The benefits of lemon for the face, contraindications and harm. Citrus-based cosmetic recipes, real reviews.
Face lemon is a fruit that can be used as an effective whitening and drying agent. When mixing citrus with different components, masks, creams, lotions for oily and problem skin are obtained. With their regular use, the result appears quickly and lasts for a long time.
Benefits of lemon for the face
Lemon is the fruit of a citrus tree that grows in warm tropical climates. The fruit has a sour refreshing taste, which is why it is actively used in cooking. Cosmetologists use lemon juice to improve the condition of the skin of the face, hands, décolleté. Moreover, they recommend squeezing it yourself, since store products often contain flavors and preservatives.
Lemon contains many useful ingredients:
- vitamin C - participates in collagen synthesis;
- vitamin B - stimulate cellular respiration;
- vitamin E - fights early skin aging;
- organic acids - remove dead cells;
- pectins - extinguish inflammatory processes;
- flavonoids - prevent skin aging;
- phytoncides - fight against pathogenic microbes;
- hesperidin - activates blood circulation;
- eriocitrin - softens the irritating effect.
All of them are in an easily digestible form. Therefore, for the manufacture of creams and masks with lemon for the face, you just need to squeeze out the juice and mix it with other available ingredients.
At home, you can prepare cosmetics with different useful properties, namely:
- intensive nutrition - many vitamins, acids and other compounds nourish the skin, make it denser and healthier;
- deep cleansing - acids penetrate deep into the epidermis, dissolve sebaceous secretions, slightly dry oily skin;
- lightening age spots - lemon juice destroys excess melanin, evens skin tone, removes freckles and dark spots;
- rejuvenation - the components of lemon are involved in the synthesis of collagen, which is responsible for the density and elasticity of the skin;
- disinfection - organic acids destroy microorganisms, reduce the size of acne, prevent the appearance of new ones.
Cosmetologists explain that the main benefit of lemon for the face is its brightening and drying effect. Therefore, citrus fruit products are primarily recommended for people with oily pigmented skin.
Read also about the benefits of lemon lotion
Contraindications and harm of lemon for the face
Lemon is not suitable for every skin type. So, on dry and sensitive after lotion with lemon juice, redness, peeling, itching appear. Due to the destruction of the protective fatty film, the face becomes vulnerable to any infectious pathogen.
For many allergy sufferers, lemon is an irritant. An allergic reaction is manifested by a rash, itching, peeling, as well as increased lacrimation, sneezing, runny nose. When these symptoms appear, you need to take an antihistamine pill and find another way to care for your skin.
Lemon-based product should not be applied to skin with scratches, wounds, fresh scars. The acids of the fruit eat away at the delicate tissue and slow down the healing process. In addition, along with the cosmetic product, pathogenic microorganisms can penetrate inside.
Couperose is also a contraindication to using a whitening lemon face mask. When applied to the problem area, the agent increases the brightness of the vascular network, impairs blood circulation in the epidermis.
Ways to use lemon for your face
Lemon facials can be made at home. To do this, use a sharp knife, a wooden board, a mortar, and a hand juicer. Citrus fruit and other ingredients must be fresh and of good quality.
Cosmetic ice with lemon for face
This tool has several beneficial properties. Due to its structure, it not only cleanses but also tightens pores. After touching warm skin, the ice melts, and the refreshing liquid saturates the dermis with moisture, vitamins, and nutrients.
Making cosmetic ice requires two ingredients:
- lemon;
- water.
Cut the lemon in half, squeeze out the juice using a compact juicer, strain it through cheesecloth, add clean water (1/4 part). Pour the liquid into cubes and leave in the freezer overnight.
Wipe your face with frozen lemon several times a day. And this should be done along the massage lines.
Lemon facial lotion recipes
A face lotion can be made with lemon essential oil. This cosmetic product is suitable for the care of oily, porous skin. With its help, you can achieve the effect of narrowing the pores, eliminating greasy shine. After regular use, freckles become dull and age spots diminish in size.
To make the lotion you need:
- green tea;
- Apple vinegar;
- still water;
- lemon essential oil;
- glycerol.
Mix 2 tablespoons each of green tea leaves, apple cider vinegar, and still water. Add the remaining ingredients with a pipette (5 drops each). Moisten the sponge and massage the skin along the massage lines.
Lotion is an excellent remedy for problem skin care. After all, lemon eliminates acne on the face, has a disinfecting, drying property. To prepare the lotion, grind 1 lemon and 1/2 orange with the peel, strain, add 100 ml of apple cider vinegar.
Recipes for face creams with lemon
Lemon is used as an active ingredient in face creams. These products are often based on olive (linseed, castor) oil. It dissolves other ingredients well and is perfectly absorbed into the skin.
Cream recipe for normal skin
- olive oil;
- lemon juice;
- aloe pulp.
Cut off a leaf from an aloe bush that has been growing for more than 3 years, remove the skin, strain the pulp. Combine a teaspoon of green liquid with lemon juice (5 drops). Mix this mixture with 1 tablespoon of warm oil. Apply to face immediately after preparation.
Cosmetologists explain that aloe and lemon are good for the face. The pulp of the leaves of this plant has a pronounced anti-inflammatory effect. Once absorbed into the skin, it reduces the size of acne, relieves irritation and itching. The cream brightens red and brown spots (the brightening effect of lemon juice), evens out the complexion.
Anti-aging cream recipe:
- lemon zest and juice;
- linseed oil;
- sour cream;
- honey;
- water.
Pour the zest of 3 lemons with water, boil until the liquid thickens. Add 18 mg of the remaining components of the product to the cooled jelly. Beat the mixture with a whisk until a delicate cream, store in a cool place.
Sour cream and lemon are a good combination in face creams. A fatty fermented milk product softens the effect of fruit acids and at the same time saturates the skin with nutrients. Honey and vegetable oil have the same effect. As a result, the aging process slows down, the skin becomes elastic and silky.
Recipes for face masks with lemon
Face masks have a denser texture. They cannot be applied every day, only 2-3 times a week. This cosmetic product is not completely absorbed into the skin and requires rinsing and subsequent application of a light cream. Another difference between masks is a narrow focus, that is, the fight against one specific problem.
Recipe for a brightening lemon mask for the face
- lemon juice;
- parsley juice;
- White clay;
- kefir.
Grind the parsley leaves in a blender. Squeeze 1 teaspoon of juice out of them. Mix it in a glass container with 2 tablespoons of lemon juice, vegetable oil, kefir. Pour 1 tablespoon of white clay into the resulting liquid, stirring the mixture constantly. Apply the resulting mask to your face for 15 minutes.
Please note that parsley juice has a whitening effect and therefore enhances the effect of lemon. Kefir nourishes and softens the skin, and the clay prevents the mask from spreading onto the pillow. In addition, it contains many beneficial minerals that penetrate deep into the dermis.
Toning mask recipe:
- soda;
- lemon;
- honey;
- egg;
- oat flour.
Pour oatmeal into a glass container. Grind 1 teaspoon of liquid honey and lemon juice in it. Beat the white of 1 egg separately, add to the mixture, stir. Add 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda last. Apply the effervescent mass immediately to your face. After 15 minutes, wash it off with warm water.
The baking soda and lemon face mask has antiseptic properties and also breaks down and removes sebum in the pores. The rest of the components nourish the skin, create a viscous consistency of the cosmetic product. Remember, egg whites can curdle from hot temperatures, so use warm and cool water to remove the mask.
Purifying Mask Recipe:
- egg white;
- lemon juice.
Separate the white of one egg, beat it with a mixer until foamy. Squeeze out the juice of half a lemon with a compact juicer. Mix the ingredients gently and apply immediately to face. Rinse off with warm water after 20 minutes.
In cosmetic products for the skin of the face, an egg and a lemon are perfectly combined with each other. Both components improve the condition of oily problem skin. Protein tightens its pores, sticks dirt, fat, dead cells to itself. And lemon juice evens out the tone, brightens age spots and reddened areas.
Drying mask recipe:
- lemon essential oil;
- parsley;
- kefir;
- starch.
Chop the parsley, grind it with a mortar. Combine two teaspoons of the herb with 30 ml of fermented milk drink, 5 drops of essential oil, a pinch of starch. Mix with a spoon until the mixture is smooth and pale green in color.
When making the mask, make sure that the starch is completely dissolved in the liquid components. In this case, it combines all the ingredients of the product, gives the viscosity and density of the liquid. Undissolved starch particles can clog into the pores of the skin, aggravating problems on the face.
