You see it. It appears, and you can’t help but pop it and pick at it with your fingers, even though you know you shouldn’t. It’s a pimple – one of those prominent pustules that beg for your fingernails to extract the contents, those zits often caused by acne, that you can’t stand to see on your face.  So tempting, but don’t do it!

As African-Americans, we know the varying gifts of melanin levels in our skin sometimes mean that a dark spot or two may appear soon afterward.

There are plenty of creams on the market (or even available with a prescription from your dermatologist) that may tout their powerful ways to help fade dark spots fast, but potentially dangerous ingredients like hydroquinone could end up hurting your skin in the long run.

Even if your dark spots aren’t attributable to the aftermath of acne, but appear for some other reason, use the following tips to help you treat them naturally:

Focus on Prevention

Before delving into natural ways to try and help your dark spots disappear or lessen, let’s start with a few ways that may help you never get them at all. Keeping control of acne and preventing it is one good way to eliminate the kinds of marks that can appear after popping pimples.

Eat plenty of healthy fruits and veggies in your diet to help your skin internally, and use cucumber, lime, honey and oats externally to help your complexion.

Another way to help keep your skin clear is to enjoy the sun, but don’t get too much – at least without wearing a great sunscreen.

These tips can help slow down the cycle of new acne appearing on your skin and give your face time to heal.

Fading Dark Spots After They’ve Arrived

Several natural remedies have been credited with being able to fade spots on your skin without the harmful effects of other ingredients. One of these solutions includes using the fresh juice of a lemon. Because of its acidic nature, lemon juice mixed with either sugar (a great exfoliate) and honey (a wonderful emollient) to help fade away the marks. Since lemon juice can be drying, make sure to follow it up with a natural oil moisturizer.

Other fruits, like papaya, have been touted for the vitamin C and vitamin E they contain, which pegs it as a great substance to blend into a mask and leave on your skin for half an hour to help fresh new skin emerge and spots fade over time.

Beyond the positive effects certain fruits and vegetables can have on your skin, a simple 3% hydrogen peroxide solution can also be very effective in both preventing acne and fading the dark spots attributed with acne scarring, due to the liquid’s anti-bacterial agents.

Have Patience When Fading Your Spots Naturally

Overall, realize that it can take time when you choose a healthy and gentle path to clear your skin. Harsher substances may work quickly at first, but cause the kind of damage that make you wish you never tried the product in the end.

Instead, follow the above suggestions – making sure to give your skin a break from too much of one thing in order to develop a skincare regimen that works for you.

As always ...

Dedicated To Your Beauty,

Juliette Samuel
Esthetician/Author/Publisher

Nyraju Skin Care