Turmeric face masks are a cult favourite in the homemade skincare world, but can they effectively get rid of dark spots & pigmentation?
If you go on YouTube or google the internet, you’ll see a lot of great results people have gotten using homemade turmeric face masks. They usually use the mask for 5 or 7 days & they see a difference in dark spots & their skin tone.
Short-term results can be achieved but can turmeric face masks remove dark spots & pigmentation long term?
The active compound in turmeric that brightens dark spots is Curcumin. Not only can it brighten dark spots, it's also anti-inflammatory.
Clinical trials have found that Curcumin is a tyrosinase inhibitor. Tyrosinase is an enzyme that tells your melanocytes to produce more melanin. When tyrosinase is inhibited, it means that your skin will stop producing excess melanin & new skin cells being formed will not contain excess pigment
Curcumin has also been found to reduce inflammation. Inflammation leads to pigmentation, especially in black or brown skin.
So this has you thinking, Let me whip up a turmeric face mask, right? Don't do it!...
While Turmeric has these great benefits, curcumin is not easily bioavailable. The molecule cannot easily enter the skin to affect the necessary changes to remove dark spots in its natural form
Our skin is part of our immune system & is our first line of defence. It doesn't allow things to enter easily. So any results you see from using homemade turmeric masks are temporary & superficial
The homemade turmeric mask will not give lasting results as the curcumin cannot enter properly & act as a tyrosinase inhibitor. For as long as your melanocytes are producing excess melanin, you will always have pigmentation
The anti-inflammatory benefits will also be very superficial & Temporary
This means that the turmeric is only acting on the dead skin cells that make the outer layer of our skin so the results are temporary & will not last
To top it off you might be left with a yellow stain on your skin & sometimes this yellow stain makes it look like the skin has gone lighter in some skin tones, giving false results
The best way of getting results from turmeric is by using skincare products that contain turmeric as an ingredient. This is because the curcumin has been extracted from the turmeric & has been made bioavailable so it can enter the skin & cause lasting changes.
A nice serum containing turmeric is Lelive's All glow'd up brightening serum