when life gives you lemons.

USE THEM ON YOUR FACE!

You guys, I LOVE LEMONS! And now- having learned about using lemons on my skin I love them even more. I think it is safe to say that we all know how taking lemon orally (like squeezing it into our water!) has it's benefits (including benefits for your skin)...but did you know you can apply it topically to your skin?

I know, was a skeptic at first too. Lemons are super acidic, and so I was hesitant at first, but I've done it for a week now and I am sold! I love it. My skin is glowing, my pores are almost completely hidden, my skin feels tight, and my frustrating blemishes that always seem to appear...gone! It sounds crazy, I know. But trust me on this one..my skin feels amazing!!
I went ahead and did some research for you guys in case you are skeptics like I was..

BENEFITS of LEMON on your SKIN:

1. Vitamin C, calcium, magnesium
2. Skin lightening
3. Heals acne and scarring
4. Skin tightening
5. natural antibacterial
6. improves overall appearance and condition of skin
7. Remove blackheads
8. Gets rid of oily skin
9. Cleanses the skin..and makes your skin SO soft!!
10. Anti-aging benefits (contains AHAs & BHAs that exfoliate your dead skin cells making your skin look brighter and younger!)

 Here is what you do...

• Slice a lemon in half (squeeze some of the lemon juice into a glass..this helps to get the lemon juice to spread better)
• if you are needing a nice exfoliation as well, dip the lemon into some sugar (I used brown sugar)
• wet your face with warm water (to open your pores) and then rub it all over your face! (you can also squeeze the lemon juice onto a cotton round and rub it on that way.
• Use the leftover lemon juice in the glass by adding it to your ice water to get extra benefits!
• you can also use a bottle of lemon juice, and just pour some onto a cotton round as well (I've done this method as well and the results are the same!)
• leave on for 5-10 min and then rinse off with cold water
• tip: if you have a trouble spot that you are working on (ie a dark age spot, acne spots, stubborn blackheads, etc) you can put some lemon juice on it and leave it on over night. Rinse with cold water in the morning. DO NOT leave on over night if you put it all over your face.
• MAY CAUSE SKIN SENSITIVITY- avoid sun exposure immediately after doing this. (and don't forget sunscreen when you do go out into the sun! But you do this all the time right?)
• you can also find recipes online for making lemon masks, lemon sprays, using lemon on your hair, nails, etc. (this way is the quickest and easiest way...my favorite! But some of the masks and scrubs do look fun!)
• extra benefit- it smells so good while its sitting on your face!
• some activity (tingling or burning) is normal, but if it is too much for you, you can dilute the lemon juice with water

So..give it a try! Let me know what you think and what your results are! I have been doing this every morning for a week (on my trouble spots I have been hitting them morning and night) and have definitely noticed a difference in my skin! I am going to continue doing it for another week to reach the results that I want, and then I will probably take it down a notch and maybe do it every other day...or even just once a week. It is important to remember that lemons have antioxidant properties so your skin might get worse before it gets better. BE PATIENT with it. It is just detoxing and forcing those impurities out that are necessary to get rid of so you can achieve flawless skin. [SO WORTH IT] It will also help to be drinking LOTS of water to help with this process. This is a cheap and easy way to give your skin a nice exfoliation and a natural and healthy looking glow! Have fun with it!

xoxo,
ALEXA