How to Lighten Elbows & Knees
One of my divas asked me in the comment section of a previous post if I knew of any ways to lighten dark spots on the knees and elbows. I do actually know of a safe and natural method, which I will be doing for myself since I've noticed that my own knees and elbows could use some work. My left elbow in particular is extremely dark and rough because I lean on it A LOT. In fact, I've typed up a lot of my blog posts while lying in bed, leaning on one side. This is not only bad for my elbows, but it's also extremely bad for my wrists and fingers, as I'm increasing my risk of developing carpal tunnel syndrome by not sitting in an ergonomically correct position.
Below are pictures of my knees and elbows, which I took on Monday, July 20, 2009.
left elbow
right elbow
As you can see, my knees aren't that dark, but my elbows -- especially the left one -- needs some work. I plan to get my knees and elbows in tip top shape by doing the following each night before going to bed:
Step 1. Cleanse with rubbing alcohol. Rubbing alcohol is great at removing dirt and oil that ordinary soap can't get.
Step 2: Lighten and tone with lemon juice. Lemon juice is a safe, natural way to lighten the knees and elbows. Some people even use it to lighten age spots and or freckles. Once the skin has been thoroughly cleansed of dirt and oil, the lemon juice can penetrate through to the pores and work to lift the pigment in the skin. It is essentially a safe and natural form of bleach.
Step 3: Moisturize the area with Vaseline to ensure that the skin doesn't become dry and cracked.
Step 4. Be sure to not place unnecessary pressure on the knees and elbows, as this is what is causing them to become dark in the first place!
My sister used this method religiously back in the day, and she successfully lightened her knees and elbows. I tried it a few times, but couldn't stick with it. The key is to be CONSISTENT! Like hair care, we must be diligent with our skin care routine if we want to see results -- and that shouldn't be confined to the face. I'm good at putting pillows under my knees at night when I kneel down to pray, as this takes some of the pressure off my knees, but I must get better at cleansing and toning. I'll check back in in about a month to see if I've made any progress.
9 comments:
I'm going to do this too. Thanks for the info :)
You're welcome :)
Hi, I will be trying this but just one quick question. Are you using a real lemon and squeeing the juice or do you just by the lemon juice in the bottle. I also heard that you can use a grapefruit.
I'll be using the kind in the bottle, but you can also use the real lemon if you desire.
Wow! This is such a great tip! I will go buy some lemons and start as soon as possible! I especially need to work on my elbows..lol! Thank you so much for sharing this :)
thanks, I've heard of that method but didn't know if it actually worked.
Wow this was so nice of you to post this information (ahem I was the Diva that asked about it after the Keisha Knight Pulliam post)...that was truly considerate for you to create a post about it!...I am definitely going to give it a go...I also have an appt at the dermatologist office if I can get any additional info I will be happy to pass it along to you all!
Ok I'm checkin in on you! Its been over a month...were you diligent? Did you see a difference on your elbow? I have to admit I wasn't...But I'm getting ready to start back with the routine.
kkolicole
I had that problem in the past and a coworker of mine suggested I used Lubriderm lotion and that worked for me. I also believe baking soda mixed with water would work just as well. Just mix the baking soda with water to make sort of a paste and rub on your elbow and knee cap before you shower and in the morning. If you watch beautifulbrwnbabydol on youtube, she refers to this method for skin care.
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