The whiter the skin, the more flawless and perfect it looks. People from almost all ethnicities are looking for a natural skin whitening procedure that will yield a little piece of "perfection". The truth is that most people are looking for a way to get whiter skin and they will do this a variety of ways including a skin lightening treatment, bleach creams, skin whitening lotions and a whole host of other skin products that promise better skin tone. In this hub, I am going to examine the various methods of bleaching your skin and focus primarily on the natural way to whiten your skin.

I should note that most bleach creams, lotions and pills as well as the herbal natural remedies lighten or whiten skin because they are inhibiting the production of melanin, the chemical in your body that helps to protect us from sun damage and that coincidentally also makes us tan.

When most people think of whitening the skin, most immediately think of Michael Jackson.  But truth be told, there are more reasons to want to whiten your skin tone.  As we age, our skin starts to get discolored in spots and we wind up with uneven skin tone, liver spots and age spots, acne scars, melasma as well as other things that are caused by overexposure to the sun.  A skin whitener like a cream or lotion will help to even out the flaws that are associated with typical aging.

Before we begin, I should note that you can purchase all the creams and lotions that you want but if you aren't eating the proper diet and nourishing your skin, then chances are very good that you won't be making doing the things that you need to do to improve your skin tone.

This includes:

• Drinking water-  Simply put, drinking plenty of water will help flush the toxins out of your body quicker and will alleviate many skin problems that most women (and men) encounter.  The best rule of thumb is to drink 1/2 your weight in ounces.  In other words, if you weigh 100 pounds, you should drink at least 50 ounces of water.
• Eating a proper diet-  Think lots of anti-oxidant skin loving fruits and high fibrous green leafy vegetables.and limiting or totally eliminating genetically modified and processed foods.  This includes sugar.  A proper diet will have your body working in the way it was intended and will (once again) flush those harmful toxins from your body.
• Stay out of the sun-  Limit the amount of sun you get daily.  Some sun is good because it gives your body the necessary vitamin D supply.  However, wear a sun screen to protect your skin.
• Exercise-  Exercise expediates the process of removing the toxins from your body.  Once again, while it wouldn't seem like nice white skin and exercise goes together, they do.

While the list could be long in regards to skin whitening creams and bleaching lotions to avoid, there are some ingrediants that you should definitely check for. Avoid any bleaching creams or lotions that have any of the following ingredients in them....

• Steroids
• Mercury
• Hydroquinone

All three of these ingredients are common in some of the lower end skin whitening creams and should be avoided. Hydroquinone in particular has been seen to cause liver damage and thyroid problems. There is also a connection between this popular skin bleaching ingredient and leukemia.  This is particularly important if you are whitening private areas with vaginal or anal bleaching creams.

While you may think that a little shouldn't hurt, understand that there are better ways to whiten your skin without damaging your body. Don't take any chances.

The good news is that there are certain herbal home remedies for natural skin whitening. And the list I am going to give are safe alternatives to bleaching your skin without the harmful effects that I illustrated above.

Sandalwood paste and lemon extract are both excellent natural skin whitening solutions. The best part is that they are known in the alternative health community as a great way to whiten skin safely without damaging your skin.

Other herbal products that will whiten your skin are things like citric acid (which can be found in many fruits) Kojic and lactic acids, many fruit extracts from bearberry and mulberries.

Alpha Arbutin is a great skin whitener alternative as well. This is a plant extract (actually it is a weed commonly known as dockweed) and in its concentrated form, it inhibits skin tanning and redness. Some believe that Alpha Arbutin is the best natural skin whitening alternative around.

Of course, there are also vitamins that will help with skin bleaching. The most notable one is vitamin B3. This skin lightening ingredient is commonly known as niacinamide and is known to help whiten the skin. It also works well with a variety of other skin conditions.