Are you surprised? To us too, but it can happen and believe us, they are appalling. Stains produced by burns with lemon or citrus in general are extremely painful and difficult to remove. Although lemon is known as a miracle to depigment, it can backfire if not used wisely.
If you have had contact with citrus fruits or you have applied a home remedy with this and you have a brown spot with pain to the touch, it is probably because of this and to teach you how to get rid of that problem, in, we will teach you how to remove the skin stains produced by lemon.
Why Lemon Causes Skin Blemishes
Bergaptene is a substance that is present in lemon, but also in other citrus fruits such as tangerine and orange and is characterized by staining and burning the skin when it remains in it and we expose that area directly to the sun.
Although it happens most commonly in home remedies that are used directly on the skin, it can happen with any drop or jet of lemon that has fallen somewhere exposed to the sun, either on a beach, pool or in the day to day, therefore, it is of utmost importance to immediately wash with soap and water the area that has been touched with lemon or its juice.
Symptoms and what to do when you have a lemon burn
The first and most noticeable symptoms are brown spots on the skin, known as phytophotodermatitis and are caused by citrus specifically. In case of being a few drops, they should be spots scattered throughout the area where the fruit juice fell. On some occasions, burning, itching or a burning sensation may occur because it is effectively burning the skin and, sometimes, blisters appear.
If you feel any pain, the first thing you should do is place ice wrapped in a thin cloth (to avoid worsening the burn with the cold) or a cold compress based on physiological serum on top of the damaged skin. You can also opt for very cold chamomile tea compresses to help reduce inflammation and soothe some pain. If you want, you can freeze the saline or chamomile in ice buckets and then apply them on top of the affected area with the help of gauze.
Also, take precautions and avoid coming into contact with citrus fruits or in this case, lemon, when you are outdoors or exposed to direct sun and, if so, rinse the area with soap and water immediately to prevent bergaptene from taking effect.
How to remove spots on the skin produced by lemon
As we have already explained above, these spots appear due to exposure to the sun's rays, therefore, the first steps to eliminate stains is to avoid such exposure and protect them as much as possible from the sun:
- Use sunscreen: It is of the utmost importance that you completely cover the stain with a generous layer of sunscreen with an SPF of no less than 50. Use it every time you go out in the sun and apply again every 30 minutes while you stay out.
- Apply creams or lotions that contain vitamin A: this vitamin is excellent for helping to regenerate the skin and, in addition, to whiten it, therefore, it will help to recover from burning and eliminate brown hyperpigmentation. Spread the cream very well throughout the affected area and try to use it when you get home, preferably at night and apply it in the morning before sunscreen.
With these remedies, the stain can take approximately two months to disappear, however, daily care should be taken and avoiding sun exposure as much as possible. Likewise, if the stain is excessively large, we recommend that you go to the dermatologist and he will prescribe special creams with corticosteroids to regenerate the skin 100%.
When the burn has completely healed, if there has been a dark spot on the skin, you can try to lighten that area using one of the natural treatments that we show in the article How to treat skin spots with home remedies.
