Those brown spots or patches on your face have a name: solar lentigines. Also affectionately called liver or age spots, they most likely came from too much exposure to sunlight. "Pregnancy mask," or melasma, a dark skin discoloration that affects cheeks, nose, forehead and mouth, is associated with female hormones. Women who are pregnant, taking birth control pills or hormone replacement therapy are prone to melasma. To prevent brown spots or melasma, limit your time in the sun, and don't forget the sunscreen. To minimize the brown patches you already have, you can try this home remedy.
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Step 1
Peel a fresh onion and cut in half. Place a strainer over a bowl. Grate the cut side of the onion into the strainer. Press down on the onion scrapings to extract as much juice as possible. Measure out 2 tbsp. of onion juice into a small cup. If all this peeling and grating makes you cry, congratulations--you picked a good onion. Only fresh onions with potent sulphuric acid cause tears.
Step 2
Add 2 tbsp of apple cider vinegar to the onion juice.
Step 3
Dib a clean cotton ball into the juice and vinegar mixture, and dab on the spots you wish to lighten.
Step 4
Wait 30 minutes before removing the vinegar and onion juice mixture.
Step 5
Repeat this process once a day for six weeks. You won't see instant results, but be patient; eventually you'll see improvement.
Tips and Warnings
- Chilling the onion before grating may keep you from crying when you grate it.
- If your skin gets irritated, discontinue this process. If you have melasma, talk to your doctor. He may want to prescribe a cream for you.
Things You'll Need
- Onion
- Apple cider vinegar
- Cotton balls
- Strainer
- Bowl
- Small cup
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