Why you need to squeeze a lemon into your skincare routine

Be honest, 2020 has given everyone more than a fair share of lemons. They say, “when life serves you lemons, make lemonade”. That would be super useful if we weren't quarantined most of the time. Freshly squeezed lemons are the perfect addition to water or tea. If you became a lemon/ginger/turmeric tea drinker during the global pandemic, welcome to the club. Lemon tea is an excellent diuretic but skincare enthusiasts know that lemons are just as great for the skin! Now, before you slice open a lemon and rub it on to your face, hold your horses, and keep reading to learn:

5 Benefits of Lemon for the Skin

1. Lemons detoxify your skin

Like activated bamboo charcoal, lemons are an excellent detoxifying agent. That’s at least if you drink lemon water often. Clean and clear skin starts from within! You shouldn’t rely on skincare products to do all the heavy lifting. They should be part of a holistic routine that you follow to ensure your skin and body’s good health. Lemon water flushes out toxins, and this results in pores that are smaller and less visible. 

2. Antioxidants in lemons have anti-aging properties

When it comes to fears, most adults agree that visible signs of aging or premature aging are one of them! It’s already bad enough not knowing what a TikTok is, and now you want to add wrinkles to my forehead? Awful. Lemons contain vitamin C, an antioxidant that reduces skin damage and prevents premature aging. So if COVID-19 didn’t encourage you to increase your vitamin C intake, perhaps a fear of visible aging will!

3. It stimulates collagen production

Speaking of anti-aging, lemons can stimulate collagen production. Collagen is a protein that promotes your skin’s suppleness and that youthful glow. As you age, you lose collagen. By protecting your skin from free radicals, and stimulating collagen production, lemons give your skin a lesser chance of aging early.

4. Brighter and lighter skin, naturally 

As a friendly black hottie, I struggle with dark spots and hyper-pigmentation. If you're wondering what happened to me, the pandemic made me friendlier. Life comes at you fast. Anyway, wear sunscreen. It helps to block the sun's harmful UV rays which also increase melanin production. I digress. Vitamin C or l-ascorbic acid is a natural skin brightener and lightener. It contains a property that inhibits melanin production. Melanin is the thing that causes skin discoloration and hyper-pigmentation. People with darker skin tones tend to produce more melanin than others. Adding lemon-based skincare products to your routine will work wonders in brightening your skin over time. 

5. It’s an antibacterial 

As we mentioned before, bacteria are at the root of all of your skin’s acne issues. A few ways to prevent and manage acne are to: 

• Use a cleanser or activated bamboo charcoal face mask that will get deep into your pores to remove dirt and oil 
• Keep your dirty hands and other foreign objects away from your face
• Focus on products that have antibacterial properties

If you haven’t realized that lemon is a skincare elixir by now, you’re missing the point. Can we change your mind about lemon-based skincare products by encouraging you to try Masktini’s Metal Head Gold Brightening Mask? This creamy face mask is gold - literally.  It contains several natural ingredients that your skin will love, including vitamin C! I prefer to use this before my makeup routine because I like a dewy finish. This brightening face mask leaves behind a golden dew. So, remind me why you're not into vitamin C based skincare products again?!