Turmeric – a traditional skin remedy to lighten skin and pigmentation
What it does: Turmeric has been found to cut the skin’s melanin production. It also helps suntanned skin return to its normal shade faster.
How to do it
You can apply turmeric topically on your skin or ingest it (or do both!). There are many ways to use turmeric on your skin — below are a few simple methods.
Do note that turmeric will stain your skin and some surfaces yellow, scroll to the bottom for some helpful tips.
1) 15-minute mask (with lemon juice). Mix turmeric powder with cucumber juice or lemon juice to make a paste. Apply to the affected area. Leave on for fifteen minutes. Rinse off. With daily use, skin pigmentation will even out.
2) Mask or cream (with natural oils). For a more penetrating and longer-lasting treatment, mix turmeric with a natural oil to form a paste and apply this paste as a mask. You can leave the mask on for as long as you are comfortable as unlike lemon juice, it will not sting. Some good natural oils you can try are extra virgin olive oil, coconut oil and castor oil (castor oil is probably the best as it can penetrate more deeply into the skin). Depending on your preferences, you can either make a thick paste (more turmeric, less oil) or a very thin, diluted mixture (less turmeric, more oil).
3) Turmeric-infused oil mask. This is very easy to prepare, and as it is “pre-mixed”, it’s also the most convenient method.
Just add some turmeric powder to a natural oil of your choice in a small bottle (use a clear or see-through bottle so you can see when the mixture separates in the next step). Shake well. The oil will immediately turn an orange or a deep yellow and will look ‘cloudy’.
Leave this bottle to stand overnight. The next day, the turmeric powder would have settled at the bottom and you’ll get a beautiful, clear orange oil at the top for your use.
Take a small amount of this turmeric-infused oil and rub it into your skin or face thoroughly. Leave on for at least 30 minutes (longer if you feel comfortable) and wash off.
You can continue to use this pre-mixed oil for some time, but as natural oils will eventually go rancid, you should make a fresh batch when you need to. It will keep fresh longer if you live in a cold climate or if you keep the mixture in the fridge. Nonetheless, it’s a good idea to make a fresh batch every few weeks as the older the oil, the less potent it becomes.
Remember that using natural methods such as these require patience. Give these methods consistent use for at least 1-2 months before deciding if there is any improvement or not. Keep in mind that the skin only renews itself every 30 days or so.
4) Ingest turmeric (eat it or drink it). Apart from putting it on your skin, turmeric taken internally also benefits skin. Some of the ways you can take turmeric are: 1) in food (many Asian dishes such as curries contain turmeric); 2) mixed in hot water or a drink; 3) or in supplement form. To boost turmeric’s absorption in your body, add some black pepper and fat. This can be easily done if you take turmeric at mealtimes.
Vienna Mendes kindly shared her success at fading a tan by drinking turmeric with milk. She wrote, “I had suntanned skin, one fine day I started drinking warm milk with turmeric powder in it. Guess what … my suntanned went off, my skin started glowing… everybody at my workplace started commenting. I was amazed, I couldn’t realise what had happened to me. Then I realised the milk & turmeric brought changes in me. It took just 15 to 30 days for my skin to improve. It really works.”
Why it works: Turmeric has powerful antioxidant properties, protects against environmental toxins, and has antibacterial properties.
Where to buy turmeric powder
You can find turmeric powder easily in most supermarkets nowadays. As it is used mainly in Indian dishes, you can also easily find turmeric in grocery stores that cater to this market. If you live in a large city, the local ‘Little India’ is a good place to buy turmeric cheaply.
Check the labels to make sure you’re getting only turmeric powder — this is because some pre-packaged turmeric products also contain other spices for cooking.
Yellow stains from turmeric: simple precautions and tips
When turmeric is mixed with oils like in methods 2) & 3) above, the yellow stains on the skin become much easier to wash off with soap and water afterwards. You will have to lather up a few times and be thorough, but the yellow stains will come off your skin with washing.
When turmeric is mixed with water (or water-based liquids like lemon juice) instead, it’ll leave a yellow stain on your skin for several hours and may require a few washings to fade it. As I told Sara in this comment, although this is inconvenient for most people, this yellow staining—where turmeric remains within the skin itself and not just sitting on top of it—may actually be more beneficial.
However, turmeric stains on fingernails do not wash off (for oil- and water-based mixes), so use plastic gloves when handling turmeric if this bothers you. You can also wrap a small piece of cling film/plastic wrap around your fingers to protect your nails.
Turmeric will also stain some porous surfaces such as plastic (you can remove these stains by soaking them in bleach – thanks to King C for this tip!). However, turmeric washes off non-porous surfaces such as steel, glass or ceramic (e.g. most regular sinks). If you’re not sure what turmeric will do to your surfaces, lay down some old newspapers to protect them.
If you use turmeric on your skin overnight while you sleep, it will also stain your pillowcase and bed linen, so line them with towels first or use old linens that you don’t mind getting stained.
Good luck in your journey, meg.
can you use the turmeric and vinegar during the same course of treatment?
i mean can one do the vinegar application at night, and the turmeric mask in the morning?
will this be more effective?
Hi Nisha, it should not do any harm to use both at opposite ends of the day. Just monitor your skin for added sensitivity from the vinegar before applying the turmeric.
does it have to be fresh lemon juice or can it be out of the bottle?
is tumeric the same as saffran?
i mixed safran with olive oil and soaked it for a while.
will i get the same results as using lemon juice?
Hi,
Turmeric does work, I’ve used it with yougurt and chick pea flour on 3 occasions and it has helped under my chin I have very dark pigmentation and now it is appearing somewhat more subtle – I can’t say its a massive impact but it does work, I hope with continued use it will diminish. I’ve used loads of products dermatologist recommended and lightening cream and in the last two years I’ve not noticed a slight difference but now I can say there is a slight difference now.
Hope you will try this, and hope it works for you!
PLEASE TELL ME IF TURMERIC WILL WORK ON DERMAL MELASMA?
I HAVE HAD THIS SINCE 1998, AND HAVE TRIED ALL KINDS OF
TREATMENTS AND LASER TREATMENTS TOO. SKIN LIGHTENING CREAMS DO NOT WORK, I AM TAKING SUPPLIMENTS NOW FOR OVER A MONTH, MSM, VIT. C, MULTIVITAMINS, ZINC, SEE NO CHANGES. I USE MICRODERM ABRASION, I REALY THINK I HAVE TRIED JUST ABOUT EVERYTHING, LEMON JUICE, APPLE CIDER,
H2O2…..THANKYOU FOR YOUR TIME!
Hi
I have hyperpigmentation over left part of my neck after I caught in fire. The wounds are healed well but the neck is still having hyperpigmentation. Can I use turmeric with cucumber juice? If yes, then how many times a day?
http://myblogonbeauty.blogspot.com/2007/03/turmeric-as-beauty-aid.html
Replying to Aseem – your dermal melasma (aka hyperpigmentation) could be due to your body’s over-production of estrogen. I had a similar problem that has finally cleared up. I had “chloasma” for several years. I was given Triluma by a derm doc referred by a useless ob-gyn. A couple years later I got a SMART ob-gyn who knew my problem instantly though she waited to tell me until tests were conclusive. It turns out I had fibroids! I had to have surgery to remove them, but that’s when my chloasma finally started disappearing. If you’re on the pill, that could be the primary cause of it (don’t let anyone tell you differently!). Also, I started using ProActiv 2 years ago. Proactiv is a miracle for blotchy skin!! I live in the AZ desert and the sun did a lot of damage before I realized what was happening (along with the hyperpigmentation from a disord in my uterous). I now faithfully wear sunsreen and carry an umbrella. The darkness on my skin still shows up if I don’t cover up. Hope you get to see this message.
this is a form of racism!
darker skinned people are perfect just the way they are
WHY THE NEED FOR THESE WEBSITESNI DONT UNDERSTAND
you should all get out more and focus on enjoying life not worrying about having a stereotypical image.
we are all wondefuly made in gods image, therefore we are ALL beautiful.
these websites are a load of shit.
if people discriminate because of coulour than too bad for them.
you dont need all this skin whitenening shit…
IT DOESNT MATTER
be hapoy witth who you are.
please, it is only than that you will truly enjoy your lives with extreme content.
Dont be stupid. Im indian and my skin is not naturally dark. Its caused by pigmentation. I just want my skin to heal and for my complexion to come back. If you have no idea of what you are talking about, Then just dont say anything.
Don’t be so ignorant, do some research b4 making senseless statements!!! Do you even know what is hyperpigmentation? No one here is trying to get white but rather wants to get rid of unsightly SPOTS.
As Mr/Mrs pig says, darker skinned people are wonderful just like the opposite cloured people.Here people are trying to become more fairer.This can be understood if he/she had any such type of cosmetic problem. I believe if we have a wheat colour complexion, you have more choices while dressing up, I mean we can wear all most all colours. At times, “looks” are very important in any field especially in the marketting field.It is a part of personality. Even this guy won’t prefer a partner with dark complexion for himself/herself. It is easy to say these great things, but when we meet the situation, we never compromise.
Wow what an ignorant prick! Yea you “Cobra.” Lemme get this straight, you encourage an “in between” complexion? A complexion some people try to attain, risking their health by lightening skin with potentially harsh things or by tanning? More importantly it unconsiously lowers their self esteem during the process, and the only benefits you can state are being able to wear any color you want (as if we weren’t inna free country) and get a great gig in the marketing world? It’s official, you’re a fucking dummy. It’s 2009, if you cant see past race and complexion you must be gay. Beauty comes in EVERY complexion. Now I for one DO NOT think this site is racist at all, I know it was created with intentions of educating the public about getting rid of blemishes/dark spots/hyperpig./etc. however, the comment made by the fuck up above me was. And we can not ignore the fact that some people get on this site for reasons much deeper. You don’t know what kind of partner anyone would want so you can’t say shit about the next person. But I can bet everyone wants somebody that is compatible, someone they can love regardless of color. That’s what makes the world so beautiful–different peoples. It would be a lil boring if everyone was the same color dont you think? Don’t try to act like saying “darker people are beautiful” is like charity. Its not, its the truth. Look at Vashtie Kola, Stacy Dash, Rosario Dawson, Eva Mendes, Eva Longoria, Beyonce, Salma Hayek etc…I could go on and on. When you are 50 years old, popping Viagra, and taking it up the ass, don’t be mad at anyone but yourself. It shows youd rather be alone than be with a potentially good person of a darker complexion than you. You’re too shallow to see it, but good job showing the world what a shallow ASS you are!
Hi dougla,
You are great and appreciate your comments, but the language you used is third rate. I just said the colour I prefer but you critisized me in a poor way. I do not call you fucking ASS because that is not my culture.What you know about me to show the world that I am a shallow ASS?Mind your words.
Thanks for providing guidance about how to use turmeric. I have read about it that it is not only suitable choice for the sun tanned skin, gives brightness to skin but a very useful item to stop further increase of pigmentation loss problems of skin.