BEWARE: Make sure you know what is going on with your skin before you apply anything to it. The following is my experience and a prescription to no one.
My skin loves lemon juice. It also loves orange and lime juice too. It really does…8). I’ve always been aware that lemon juice was a quick and easy way to make the skin on the back of your hands look younger. However, I would not recommend anyone do this without some serious consideration of skin and overall health in general. I believe a lot of people that have mild general inflammation often times have dermatoses hiding out just under the surface of the outer layers of our skin much like the ink from a tattoo. And if you disturb the surface too much your body might just take that opportunity to push out some toxins since you have just softened up the surface.
SIDENOTE: I’ve only started experimenting with this after multiple years of leading a very hygienic lifestyle that pays close attention to keeping the body free of ingested toxins or ones created internally by bad dietary decisions. I feel safe doing this precisely because I know what the quality of my skin is like below the surface.
Some people can experience something called Phytophotodermatitis, also known as berloque dermatitis or margarita photodermatitis. It is a cutaneous phototoxic inflammatory reaction resulting from contact with a light-sensitizing botanical agent, like lemon juice, followed by exposure to sunlight or any other source of ultraviolet light.
Dermatoses is a general term used to describe any skin defect or lesion on or in the skin. Systemic means it affects the whole body, rather than just one part. Systemic dermatoses may be linked to problems in other organs. Examples include: Psoriasis.
BEWARE: Make sure you know what is going on with your skin before you apply anything to it.
Lemon juice contains a lot of ingredients that are used in skincare:
- Vitamin C: Lemon juice contains vitamin C in the form of ascorbic acid. Vitamin C does a great job at evening out pigmentation without too much irritation, and could help increase collagen in your skin as well. It’s also an antioxidant that counteracts free radicals, making it good at protecting your skin from the sun.
- Citric acid: Citric acid is an alpha hydroxy acid (AHA). They’re great for exfoliating your skin, making it look plumper and smoother.
- Niacin (vitamin B3): This is anti-inflammatory, helps with pigmentation and alleviates dry skin as well.
There is 0.09 mg of Niacin, also called vitamin B3 or nicotinic acid in a 100 gram portion of raw natural lemon juice.
Interestingly about 20 minutes after applying citrus juice to my head I feel a temporary warmth, a flushing if you will similar to that one feels when they ingest supplemental niacin(nicotinic acid).
More good reading here on NIH.