17 Melasma Home Remedies That You Should Know About

Melasma is a common skin problem that affects millions of people every year. lt causes dark patches to form on the facial area. Treatments like chemical peels and laser treatments are available to help get rid of this skin condition, but melasma home remedies such as aloe vera gel are also effective.

Also known as chloasma, melasma is common among women, especially pregnant women or women taking birth control pills. People living in areas where there is a lot of sunlight are more likely to experience melasma because the rays of the sun can cause the dark patches to show up.

Symptoms

The most common symptom of melasma is a dark colored change in skin color that usually shows up on the upper lip, cheeks, nose, and forehead. The forearms and the neck area can also be affected by melasma.

Diagnosis

Usually melasma is diagnosed by an experienced dermatologist by just taking a look at the distribution and pigmentation of the melasma on the skin. Sometimes a sample of the skin is extracted to take a closer look under a microscope.

Melasma Home Remedies

If you’re interested in melasma home remedies you’ll be happy to know there are many to choose from. However, avoiding things that can trigger the re-occurrence of this skin condition like high exposure to the sun is very important.

Sun Protection

By protecting your skin from the sun you not only help improve the appearance of melasma, but you’ll also help prevent it from returning when it is gone. Some of the things you can do to protect your skin from sun exposure include:

Wearing clothing that covers your face, ears, and neck.

Wearing UV protective sunglasses.

Wearing sunscreen that contains SPF 30 or more.

Using a good sunscreen for melasma before going out into the sunlight.

Reapplying sunscreen every couple of hours during the day.

Sun Protecting Foods

One of the best homemade remedies for melasma is to eat foods that build up the skin’s protection against UV damage from the sun. The reason these foods work is because they naturally strengthen your epidermal armor.

Some of these sun protecting foods include:

Tomatoes

Tomatoes contain an antioxidant known as lycopene that can naturally help protect your skin from the sun. Not only tomatoes, but any red vegetable can act as a natural sunblock thanks to the lycopene antioxidant they contain.

However, the best source of lycopene is found in tomato paste. If you are not a big fan of eating tomatoes you can get lycopene supplements from your local pharmacy, which will be a good substitute.

Carrots

Another great food to eat for natural sun protection are carrots. Carrots contain beta-carotene, which is an antioxidant that helps protect the skin from sun damage and repair skin cells.

We recommend eating around 6 carrots each day to get the daily beta-carotene needed to strengthen your skin and help reverse melasma.

Alternatively you can take 30 milligrams of beta-carotene to help protect against the sun. You can also apply beta-carotene topically on affected areas a natural treatment for melasma.

Green Tea

One of the best home remedies for melasma is green tea. Green tea contains catechins that help protect the skin against the effects of exposure to UV radiation.

Look for green tea supplements at your local pharmacy or health food store and take them a couple times daily to get the catechins your skin needs.

Sweet Potatoes

Just like carrots, sweet potatoes are packed with beta-carotene and adding them to your diet can help you strengthen your skin so it can be protected from the sun and prevent melasma.

Go for the big sweet potatoes at your grocery store and try not to cook them too long or they’ll lose a lot of their skin protection nutrients. Bake them in the oven at 400 degrees until they become soft and eat as is.

Salmon

If you like salmon then you’re going to love the fact that it’s packed with omega-3 fatty acid, which helps strengthen skin cells. Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), and alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) are all omega-3 fatty acids found in salmon and can help improve your skin’s ability to tolerate UV radiation from sun exposure.

Astaxanthin is an antioxidant found in wild caught salmon that gives it its red/orange color. This antioxidant can reduce dark spots and protect your skin from solar radiation. In fact, astaxanthin is so effective at providing sun protection that some experts thought it would make a good topical sunscreen.

Salmon can be pretty expensive these days so if you can’t get your hands on salmon as much as you would like we suggest getting the 4 mg astaxanthin supplement and take each day.