Skin Brightening

There are a few reasons why you may want to think about skin brightening, usually to lift dull looking skin, lightening areas of pigmentation and to create a healthy skin glow. Now is a really great time to work on getting healthy glowing skin as during the autumn/winter months we are less exposed to UV (the number one cause of signs of aging, pigmentation and damage to our skin). But it’s also a time of year where you may notice your skin getting duller and tighter and that’s mainly down to central heating drawing moisture from the skin and us going from the cold outside to warm inside and vice versa. Here are my tips on how to brighten your skin, what ingredients to look out for and some of my favourite products.

Darker skin tones need to be careful what acids and brighteners you use so you don’t cause pigmentation patches. This won’t happen immediately but extended use cause post-inflammatory hyper-pigmentation. Alpha Arbutin is the best option for darker skin tones wishing to even skin tone, and create a growing complexion.

⚡Garden of Wisdom Alpha Arbutin & Kojic Acid – this is formulated with niacinamide which also helps create a clear complexion and correct uneven skin tone.

Facial massage & Cleansing

Regular cleansing is so important not only does it help lift away dead skin cells that are ready to shed but also to stimulate the skin cells and encourage healthy cell function, encourage lymphatic drainage and blood circulation. Cleansing also removes impurities and pollutants which can damage the skin and cause pigmentation and other damage. Your morning cleanse is a great way to get a little massage in, especially if you are someone who feels that they wake up a bit puffy. For a fuller massage use a jade roller and some serum or oil in the evening. 

What cleanser you use obviously depends on your skin type. I've listed some favourites:

⚡Oskia Renaissance Cleansing Gel - suits all skin types except the super oily. 

⚡LimeLife Quench Cleanse - normal to dry skins. 

⚡LimeLife Dream Clean - oily or acne skins. 

⚡The Body Shop Camomile Cleansing Butter - great for dry, sensitive, normal skins. 

⚡Sunday Riley Ceramic Slip - for combination to oily skins. 

Exfoliation

Exfoliation, either acid or physical, helps remove the skin cells that need to be shed and reveal brighter skin. They are also a great way to encourage healthy skin cell function and behaviour. Don't be tempted to overdo this step, your skin is not only designed to have dead skin cells on the top layer as protection but it has a delicate acid mantle and precious microbiome that you don't want to disrupt. Acid exfoliators (usually AHA’s) help the skin to shed, which can be a problem for dry and oily skins but usually only dry skins have the dullness. Acid exfoliators are easier and quicker to use but using them too often can affect the skins microbiome and over strip the skin. They may be a great option for oily or acne prone skins as they target other problems as well as dullness.

Physical Exfoliators:

⚡ LimeLife Skin Polish - still the best I've found. A face mask and exfoliator all in one so great for those of us who don't want too many steps in their routine. 

⚡ Origins Never a Dull Moment - I love this one but it's not cruelty-free. 

Acid Exfoliators:

⚡ Superdrug B.Multi Acid Pads - these are my current favourites, sweep over the face a couple of times a week. Get the Naturally Radiant Glycolic ones for a bit more oomph. 

⚡ Pixi Glow Tonic - it's a classic and it's great. 

⚡First Aid Beauty Facial Radiance Pads - fab for travelling these are what I have in my washbag - the swanky version of the multi-acid pads. 

Other ingredients to look out for:

Hyaluronic Acid 

This suits all skin types and is something we make naturally in our skin but as we age the amount decreases. 

⚡ Garden of Wisdom Hyaluronic Acid - this is the one I've found to work best for me and not break the bank

⚡ Skinceuticals Hyaluronic Intensifier - I love this when I've had samples of it. But it's a bit eye watering. 

Vitamin C

Brilliant applied topically and orally (as the body doesn’t store vitamin C). Brightens dull skin and works well on pigmentation. It’s a really powerful antioxidant so it helps protect the skin against further environmental damage.  It’s really hard to get the packaging and stability of this right so there are a lot of Vitamin C products out there that I’m not that keen on, but here are some I am:

⚡ Garden of Wisdom Vitamin C + Ferulic Acid - the one I use, they've changed the packaging recently, if you get one that smells dodge, send it back and they will replace it. 

⚡ Skinceuticals C E & Ferulic Acid - hardcore, as is the price. 

⚡ Ole Henrikson Truth serum - like a vitamin shot for your face. I love this but it's hard to get hold of in the UK. 

Niacindamide

This helps regulate oil production, visibly improves pore appearance, helps promote brighter skin tone to minimise dark spots. A great choice for those with an oily skin type. 

⚡ Garden of Wisdom Niacinamide - I love this one and it doesn't ball up under makeup 

LimeLife One Drop Wonder & Sotoks

The all-natural brightening dream team. Sotoks is very active so best not used on sensitive skin, it brightens and tightens and I've seen visible results since using this regularly. To give it extra oomph use our One Drop Wonder oil first - this helps increase absorption whilst also working it's own brightening magic. 

⚡Sotoks - reduces the appearance of dark spots, brightens and tightens the skin. 

⚡ One Drop Wonder - a huge boost of antioxidants repairing damage and fortifying the skin. It also increases the effectiveness of products used afterwards. 

⚡ The Collection - our two best selling skin brighteners, Sotoks and One Drop Wonder, in a collection saving you some money. 

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