14 Excellent Herbal Remedies for Freckles

They may not be medically threatening to your health but these red, brown and deep brown spots called freckles do make you feel low on confidence. If you are a fair complexioned person, there is more for you to worry about freckles because your skin is prone to get these tiny flat tanned circular spots and they may occur anywhere on your upper body like nose, cheeks, arms and upper shoulders. These freckles occur because the amount of dark pigment called melanin increases. They are the clusters of melanin stains right on the top layer of your skin. Melanin pigment in your skin increases due to various reasons such as unprotected overexposure to sun, heredity and sometimes hormonal imbalance too. While there are a whole lot of modern treatments for freckles including bleaching, chemical peels, retinoids, laser and cryosurgery, they need specialist hands and a lot of money too. And when it comes to chemicals used during these treatments, you cannot be sure of not harming your skin the other way. Home remedies for freckles, on the other hand, are surprisingly effective in dealing with freckles. Some of them lighten them and some other remedies totally remove freckles from your skin. You need to try these natural remedies to remove freckles at least once before you decide to adopt some chemical or surgery to eliminate your freckles.

1. Sour Milk and Sour Cream for Removing Freckles

As common an ingredient as sour cream or even sour milk can remove freckles from your skin, as long as they are not genetic. This wonder is done by lactic acid present in sour milk or cream. Lactic acid works by inhibiting tyrosinase to lighten your skin. Tyrosinase is an enzyme responsible for producing melanin and other pigments in your body. There are, of course, synthetic tyrosinase inhibitors too that are used in the commercially made skin lightening cosmetics. However, natural is always best. Lactic acid is one of the many natural tyrosinase inhibitors. It prevents the overproduction of tyrosinase enzyme and thus helps you prevent hyperpigmentation of the skin. Freckles are also a form of hyperpigmentation.

How to Use Sour Cream and Milk to Remove Freckles?

Sour Milk: Simply wash your face with sour milk and then with water after sometime. Repeat this 3-4 times a day.

Sour Cream: Apply sour cream to your face just as you would apply a mask. Leave it for 15-20 minutes. This will help your skin absorb the lactic acid well. Now wash off with water. If your skin is dry, apply some moisturizer and don’t forget to protect your skin with sunscreen when stepping out of a home. Use this sour cream mask once a day initially and when you see the freckles fading away, reduce the frequency bringing it to once or twice a week. Have patience as it may take a couple of months to show results.

An alternative to Sour cream: If you can not at once get sour cream, you can always use yogurt which is yet again a good natural source of lactic acid. Use it just like you would use sour cream!

2. Sake (Rice Wine) for Removing Freckles

If you read labels of skin whitening cosmetic products carefully, you notice that many of them contain Kojic acid as one of their ingredients. Kojic acid is a by-product which is obtained during the fermentation process of malting rice. Sake, native to Japan, is an alcoholic beverage distilled from rice. It contains kojic acid as kojic malt is used in its fermentation process. Thus, sake is the rice wine and can be very useful in eliminating freckles due to its high kojic acid content. Kojic acid, just like lactic acid, is tyrosinase inhibitor. It can reduce the production of melanin by inhibiting tyrosinase enzyme. You can use Sake for making a facial mask that will not only remove freckles but also deeply moisturize your skin along with its anti aging effects due to antioxidants that are also there in kojic acid!

How to Make Sake Face Mask for Freckles Removal?

Get this:

• Sake- 1 tsp
• Honey- a little less than 1 tsp
• Yogurt- 1 tsp
• Oatmeal powder- 3 tsp

Do this:

• Mix all the ingredients.
• If it’s too runny, add some more oatmeal powder to get a smooth paste-like consistency.
• Apply this mask to your face.
• Leave for half an hour.
• Wash off.

Precaution: This one is for protecting the kojic acid. Exposure to sun or air causes kojic acid to lose its effectiveness. So store it in a dark bottle or dark an airtight container away from sun and air.

3. Lemon for Removing Freckles

Citric acid present in lemon is one of the best ingredients that can fade away freckles or any other spots on your face due to its bleaching properties. Not only lemon, any other citrus fruit like orange or lime can be used to apply on your face to bleach your skin in order to help diminish freckles. You can simply take lemon juice and rub this on your freckles. If this feels too strong, add some yogurt an then apply on your face. Here is one Ayurvedic remedy for freckles which uses lemon as its main ingredient.

Make Lemon juice-Salt-Honey Pack for Freckles

Get this:

• Lemon juice- 1 tbsp
• Honey- 1 tbsp
• Salt- a pinch of it

Do this:

• Mix lemon, salt and honey to make the pack.
• Apply this on your face or where you have freckles. Be careful to protect your eyes from this mixture.
• Leave for 10-15 minutes.
• Wash off with water.

4. Buttermilk Compress for Freckles

The very healthy drink buttermilk, obtained from good old milk, contains lots of lactic acids. Lactic acid, as we discussed earlier has bleaching effect which makes your skin light. It also has skin peeling effect and thus can be used to get rid of freckles too. Make a soothing compress with buttermilk.

How to Make Buttermilk Compress for Freckles?

Get this:

• Buttermilk- 1 bowl
• Cheesecloth- big enough to cover your face (may use any layers to make it thick)

Do this:

• If you have taken multiple layers of cheesecloth, arrange them properly and cut holes where your, nose and mouth will be.
• Now wash your face with mild soap and water. Don’t dry your face after washing.
• Dip the cheesecloth into the buttermilk and without wringing, place it on your face while lying down.
• Leave it on your face for 5 minutes.
• Now again dip the cloth in buttermilk and place it over your face for 5 minutes.
• Repeat this for 4-5 times.
• Then wash off your face with water.

5. Licorice Root Extract for Removing Freckles

Licorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra) root extract has a component called Glabridin. This Glabridin is a tyrosinase inhibitor just like lactic acid which inhibits the production of melanin pigment. Thus, it can be called a skin lightening agent and when it is mixed with jojoba oil, it helps lighten your skin excellently.

How to Use Licorice Extract for Freckles?

Get this:

• Licorice extract- ½ tsp
• Jojoba oil- 4 tsp

Do this:

• Mix licorice extract and jojoba oil.
• Store it in a small bottle.
• To apply, take some amount on a cotton ball and apply on your freckles.
• Leave for 30-45 minutes.
• Wash off with water.
• Use your regular moisturizer after washing.
• Repeat daily.

6. Papaya to Remove Freckles

The papain enzyme in papaya exfoliates your skin so that your skin may produce new cells which makes it look fresher. However, the freckles are removed because papain is also a tyrosinase inhibitor which inhibits the production of melanin which gives you dark spots on your skin. Although green raw papaya has more papain in it, ripe papaya can also make your skin freckles free.

Ways to Use Papaya to Remove Freckles

1. Mash some ripe papaya and apply the pulp on your freckles. Leave for about ten minutes and then wash off.
2. Take pieces of green papaya and use blender or food processor to get its paste. Add lemon juice to raw papaya’s paste and apply this to your freckles. Leave for about 15 minutes before washing it off.

7. Uva Ursi (Bearberry) Extract for Freckles

Uva ursi has been used since ancient times by Ayurveda to treat various ailments. Also called bearberry, this herbal extract is also excellent for skin, especially in removing spots like freckles. This is because uva ursi contains natural hydroquinone which you can find in many skin whitening products though synthetic one. It also contains Arbutin (phenolic glycoside) which is again a tyrosinase inhibitor affecting the amount of melanin production in your skin. You may mix bearberry extract in very small amounts with some natural exfoliant like mashed papaya, oatmeal powder etc. and apply this to your freckles. You may also use it with licorice extract for more and speedy effect.

How to Use Uva Ursi and Licorice Extract for Freckles?

Get this:
Equal parts of:

• Uva ursi (bearberry) extract
• Licorice extract
• Small storage bottle- 1

Do this:

• Pour both the extracts, licorice and bearberry, in the bottle.
• Shake well to mix them.
• Take a cotton ball and pour a few drops of this extract mix on it.
• Apply on your freckles.
• Rub gently for a light massage so that the extract is absorbed by the skin.
• Repeat twice a day.

8. Mulberry Extract for Freckles

Mulberry extract as well as white mulberry extract, both are natural sources of hydroquinone just like bearberry extract. They contain arbutin which inhibits melanin production and gives you freckle-free skin. As pure forms of arbutin are believed to be more effective for skin lightening, you may use mulberry extract to get a spot free skin. Mix it with licorice extract and apply on your freckles.

How to Use Mulberry Extract for Freckles?

Get this:

Equal parts of:

• Mulberry extract
• Licorice extract

Do this:

• Mix both the extracts in a storage bottle.
• Shake well to mix them.
• Take out some of this on a cotton pad or on your finger.
• Massage your skin with freckles gently with this mixture.

9. Homemade Glycolic Acid with Molasses Sugar for Freckles

Glycolic acid is one of the major alpha-hydroxy acids that are used in commercial skin whitening products. This glycolic acid is a great exfoliant. It can destroy the bonds holding skin cell layers together. This makes the outer layer of your dead skin cells fall off giving way to spotless younger and smoother skin. While synthetic glycolic acid harms your skin, the natural one doesn’t. Sugarcane is one of the best natural sources of glycolic acids. You can use molasses sugar (muscovado), derived from sugarcane and which is a type of unrefined brown sugar and contains rich amounts of this acid, to make your own homemade glycolic acid to get rid of freckles. However, if you have sensitive skin, use white sugar as this will be lesser grainy and relatively soft on your skin.

Get this:

• Molasses sugar (or white sugar)- 2 tbsp
• Plain yogurt- 2 tbsp
• Essential oil (any, optional)- 1-2 drops
• Chamomile or mint tea (cooled)- 1 cup
• Olive or almond oil- 1 tsp

Do this:

• Mix sugar, yogurt and essential oil.
• Mix well to get a paste but don’t let the sugar dissolve completely.
• Apply the paste all over your face leaving the eyes.
• Leave for 5 minutes.
• Now wet your fingers and rub on your face in circular strokes gently.
• Rub for about 5 minutes.
• Now wash off with warm water.
• After washing, rinse your face once again with the cool mint or chamomile tea.
• Do not pat dry completely. With your skin still damp, apply the almond or olive oil to moisturize your face.

[Also Read: Top 7 Remedies to Get Rid of Brown Spots on Skin]

10. Cucumber for Removing Freckles

The cool cucumber is one of the ingredients from your fridge that can be called the most skin-friendly one. It amazingly revitalizes your skin. It has bleaching properties that helps give you glowing skin. Cucumber juice is one of the very good remedies for freckles and blemishes. But what is more directly related to freckle removal is the presence of phenylalanine in cucumber seed extract which can effectively reduce the storage of melanin in your skin. Cucumber seed oil, apart from oleic acid, omega-3 linoleic acid, vitamin E, also contains phytosterols. Phytosterols nourish and stimulate the skin to revitalize damaged skin cells.

Ways to Use Cucumber for Freckles

• Grate cucumber and apply on your face as a pack.
• Extract cucumber juice by pressing grated cucumber and apply this juice to your face.
• Apply cucumber seed oil on your freckles.

11. Eggplant to Lighten Freckles

It is surprising but yes eggplants, also called brinjal and aubergine, can fade away your freckles and brown spots. Along with a host of vitamins and minerals, eggplants have phytonutrients with antioxidant properties. Anthocyanin phytonutrient in eggplant skin which is called nasunin is an antioxidant that protects cell membranes against damage from free radicals. While eggplant will not work as many other home remedies for freckles like those that are tyrosinase inhibitors and directly affect melanin production, it will definitely help you lighten your freckles. Also, it is very easy to use eggplants for freckles.

How to Use Eggplant for Freckles?

• Take a fresh eggplant that has still juice in it. Dried out eggplants will not be that effective for freckles.
• Cut the eggplant in slices that are about ¼ inches thick.
• Take these slices and rub on your freckles in a circular motion.
• Do this for about 5-7 minutes.
• Leave the juice of eggplant to sit in your skin for about 10-15 minutes.
• Wash off with warm water.

Eggplant remedy for freckles is very effective and fast. You may expect to see your freckles fade away in as less as 7-10 days.

12. Horseradish for Freckles Removal

Horseradish has been used since ages for various medical conditions including age spots and freckles. The high amount of vitamin C in horseradish roots are responsible for its quality of minimizing scars and blemishes. Vitamin C or Ascorbic acid inhibits the formation of melanin pigment. Vitamin C is also an antioxidant which is capable of inhibiting oxidation of Dopaquinone in your skin. This makes dark oxidized pigments change into the deoxidized pigment that is lighter in color. Thus, having more of vitamin C will help you prevent pigmentation and other skin spots including freckles. When using vitamin C rich horseradish root for freckles, you may use it in one of the two ways given below.

1st way to Use Horseradish for Freckles: Horseradish Vinegar

Get this:

• Horseradish root (grated)- ½ cup
• Apple cider vinegar- 1 pint (little less than half a liter)
• Jar- 1

Do this:

• Pour the apple cider vinegar into the jar.
• Mix the grated horseradish root with vinegar.
• Cover and let this infuse for 2 weeks. Shake the mixture once daily.
• After two weeks, strain the vinegar.
• Apply this horseradish treated vinegar on your freckles two times a day.
• Have patience and repeat this for multiple weeks to get stunning results.

2nd way to Use Horseradish for Freckles: Horseradish Milk

Get this:

• Milk- 1 cup
• Horseradish root (powdered)- 1 tbsp

Do this:

• Boil the milk.
• Add horseradish root powder to this.
• Let it cool down.
• Strain and apply on your face.
• Leave for about 10 minutes.
• Wash off with water.
• Repeat daily.

13. Almond Oil for Freckles

Ancient medicine systems like Ayurveda has laid importance to many oils for skin, one of which is almond oil. Now modern cosmetic companies too have proved that almond oil has skin lightening effects by making it one of the ingredients extensively used for skin-whitening products. Almond oil is rich in unsaturated fatty acids, vitamins E, B2, B6, PP, minerals and phytosterols. Not only do these components remove blemishes but also protect your skin from wrinkles. Vitamin E in almond oil also helps protect your skin against harmful ultraviolet sun rays. This oil is non-comedogenic which means it will not clog your skin pores or cause breakouts.

How to Use Almond Oil for Freckles?

• You need to use indirect heat to warm up sweet almond oil. For this, you may take some oil in a steel or metallic bowl and place this into a larger bowl filled with hot water. The water level needs to be such that water doesn’t enter the bowl with oil. If you take glass bowl, it will not conduct the heat from the hot water.
• Now massage your skin with freckles using this warm sweet almond oil for about 10-15 minutes.
• A right time to do this is before going to sleep at night.
• Repeat daily for at least 2-3 weeks to see results.

14. Banana-Mint Face Mask for Freckles

These are two extremely beneficial herbs for removing freckles. Banana, although called fruit, is a great herb having a host of minerals and vitamins in it. Among all its beneficial nutrients, it also has some salicylic acid. This acid can shed the epidermal layers of your skin. When you use salicylic acid topically, exfoliates your skin and removes dead skin cells to give way to the spotless new skin. Mint, on the other hand, is a powerhouse of antioxidants with its vitamins A and C. Its B vitamins and folate help your skin complexion get lighter. Why not make a face mask using both banana and mint leaves to remove your freckles and get a glowing face.

How to Make Banana-Mint Leaves Facial Mask for Freckles?

Get this:

• Ripe banana- 1
• Mint leaves- the handful or enough to make 2 tsp paste

Do this:

• Crush the mint leaves to get 2 tsp paste.
• Mash the banana.
• Add crushed mint leaves to mashed banana and mix well to get your mask.
• Apply this to your face or skin with freckles.
• You’ll notice the pack begins melting in some time due to its banana content.
• Wash it off when it starts melting away.

Hope one or more of these herbal home remedies for freckles work for you and you get radiant face without any spot!