How To Lighten The Dark Skin Discoloration on Your Face

If you have a darker skin tone, each and every time your skin breaks out, you'll find yourself left with a dark mark on your skin. Overtime if your skin keeps breaking out you will likely find yourself with very uneven skin tone and an increased self conscious as you wear more foundation in an attempt to even out your skin. As much as I love makeup myself, its always nice to know that makeup and especially foundation can be worn as an option as opposed to having it be a major requirement in your daily life. So to cut to the chase, I'm going to share which products have worked for me in terms of how I have managed to significantly lighten the dark skin discoloration on my face. I hope I can be of help to you if you have oily, acne prone skin and are looking for products to use in order to fade any dark mark you might have on your skin.

Skin Type: Oily, prone to the occasional breakouts

Cleaning My Face

=>To clean my face everyday, I use plain ol Dove Beauty Bar for Sensitive skin (yep my skin's so super sensitive I can't even bare to use any of those foaming cleansers, more on that at a later post). When I'm wearing makeup, I use the Dove Beauty Bar and scrub my face every so gently with a simple face brush. I gently work in the lather, then rinse using luke-warm water.

  Spot Treatment

 In order to get rid of the dark marks on my face, I use Nadinola Extra Strength Discoloration Fade Cream and I must say that I have seen very significant and impressive results and I have tried many creams in the past which never worked. So if you haven't tried the Nadinola Cream, all I have to say is THIS STUFF REALLY WORKS! 

I am not trying to lighten my skin, just fade the dark spots. I would advise that you it only to fade the dark spots because if you use it all over your face, then it might just lighten your skin, however your dark spots will become more noticeable since they won't lighten at the same color  of your skin. 

I use the following products for Spot treatment

1. Nadinola Extra Strength Fade Cream

Moisturize

=> To moisturize my face during the day, I use the Garnier Fructis Gel Cream and finish off with the Avon MagiX Face Perfector SPF 20 as part of my everyday sunscreen and shine control gel. It also works to keep dark marks from re-appearing and also protects my skin from the damaging UV rays.

I NEVER leave the house without putting on some SPF 20 and I absolutely LOVE the Avon Magix Face Perfector because it work on ALL skin tones, from light to dark!

 

At nigh and before bed I simply moisturize my face using Bio Oil which has worked wonders for my face and its the one oil that has never broken me out and it also helps to even out my skin!

Toning

=> I use a toner on my face every other week and especially if I'm wearing foundation I use the toner after cleansing my face. The only toner I use is the Thayer Witch Hazel Toner (Rose Petal) simply because its alcohol free, it works very well and it doesn't dry out my face like some of the toners I've used in the past. Whenever I apply a chemical peel to my face, I also use some toner beforehand and I find that doing so really helps to open up my pores and allows the peel to work on more deeper layers of the skin.  

 Skin Resurfacing & Preventing Breakouts

=> The very first thing I did when I started the process to try and lighten the dark skin discoloration on my face was a chemical peel (I did one all by myself at home). The peel I started using 1 year ago and still use to this day, is the Salicylic Acid 20% Professional Gel Peel from Amazon. I recommend that if you've never used any chemical peel to start with the 20% concentration, and only leave it on for 2 minutes the first time. I leave it on my face now for just 7 minutes maximum. 
- I have never gone higher in concentration because the Salicylic Acid 20% concentration works perfectly for me and my skin has adjusted very well to it from the start and up to now. 
- I always use a neutralizer every time I finish a peel and before I rinse of the peel with luke-warm water as this helps to balance the ph levels on my skin.

•  To make the neutralizer, I just mix regular baking soda with luke-warm water in a spray bottle and use it after 7 minutes with the peel on my face, I rinse my face with plain water and also spray the neutralizer on my face once more. I find this really calms my skin after a peel.

What to expect when using Salicylic acid peel:
-Stinging of the skin, your skin will sting alot especially the first few times you use it
- Again, a stinging burning sensation...
-Flaking  of the skin 1 or 2 days after you apply the peel ( not to worry, this is the peel working to help your body in shedding off the top layer of the skin, revealing new skin underneath) 
- Excessively dry skin like you won't believe!...This is where the Bio Oil comes in handy

*Very Important: Follow the directions on the insert (that comes with this peel) and never leave the peel on your face for more than 8 minutes max. Remember you're dealing with a chemical peel that has the possibility of burning your face if left on for a longer time than what's recommended. 

Lightening The Skin 

I also use the Lactic Acid 50% Professional Gel Peel with Kojic Acid & Bearberry Extract to further lighten the skin underneath what the salicylic acid has helped me shed. Its recommended that whenever you're using 2 chemical peels, you need to space them out about 2-3 weeks apart in order to avoid chemically over-
processing your skin. This is exactly what I do. I use Salicylic Acid in the first week of every month and use it for two days during that first week. Then I have two weeks of no chemical peels and on the 4th week, I use the Lactic acid  two times during that fourth week. I have a calendar to track my chemical peels and I recommend you get a separate calendar to track this process as well as it will be less confusing in the long run.  
When I first started using it 4 months ago, I wasn't seeing results as quickly as I hopped but at the present time, I really do notice a great difference especially in terms of the intensity of the dark marks and the smoothness of my skin. Most of the dark marks I had on my forehead from previous breakouts are all but faded away. 
In terms of really helping to lighten any dark skin discoloration you may have on your face, this Lactic Acid peel really helps to fade any post acne pigmentation marks, melasma or other dark spots you have on your skin. It's also thick so you can build the layers as you see fit.

What to expect when Using Lactic Acid Gel Peel
- A stinging sensation especially if its your first application
- Flaking skin ( this is the acid working to help your skin shed faster and reveal new skin underneath)
- A whiteish cast to your skin your skin may look a bit frosty during and after you use the peel, this should go away with time and as the skin sheds more.

Purging Pores & Getting Rid of Blackheads

=> I am never without my Mint Julep Masque, absolutely can't live without it! I use this mask 2 days every week to purge my pores, dry out any zits or pimples and it also works in get rid of any developing blackheads on my skin. I've heard of some people experiencing some stinging sensation when using this mask, however for me that's not the case.The only downside to this mask is with the packaging, it tends to dry out in the tube if you don't store it with the lid facing down. So to make sure it doesn't dry out and get crusty, don't store it laying sideways, but store it with the lid facing down on a flat counter surface or you can instead get the Mint Julep Masque Jar and save yourself the trouble.

That's pretty much the regular round of products I use to stay spot free and acheive a more even complexion and skin tone. I never use any products that have Hydroquinone as a lightening ingredient and I stay far away from using concentrated vitamin E oil on my face ( no other oil breaks me out like vitamin E oil!).  I also NEVER EVER use a face towel on my face! I noticed that when I used to breakout often is when I used to use a face towel to dry off my face after cleansing. Nowadays, I just wash my face and let it air dry before applying moisturizer and I rarely break out!! 

Your pillow cases can also cause breakouts, make sure that you're changing your pillow case every week, yep i said it, EVERY WEEK! Keep in mind your hair contains oils, which usually transfers onto your pillowcase at night when you're sleeping. Doing a face plant into a dirty pillow each and every night is just a recipe for breakouts on your face! Always remember, even though there are great products you can use to get rid of the dark skin discoloration on your face, prevention is always better than any treatment!