This is my first Home Remedy Review, and it is probably my favourite thing in the world right now. I found this idea on Pinterest a week ago and gave it a shot a few days later. The concept is simple; the lemon juice dries out the pimples and the acid in it bleaches out redness, as well as destroys blackheads. The baking soda keeps it on your face, and when you scrub it with warm water it turns into a gentle exfoliant. Not to mention this mixture costs a fraction of acne washes!
Lemon & baking soda mask.
What you’ll need:
- 2 tbsp baking soda
- 1 tsp lemon juice (bottle or from a fresh lemon
* Note that these measurements are what I use. You can use whatever ratio works best for you! I personally like mine to be very thick, but if you want it to be more like a paste or cream, add more lemon juice until you’re content!
So, grab a small bowl and dump in two level tablespoons of baking soda. Pour out one teaspoon of lemon juice and dump it into the bowl, too. It’s going to fizz a lot and turn a pale yellow colour; that’s good! Mix it together with a spoon (or something) until you get a nice, yellow-y paste. It might not look like much, but these measurements produce enough to cover your entire face and neck. Next, if you’re not already there, take your mixture into the washroom and rub it generously over your face, making sure to get right in beside your nose and below your bottom lip (blackhead-prone spots!). It might sting/tingle/burn a little, that’s just fine too. I myself have very sensitive skin, and I can use this mixture for a half hour at a time without harming my skin or causing redness.
If the mixture is running off your face, mix in pinch by pinch more baking soda until it stays on without a problem. If it is too thick, add a smidgen more lemon. Leave the mixture on anywhere from 5-30 minutes. I leave it on for 30 for MAXIMUM STRENGTH! (hehe!), but if you’re worried about the stinging/burning/tingling, go ahead an wash it off. When you’re ready to, get your hands wet with warm water and scrub the baking soda mixture over your face (the exfoliant), then rinse it all off. Right away you should see better looking blackheads, clearer, brighter skin; and maybe even reduction in size of some pimples! Even if your skin is clear and you decide to use this, your skin should look brighter.
I’ve used this mixture twice now, and my blackhead problem skin is looking so much better. My cysts and large pimples get smaller with every use, and the redness starts to go away immediately! If you want to go all out, use lemon juice as a toner morning and night! It will really help with pore-size reduction, getting rid of blackheads and pimples and keeping your complexion bright and clear c: Just pour a little on a cotton ball or cotton pad and rub it over your skin.
A few people have been asking how often to use this and I figure it’s really personal preference. I use it once a week, and I wouldn’t recommend using it more than twice in one week since it might dry out your skin. When that happens, your acne can actually get worse, your skin can crack and flake, you can develop wrinkles and so on.
I hope this mixture works for you, too! I’d love to hear how it’s working for you if you do decide to use it. On a side note, you can add a few drops of tea tree oil to the mixture as well (it’s a natural disinfectant!) I don’t have any right now, so I’m not using it in my mixture.
Best of luck!
Gloss and Liner 
Thanks for posting this fantastic information. Keep up this great job. I’ll subscribe to your site also. Thnx!
Thank you! I’m glad you like it.
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I think one teaspoon isnt enough. I put like 2 and a half then it sticks.
Whatever works for you! I’ve just stopped measuring all together and I eyeball it. If it’s too runny I add more powder, and if it’s too thick I add more juice. It’s really just preference c:
How often can you use it?
Once a week is good if your skin is sensitive, but you could do it twice if you wanted to. I wouldn’t recommend any more than that in case it dries out your skin. That can cause worse acne problems, wrinkles, scars and so on.
I’am doing this fantastic baking soda and lemon srub for almost a month and its really fantastic. i already recommended this to my friends and they also got a fantastic result.
I’m so glad you like it! I use this every week and my roommate thinks I’m crazy, but I can’t argue with the results. She preaches every time about how baking soda is an ingredient in glue but she doesn’t realize that her favourite face scrub is 80% baking soda, even though I’ve told her.
How often should we use dis for acne dark marks? Once in a week or daily? For fastest result
I’m really sorry I didn’t get back to you sooner! I use this about once a week, but if your skin isn’t overly sensitive you could comfortably use it twice a week. I wouldn’t recommend using it any more often than that or your skin will dry out. Pair it with straight lemon juice as a toner twice a day and your acne marks will fade super fast! So will blackheads c:
I absolutely love this! Thank you for posting it. Great results right after I took it off! Can’t wait to use it next week! 🙂
I’m glad you like it! Try mixing a bit of salt in if you want a stronger exfoliant. It’s great.
salt?
which type of salt……?
i had some acnes on forehead and big scares on cheek!…
suggest plzz
I recommend sea salt the most, but any kind will do. If it feels too abrasive on your skin or you notice redness, I would skip the salt next time.
Just tried this during a bubble bath, my face and shoulders are so soft! Thank you so much for sharing, so excited to check out the rest of your blog!
Is it suppose to dry up and get hard and start to crak when u move your face at the end
Yes it is! It’s a weird sensation, I know. If you don’t like it, just don’t leave it on so long. I leave it on until it’s starting to fall off because I like it to really get in there, but do whatever you gotta do to make it work for you.
If you put a little honey in it it doesn’t dry and crack!
I have it on right now! Lots of tingle on my forehead and a little burn on the edges of my nose….I’m excited to see the results! My pores are big on my cheeks bones and have tons of blackheads on my nose.
Just tried it today and loved it! Thank you so much for sharing it 🙂
Didn’t work for me, I had to wash it off it burned wayyyy tooo much for me. It turned my skin red in minutes and really did a number on my nose
glad to hear it worked for everyone else tho!
i used it for the first time and my whole face is bright red, hot and itchy now. Anyone know what i can do now?
Aloe Vera. You skin is probably very sensitive and reacted poorly to the acidity of the lemon juice.
I think it’s important to note that everyone should be moisturizing their face after they try the mask
I agree, but I think you should moisturize all the time. Moisturizing is important even after a face wash.
I tried this on my nose where I have a lot of blackheads and now they’re all gone!!! But… Now I have a bunch of holes (pores) all over any advice on wat to do next?
Using straight lemon juice as a toner twice a day (or once if it is drying your skin) will help to reduce pore size over time. Tea tree oil also works great. You should also be using a moisturizer twice a day that compliments your skin type (ie: dry, oily, combination, acne prone etc) which will help as well.
I will try this tonight – but for those that have a problem with pore size, witchhazel on a cotton ball will also shrink them very well – and dab a little under your eyes and you will tighten up any possible puffiness 🙂
Just to add on to this, if you get any in your eyes, rinse thoroughly with water until the irritation stops.
Thank you, I saw this on pintrest too, but then could never find it!
Just tried this. I felt like my face was a melting candle wax with loads of wrinkles! But it works really well,thank you for sharing 🙂
Interesting sensation but hey, if it works it works!
Can you make a lot of the mixture and store it in the fridge?
That’s a good question. I haven’t tried it myself but I imagine that if you put it in an airtight container (mason jar, quality Tupperware or something) it could last for a couple weeks. Just pay attention to the quality, texture, and smell of the mixture!
Can you make a lot and store it in the fridge?
Oops sorry I didn’t notice you answered already. Ok thanks
i tried this lemon juice and baking soda mixture on my face hoping to cure
my pimples,but the result is its getting
wost,my face got more pimples and it it became reddish.,what can i do? please help me
Sorry for the delay! I hope your skin got better. Naturally, a solution isn’t going to work for everyone, just like with storebought products. Try using tea tree oil or a product with tea tree oil in it that is alcohol free on your face to clear the acne. Tea tee is a natural antibacterial and can have amazing results on your acne. If your skin is sensitive, dilute a few drops in equal parts water and put it onto your face.
Thanks for posting this post.
its very useful for me..
i am so gonna try this!! btw when you say use lemon juice as a toner what do you mean by that?
Simply take a lemon, cut it in half and squeeze a small amount of the juice onto a cotton round, then sweep that over your face like you would a toner. You can put that half in a ziplock bag and keep it in the fridge for a few days of use c:
If I just use the lemon juice how long should I keep it on before rinsing it off?
Don’t rinse it off. A toner is meant to stay on your skin, and your moisturizer goes on over it after your skin has dried.
another great way to get rid of acne is aloe vera
after leaving the mixture of baking soda and lemon on your face for 30 minutes you will rinse it with water only or do i have to use a facial wash after i rinse it with water?
I rinse it off with water, then do my normal skin care routine after that (face wash, toner, serum, moisturizer in my case) provided my skin doesn’t feel sensitive after the mask that day.
I’m glad I found this! I just did it and my face feels great! The blackheads on my nose are even gone. I’m so happy with the results. Since you’re only really suppose to use this once, maybe twice a week, how do you wash your face in the meantime? Before using this, I didn’t really do anything to my face except wash it with this blackhead remover scrub in the shower and that was it. So what now?
I’m glad you like it! What you should do is find a cleanser that suits your skins needs. I’ll be writing a post shortly in regards to finding the right cleanser for your skin. Beyond that, make sure you’re using a toner and a moisturizer every time, too. I’ll cover this in the article as well c:
Hello Tasha,
Do you know something that WORKS for darkness under the eyes?
Thank you.
Tosy
At this moment, I don’t know any diy methods (but I will start looking!) I can tell you though the Vitamin E Eye Cream from The Body Shop makes a huge difference. I used to use it when my dark circles looked like I’d been punched.
I tried this with a freshly squeezed lemon, and while it left my face AMAZINGLY soft and smooth (I can’t stop touching it), it gave me some itchy bumps (not many, not very noticeable). Do you think that this is a reaction from my skin, or is it something weird, like it’s drawing out impurities/acne that has not yet formed (just wondering if I was the only one that had this type of reaction)?
I haven’t heard of that. How long did they stay for? Do you have any known allergies? Was it small or did it spread? Feel free to message me about this c: