Papaya and Honey: This is one surefire tip to remove sun tan, which has been tried and tested by me. Mash some papaya pieces and mix honey with them to make a thick paste. Now apply this paste on the tanned areas on the face, legs and arms and leave it on for 20-30 minutes, to reveal glowing skin!
Sandalwood Powder: Sandalwood powder is an excellent coolant and also brightens the face/skin. It is available in Ayurvedic and some government-owned shops like Lepakshi. Take some sandalwood powder and mix it with chilled rose water to make a paste apply this to tanned skin on the face, arms, and legs and leave it on for 20 minutes. Lo and behold!
You get instant glowing skin after you remove it! But please make sure that you aren’t allergic to sandalwood before you try this pack on your face, Do a patch test first on your arm. Using chilled rose water also tightens and closes your pores and it is a well-known skin toner.
Lemon Juice and Honey: This is another effective remedy for sun tan removal, as both lemon juice and honey are known to be natural bleaching agents. Honey is also a natural moisturizer and soothes the skin. Lemon juice is a natural bleaching agent but has a strong, tingling effect on the skin, so please be sure to use enough honey according to your skin type. Apply this pack to the affected areas and leave it on for 20 minutes. The lemon juice and honey remove the tan and also, the lemon juice has astringent properties and removes excess oils, and the honey moisturizes the skin.
Gram Flour with Turmeric and Milk: This one is straight from my granny’s treasure trove of skin remedies. Take some besan and add a pinch of turmeric to it. Mix it with some milk, in order to make a paste and apply this on the affected areas and leave it on for 20 minutes. Besan removes excess oil and tan, whereas turmeric is known as a natural screen against the sun and has tan-removing properties as well. But this paste, when applied only with water, dries up the skin. Hence the milk, which is a moisturizer. Remove the paste after twenty minutes to reveal glowing skin! Please make sure that the turmeric you buy is of very good quality and do a patch test to see if you are allergic.
Carrots and Honey: Sounds good enough to eat, right? But it is also a tan remover and is very beneficial for the skin. Carrots are also used in anti-aging packs. Make a paste of carrots and honey and apply it on the affected area, leave it on for 20-30 minutes to see the magic!
Curd, Turmeric and Lemon Juice: Take some curd add a pinch of turmeric, and add a dash of lemon juice to it. Mix it well apply it on tanned skin and leave it on for 20 minutes, before washing it off. Curd is an anti-bacterial agent, a natural skin toner, and also a natural moisturizer! Turmeric removes tan and lemon is famous for its bleaching properties.
Tomatoes, Honey and Lemon Juice: Make a paste of these three ingredients, adding not more than a teaspoon of lemon juice, and apply it on the tanned areas on the arms, legs, face, and back. Wash it off with water after 20 minutes. All these three are skin-lightening agents, with lemon being an astringent and an oil remover and honey being a natural moisturizer.
Natural Face/Body Wash Powder: Take equal amounts of green gram, rice, black gram and Bengal gram and make a powder of these. This makes for an excellent scrub and if left on the skin as a pack using milk/rose water, with rose water being for oily skin and milk for dry skin. Apply all over the body, including the tanned skin, and leave on for 20 minutes and wash it off before it becomes dry, to reveal smooth, glowing skin!
Aloe Vera: And now coming to the magic plant, aloe vera! If you have an aloe plant at home, remove the gel from the leaf. It is said that this gel has to be washed seven times for it to be pure. Make a smooth paste out of this and apply it on tanned skin to get a smooth, beautiful, complexion. Aloe vera is used in the removal of pigmentation, so it’ll definitely be useful in the removal of tan as well. It is also a natural moisturizer. If you get store-bought Aloe Vera gel, please make sure that it is free from preservatives and is organic, for best results and a chemical-free face pack.
Kumkumaadi Lepam: This is an Ayurvedic formulation that has saffron, turmeric, sandalwood and other herbs. This is sold in tubes in Ayurvedic shops everywhere. This cream improves the complexion of the skin on the whole and is used in treating dark circles, pimples, dark spots, pigmentation and also for glowing skin in general. Use this cream at night, as it is very oily. Remove it when you get up and wash your face as usual to reveal a glowing, healthy complexion. This cream, used over a period of time, gives great results.