Skincare: Home remedies can help to remove tan and lighten skin colour. For scrubs and packs, use ground almonds, oats, rice powder or wheat bran (choker), dry ground orange and lemon peels, coarse salt, or granulated sugar. Yogurt, milk, or oils can be added to such ingredients. Use any vegetable oil that is available at home. They are safer than chemical bleaches.

Mix gram-flour (besan) with curd and pinch of turmeric into a paste. Apply on face or body and wash it off after half an hour. For the body, first, apply til oil and massage. Then apply the pack.

Add a few strands of saffron to warm milk and let it stand for a couple of hours. Then apply it on the face, using cotton wool. It lightens skin colour over a period of time.

Mix cucumber and ripe papaya pulp with curd. Lemon juice can also be added. Apply on face and neck, twice a week and wash it off after half an hour. For a face pack, add 2 teaspoons oats.

For oily skin, mix multani mitti with rose water and lemon juice into a paste and apply to the face. Wash it off when it is dry.

Mix ground almonds with curd and apply on the face. After 15 minutes, rub gently with circular movements. Wash it off with water. Mixing rice powder with curd and using it as a scrub helps oily skins.

Mix half cup dried lemon peel with cold milk or yogurt and apply on face daily for 20 minutes.

  • To soothe sunburn and remove tan: Taking a handful of sesame seeds (til), crush them coarsely, and add half a cup of water. Let it stand for two hours. Strain the liquid and use it to wash your face.
  • Cleansing and Skin Lightening Mask: Mix cucumber and papaya pulp with one teaspoon curd, one teaspoon honey, 4 teaspoons oats, and one teaspoon lemon juice. Apply on face and neck, twice a week and wash it off after half an hour.
  • Mix 3 teaspoons choker with one teaspoon each of ground almonds, honey, curd, and egg white. Apply and wash off after 20 minutes.
  • For hands: Take 2 tablespoons of sunflower oil and 3 tablespoons of coarse sugar. Mix together till it becomes a paste. Apply and rub into hands. Rinse off after 15 minutes.