more than 150 genes that affects the color of the skin. Sometimes, melanin production gets disrupted due to many reasons and the skin tends to get patchy and discolored. Too much of melanin causes hyper pigmentation and too little of melanin causes hypo pigmentation. The factors attributing to pigmentation can be external or internal.
FACTORS CAUSING PIGMENTATION
Our skin is daily exposed to sunlight, which causes damage to the layers of skin. The melanocytes get disrupted and become more reactive. Due to overexposure to sunlight, causes melanocytes to multiply and eventually produce uneven skin tone. Uneven production of melanin leads to freckle like spots and patches to appear on the layers of skin. This happens becomes over exposure to UV rays from the sun causes an inflammatory response which could ultimately lead to sunburn. In short when you spend more time in sunlight you have a larger risk to develop hyper pigmentation. Another reason for pigmentation is imbalance of hormones. These hormonal changes leads to a particular type of skin pigmentation called melasma. This is very common among women. This happens mainly because the female sex hormone stimulates the over production of melanin due to the over exposure to sunlight. Another common cause of pigmentation is pregnancy. During pregnancy a lot of hormonal changes take place in the body which sometimes leads to patchy skin. But these patches are temporary and they fade in the due course of time. But for certain people these patches become permanent. Pigmentation is also symptomatic with certain illness like vitamin deficiencies, metabolic disorders. Vitamin C deficiency causes pigmentation in general. Having required quantity of vitamin C in our diet regularly can solve the issue to an extent. The common sources of vitamin C are citrus fruits, tomatoes, broccoli and peppers. If the situation persists, a dermatologist can be consulted and supplements can be included. Scars formed while dyeing of hair with chemicals is another factor that affects pigmentation. Tattooing also causes uneven patches in the skin which will further lead to hyper pigmentation. Some of the other reasons for pigmentation are skin injury, cuts in the skin, over exposure to chemicals and acne.
NATURAL HOME REMEDIES FOR PIGMENTATION
- Aloe Vera: This is a magical ingredient that amazingly works for all types of skin. Aloe Vera can be applied directly to the skin. It can also be applied by making a juice of the pulp inside the plant. Leave it for 10 minutes in the affected area and wash off with water. This can be repeated once daily.
- Orange juice: This juice can be applied on the marks. The orange peel can be grated and grinded along with milk and made into a paste. This can be applied in the affected area until dry. Exfoliate gently and wash with luke warm water. For better results apply atleast thrice a week.
- Ginger juice: mix ginger juice along with red clay and apply in the area that is affected. Wash off after drying with warm water. This process is a bit time consuming but effective.
- Turmeric powder: Take about a tease spoon of pure turmeric and mix it with cold milk to make a thick paste. Apply this paste on the face and wash off with water after drying. Turmeric is a good depigmenting agent and has antiseptic properties too. This paste can be applied once a week.
- Lemon juice: Squeeze the juice out of the lemon and mix it with a little bit of honey. Apply this mixture for about 15-20 minutes. Wash off with water. This can be applied once in two days.
- Cucumber: Apply grated cucumber directly or mix cucumber juice with honey and apply for 20 minutes. Wash off with water. This can be applied daily.
- Avocados: Mash a ripe avocado to get a smooth paste. Apply this in the affected area for 30 minutes and wash with warm water. Vitamin C present in avocado fights pigmentation. This can be applied daily.
- Papaya: Blend ripe papaya, milk and honey and apply in the area affected. Wash off with warm water. This can be done daily.
- Raw potato: Rub a slice of raw potato on the pigmented area for 5-10 minutes. Leave it for another 10 minutes and wash off with water. This can be done twice daily.
- Apple cider vinegar: Mix 1 table spoon of apple cedar vinegar and 1 table spoon of water and apply in the affected area. Leave for about 10 minutes and wash with warm water. This can be done daily.
To conclude, all the above mentioned home remedies are not scientifically proven but are effective without side effects if done for longer time. Apart from these there are chemical treatments like chemical peeling, laser treatments, application of sunscreen and so on. All these treatments are expensive and my cause harm to the skin over the period of time.