While there is nothing wrong in having a darker complexion, the world has always emphasized on the beauty and perfection of a peaches and cream complexion, and thus the need to lighten one's skin tone. The skin tone and complexion you have is dictated by hereditary factors and your genetic structure and thus you can not really change your skin color drastically. Sometimes other factors contribute to the darkening of your skin after birth. Exposure to pollution and to the sun especially between 11 am and 3 pm can cause your skin to tan. Sometimes certain skin disorders and consumption of certain medications also lead to darkening of the skin in patches, making it unsightly. Hyper pigmentation or excessive production of melanin which dictates your skin tone, can also lead to darker patches of the skin across the body. In order to prevent your skin from darkening due to external reasons, you should always keep your skin covered when you step out into the afternoon sun. You should also wear a wide-brimmed hat to protect your face from the harmful rays of the sun and apply a good sunscreen lotion with a high SPF quotient to prevent tanning.
Apart from this you can resort to a number of simple home remedies to treat dark skin successfully. A natural face pack prepared by mixing ½ tsp of almond oil with 1 tsp each of honey and lemon juice and t sp of milk powder helps to lighten the complexion and improve the skin texture. Lemon juice acts as natural bleach and turmeric is excellent for improving the complexion and treating skin disorders. You can prepare a face pack using turmeric powder and lemon juice which you should apply to your face and wash off when it has dried. You can also rub some potato slices on the affected parts, since potato, too acts as natural bleaching agent. Tomato is also beneficial for lightening the skin tone, so you can either rub some grated tomato over your face or wipe your face with a cotton ball dipped in tomato juice, allow it to dry and then wash your face with cold water. A face pack prepared with dried orange peels and curd helps to lighten the skin, get rid of blemishes and dark patches and improve the over all quality of your skin. Another excellent face pack to improve the complexion can be prepared by soaking 4-5 almonds overnight and then ground to a paste with some milk. This is known to be beneficial in improving the complexion.
answered by M W