What is Skin Brightening? How to Brighten Your Skin
When most people think of organs, they think of the guts and intestines inside the stomach (or the big piping instrument inside a church). But what doesn’t typically come to mind is the largest organ in the human body: the skin.
Keeping your skin healthy is a great way to also keep yourself happy. Making your skin look its best requires a little more than just blocking out blemishes and zapping sits. You also want your skin to look glowing, radiant, and youthful.
Skin brightening is an easy way to restore some of the vibrance to your skin that may have been lost due to age, sun spots, or other elements. Here’s everything you need to know about this powerful tool.
What Is Skin Brightening?
Brightening typically refers to increasing the radiancy and vibrancy of the skin. Over time, your skin naturally loses some of its natural appearance because of the loss of collagen, a major structural protein found in the body.
When you lose collagen, your skin can start to look dry, dull, and ageless.
Skin Brightening vs Skin Lightening
Even though these rhyming terms sound nearly identical, there are some key differences between skin brightening and lightening. Knowing the difference can be crucial so that you seek the proper treatment for desired results.
Where skin brightening refers to enhancing radiance and elasticity, skin lightening refers to changing the pigment color of the skin. Typically, it is used to improve the appearance of dark spots or birthmarks to achieve an even tone.
Skin lightening is also often referred to as skin whitening or skin bleaching, but they’re all the same procedure involving the use of over-the-counter creams or surgical treatments.
How To Brighten Skin
There are many different ways to help restore your complexion if it becomes a little dull, ranging from over-the-counter remedies to surgical treatments. Let’s take a look at some of the most effective options.
Cleanse
Using a facial cleanser to scrub off the dirt and debris from your face does a lot more than just improving your overall hygiene and preventing pimples. It can also make your skin look much more vibrant and elastic in the long run.
When you get breakouts, it makes your skin look and feel a little less healthy. But popping, picking, or prodding at pimples can also lead to scarring, dryness, and other unwanted skin conditions.
Cleansing works as a preventative measure to defend against these scary skin symptoms.
Finding a cleanser can be difficult, especially when they’re loaded with active chemical ingredients. But you can eliminate the worry by choosing products with familiar, clean ingredients that are sustainably and responsibly sourced.
In general, these are products with labels that you can actually read without having to search on Google.
Moisturize
Equally crucial to cleansing for a balanced skin routine is moisturizing. A loss of moisture in the skin leads to dryness and dullness, which can make your skin look older than it should.
Restoring hydration is an easy way to brighten your complexion and appear more radiant. It’s good to use oil-free moisturizers, as they won’t clog the pores and lead to breakouts.
Our Replenishing Deep Sea Moisturizer uses fast-absorbing wakame extract and peptide compounds to quickly absorb into your skin and keep it hydrated without weighing the heavy, thick feeling that comes with other moisturizers.
Exfoliation
While cleansing and moisturizing are typical staples of a skincare routine, exfoliation breaches a territory that is often overlooked. But if you want to brighten your complexion, it’s a step that you don’t want to skip.
Exfoliation is the process of removing dead skin cells from the outer layer of skin. This can be done with chemical peels or masks or done physically with a scrubbing exfoliation tool. While exfoliation shouldn’t be done as often as cleansing or moisturizing, it is a great way to rejuvenate your skin and make it look healthier.
Naturally, when you remove the outer, dead layer of skin, the layer underneath will look more vibrant and glowing. We recommend gentle exfoliation once to twice a week, in addition to your normal cleansing and moisturizing routines.
Cellulite Serum
Your face isn’t the only part of the body that can fall victim to a loss of youthfulness and elasticity. In fact, pretty much any part of the body can begin to look dull over time.
Many people start to notice a bumpy, “cottage cheese” texture to their skin as they age. This might be a sign of cellulite, a harmless skin condition that results in lumpy flesh in areas of concern, such as the buttocks, abdomen, or chest.
It can be hard to address cellulite directly, but our breakthrough anti-cellulite cream works with the body’s natural circadian rhythm.
It can help break down fat, increase microcirculation, and tighten the skin to craft a more firm and tight skin texture in any part of the body that might look a little less than desirable.
Proper Nutrition
It’s not just about what you put on your body when it comes to bright-looking skin -- it’s also about what you’re putting into it. This all boils down to eating healthy, whole foods.
Foods that are rich in antioxidants help to slow down the process of oxidation, which is the process that causes your skin to wrinkle and break down. Foods associated with accelerated oxidation and quicker skin damage tend to be sugars, unhealthy fats, or processed foods.
High-antioxidant foods that seem to have protective properties for your skin include carrots, spinach, and leafy greens, tomatoes, berries, salmon and fatty fish, nuts, and beans.
In general, it is essential to incorporate more whole foods into your diet to improve your overall holistic wellness outside of just clear skin.
Vitamin C
When taking nutrition classes in high school, you probably learned all about how important it is to eat your oranges so that the power of vitamin C builds up your immune system and keeps you healthy.
But the benefits of vitamin C can be felt and seen outside of your body as well. This doesn’t mean you should start rubbing oranges on your face, but it does mean that you should start thinking about incorporating this valuable supplement into your life.
Vitamin C, or ascorbic acid, is beneficial for skin cells because it can act as an antioxidant.
Additionally, some studies have shown that Vitamin C can help remedy UV-induced photodamage, which can help protect your buoyant skin from sun damage. This can help keep it looking bright and elastic for years to come.
Nightly Routine for Brighter Skin
If you’re looking to get clearer, younger-looking skin but don’t even know where to begin, here’s our quick start guide that can help you get on the right track.
First, make sure you cleanse your face of any impurities before you moisturize or use other substances. Certain serums can trap dirt if not properly cleansed ahead of time. When choosing a face wash, make sure it matches your skin type in order to avoid further irritation.
Next, use a hydration mist to restore moisture to dry areas of the skin and protect against photoaging. This can also restore the skin’s natural protective biome to protect your skin from later damage.
Finally, lock in the restored moisture with a moisturizing cream to increase firmness and elasticity while also providing your skin with a glowing, shining appearance.
Supplement this routine with an exfoliating mask once or twice a week. You can put on the mask anytime after cleansing your face and anytime before moisturizing.
Brighter Days (and Skin) Ahead
Skin brightening is the process of making your skin look more youthful and vibrant, helping to reverse some of the natural dullness and dryness that comes with age.
While you can get cosmetic surgery to brighten your skin, there’s no need when there are plenty of at-home remedies.
Sometimes, you can enhance your skin’s appearance with something as simple as cleansing and moisturizing your face. However, you can also amplify your look with cellulite creams, increase Vitamin C consumption and proper nutrition.
Sources:
Cosmetic procedures - Skin lightening | NHS
The Importance of Moisturizing | UTMC
How to safely exfoliate at home | American Academy of Dermatology Association
The best foods for healthy skin | The Mayo Clinic
Vitamin C and Skin Health | Linus Pauling Institute | Oregon State University
