Non-prescription skin lightening creams that claim to bleach or lighten your skin can be harmful.
“Unfortunately, many skin-lightening creams contain illegal compounds that can damage your health,†says Indy Rihal of the British Skin Foundation. “The most common compounds are high-dose steroids.â€
The damaging effects of these products are taken seriously by the law. In March 2009, a man who sold unlicensed medicines and banned cosmetics, including skin-lightening creams containing corticosteroids and hydroquinone, was ordered to pay £80,000 in fines, costs and repayment of illegal earnings.
So Are There Any Safe Products To Bleach Skin ?
There are actually a couple of manufacturers that we know of who produce effective and perfectly safe skin whitening products.
The specialist manufacturer of skin care products for Asian skin types, Pharmaclinix produces a skin lightening cream under the name of Lightenex. This particular skin lightening cream uses Kojic Dipalmitate as its main active ingredient, this is a perfectly safe naturally occurring compound and will not do long term damage to your skin. Lightenex should also be used in conjunction with a high SPF moisturiser to be really effective.
Lightenex is being used by thousands of women to treat areas of chloasma or melasma with some great results.
The other manufacturer of a safe skin lightening cream which will effectively bleach skin is Xtend-Life from New Zealand and goes by the name of Xtend-Life Natural Whitening Day Cream.
This particular skin lightening cream uses a naturally occuring substance called Extrapone Nutgrass, nutgrass has been used for thousands of years in Ayurvedic and Chinese medicines. The active ingredient in Xtend-Life Natural Whitening Day Cream is derived from the root of the nutgrass plant which grows wild in India.
Nutgrass root has also been found to have anti-aging properties for the skin. Therefore it is a natural way to whiten your skin, without any harmful side effects, as well as making your skin look younger. It is also effective at reducing freckles.
There are also 9 other active ingredients in the Xtend-Life cream which aid with anti-aging.
All in all, between the two products the Xtend-Life Natural Whitening Day Cream is by far the better value as it contains a lot more active ingredients and is about 20% cheaper and if you use the Loyalty Discount scheme operated by Xtend-Life then it becomes even cheaper still.
To find out more about Xtend-Life Natural Whitening Day Cream just click here.
For many centuries, particular cultures consider a fair complexion as being a sign of health and beauty. Pregnancy, hormonal imbalance, birth control pills and exposure to the sun can cause hyper pigmentation. Sun or age spots are caused by exposure to the UVB light of the sun. This leads to an increased production of melanin, which is the coloured pigment in your skin.
Melanin is formed from melanocytes, which is controlled by the enzyme tyrosinase. When hyper pigmentation occurs in the epidermis of the skin, skin lightening products can help remove dark patches on the skin. Asian skin is prone to suffering from hyper pigmentation, therefore skin whitening treatments are very popular to improve and lighten the skin. Skin lightening treatments include laser treatments, skin lightening creams (beware of those containing bleaches, as this can damage the skin) soaps, lotions and skin lightening pills. Hyper pigmentation treatments can sometimes produce very good results.
Asian skin differs from white skins because their skins contain larger melanosomes, which are melanin containing packets made by melanocytes which are taken up by surface skin cells. Due to their larger size, the degradation and dispersal is much slower than in white skins. Asian skin also produce more melanin in response to the Sun’s UVB light than white skin.
Skin Lightening agents
Kojic acid
There are many skin whitening creams, some are safer and more effective than others. One very effective skin whitening product is kojic dipalmitate, which is a derivative of kojic acid. Kojic acid is a by-product in the fermentation process of malting rice for use in the manufacturing of the Japanese rice wine.. It inhibits the enzyme tyrosinase, therefore inhibiting the production of melanin (as explained above). Kojic dipalmitate is an alternative to kojic acid because it is much more stable in formulations. It also has the added benefit of being an excellent anti oxidant. This is a safe skin lightener if used at the correct concentrations. If applied twice daily for approximately 6-8 weeks, a noticeable lightening of the skin occurs. Many have found that it is a much safer alternative to skin bleaching, without any nasty side effects or skin rashes. Kojic dipalmitate is a very important skin lightening ingredient for those looking to have even, flawless and fair skin.
One of the best skin lightening creams is Lightenex by PharmaClinix, which uses 5% Kojic Dipalmitate, followed by an effective sunscreen, e.g. Moisturix SPF25.
Hydroquinone
Many skin whiteners contain hydroquinone, which is a potent inhibitor of melanin. It has been banned in many countries due to fears of a cancer risk. Research has found that topical application indicates negative reactions, such as burns, rashes and even scarring. Hydroquinone can be an unstable ingredient in cosmetic formulations, which turns brown upon exposure to the air or sunlight. Therefore, they become ineffective shortly after opening the packaging.
Sunscreens
Sun screens can be very effective at avoiding damage or darkening of the skin by ultraviolet rays from the sun. Higher SPFs are recommended (25 or more) as they contain greater quantities of the UVA protecting ingredients. Sun exposure is one of the most common causes for hyper pigmentation, and a good high SPF sun screen is very important to be worn in conjunction to the use of skin lightening creams or laser treatments.
Laser Treatments
Laser skin lightening treatments are very drastic procedures to undergo to reduce hyper pigmentation. They are not particularly suited to the darker skins and the results are not always consistent. Problems have been reported when undergoing laser treatments, such as hypo or hyper pigmentation.
Tretinoin
Tretinoin is less effective than kojic dipalmitate as an ingredient in skin lightening creams, as the time taken to see an improvement in skin tone can quite long. It has other benefit however, such as improving the skin’s elasticity, texture and collagen production.
Alpha Hydrozy Acids (AHAs)
These may remove skin discolorations; only a qualified physician should perform these types of skin lightening peels. However, it is generally assumed that AHAs main benefit is to remove unhealthy, superficial skin layers (exfoliation) where hyper pigmented cells can accumulate.
Azelaic acid
Azelaic acid is a component of grains from wheat, rye and barley. It can be used in inhibiting melanin production and also in the treatment of acne. However, it is not as safe or effective an ingredient as kojic dipalmitate.
Hormonal pigmentation can come on quite suddenly. Most people suffering from this condition will suddenly notice patches that are darker than the surrounding skin.
The most common type of hormonal pigmentation is Melasma. I will describe this in more detail in another post.
The second most common type of hormonal pigmentation is the kind induced by conditions like PCOS (Poly Cystic Ovary Syndrome) and Diabetes Mellitus. Also, some men and women will notice hormonal pigmentation after puberty. This type of pigmentation usually manifests on the back of legs and/or underarms. This is more common in some races and quite unusual in others. Other rarer forms of hormonal pigmentation includes those found in people suffering from Addison’s disease and Acanthosis Nigricans. Sudden darkening could also be caused by Arsenic poisoning.
Hormonal pigmentation requires constant lightening and simultaneous treatment of internal conditions if there are any present. With persistance and a disciplined regime, it is possible to even out even the toughest areas of pigmentation.
