Lemons tend to work best, but any citrus fruit will work, including oranges, limes, and grapefruit. You can obtain similar results from papaya.
Dry the peel, grind it up, and add it to your mask. Consider mixing with yoghurt to produce a soothing mask. Chop the entire fruit into pieces and process it, skin and all, in a fruit processor. Use the resulting paste as the base for your mask.
Consider processing the papaya fruit along with the skin to produce a mask. For even better results, mix with lemon juice. You can purchase papaya seed extract and use it with honey to make a mask, or combine it with the processed fruit. Make your own papaya seed extract by crushing papaya seeds and placing them in water for two weeks. Shake daily. Filter and use the water in your mask. [7] X Research source
Be sure to include the peel, which contains much higher concentrations of arbutin than the fruit. [11] X Trustworthy Source PubMed Central Journal archive from the U. S. National Institutes of Health Go to source Asian pears (pyrus pyrifoli) contain much more arbutin than American or European varieties. [12] X Trustworthy Source PubMed Central Journal archive from the U. S. National Institutes of Health Go to source The best varieties to use are Yaquang, Hongpi, Quingpi, or Guifei. [13] X Trustworthy Source PubMed Central Journal archive from the U. S. National Institutes of Health Go to source Be aware that arbutin has been reported to cause skin irritation for some people. If you develop skin irritation, stop using pear-based masks. [14] X Trustworthy Source PubMed Central Journal archive from the U. S. National Institutes of Health Go to source
To make your own, grate the gooseberries and squeeze out the juice from the gratings. Add coconut oil to the juice in a 1 part juice to 2 part coconut oil ratio. Simmer for 10 to 15 minutes. Skim off and store the resulting oil. [19] X Research source Add the oil to honey and yoghurt to create a mask, or add it to another fruit mask. Alternately, you can dilute the oil with moisturizer and apply that once a day. Be very cautious using homemade extracts, as you will not be sure of the exact strength, and too much can cause an allergic reaction.
To make your own extract, chop up some bearberry leaves and fruit. Place them in a large jar and cover with vodka or diluted ethanol (about 40% abv). Seal the jar and place it in a dark place at room temperature. Shake the bottle once a day for two weeks. At the end of that time, place a cheesecloth over the bottle and pour the extract into another container. Dilute the extract with moisturizer and apply it to your face twice daily. [22] X Research source Be very cautious using homemade extracts, as you will not be sure of the exact strength, and too much can cause an allergic reaction.
You can purchase grape seed extract in pill form or make your own from red grapes. [24] X Research source You can also get proanthocyanidin by drinking red wine or eating red grapes with seeds.
