I must share my frustration over the many articles spreading around the Internet for DIY facial treatments. I’ve seen recipes for lemon to remove dark spots, baking soda for acne, sugar/salt to exfoliate. Please do not try these homemade recipes as they can do more harm than good. We all have an “acid mantle” (slightly acidic film on the surface of the skin that acts as a barrier to protect the skin from contaminants that may penetrate like viruses, bacteria, etc) and we have a pH that is in the range of 4.5-6, which needs to be maintained.
What is pH?
It stands for Power of Hydrogen. pH is a measure of the acidity or basicity (alkalinity) of an aqueous solution. Solutions with a pH less than 7 are said to be acidic and solutions with a pH greater than 7 are basic or alkaline. Pure water has a pH very close to 7. The pH scale is a logarithmic scale that runs from 1 to 14. Each whole pH value below 7 is ten times more acidic than the higher value and each whole pH value above a 7 is ten times more alkaline than the one below it. A strong acid will have a pH of 1-2 and a strong alkaline base will have a pH of 13-14.
Guess what the pH of a lemon is? It is approximately a pH of 2. So, are you sure you want to put something on your face that acidic? As a licensed Esthetician I perform chemical peels, which are acidic and after the treatment I must apply a neutralizing solution in order to rebalance the pH or the peel itself is self-neutralizing. You should NEVER apply anything that acidic to your skin without neutralizing. None of the recipes I’ve seen even speak of rebalancing the pH. Also, lemon can cause a phototoxic reaction because it contains a substance called furocoumarin which when exposed to sunlight can cause a rash or darkening of the skin. Mixing with salt and/or sugar doesn’t help as it is too abrasive for the delicate skin on your face and it’s actually making microscopic abrasions on the skin. Once the juice settles into these abrasions it can cause irritation, dry out the skin as well as damage the skin.
Lemon does have lightening properties, but needs to be paired with the proper ingredients for the correct results. If you want to see improvement in your skin go see a Licensed Esthetician. There are some amazing professional products that can help you achieve the results you desire. If you need help just let me know. 🙂
smittenwithskin 