1. Stick with natural products.
2. Just say no to chemicals.
3. Give skin lightening time.
What You Really Need to Know About Skin Lightening
Skin bleaching has to inhibit melanin. This is the pigment that makes skin darker.
1. Natural products
People in Asia were taking an herbal medicine called arbutin. They took it for general good health. Much to their surprise, they discovered it lightened their tone.
Doctors in Japan wanted to know why. They performed two different tests of Alpha Arbutin, which is a form of the herb. (You might see it called by its scientific name, 4 hydroxyphenyl alpha glucopyranoside).
•In the first study, it reduced pigmentation in cells by 25 percent.
•In the follow up test, they knew more about how to apply it. This time they got a 40 reduction in melanin. That means the cells were nearly half as dark.
•Alpha Arbutin got a safety stamp of approval. Cells grew with less melanin. But they otherwise grew normally.
Another natural ingredient to look for is kojic acid. It’s very gentle and safe. It comes from rice. Combined with alpha arbutin it becomes a one two punch of natural skin lightening.
2. Just say no to chemicals.
1. The worst is hydroquinone. It comes from benzene, which is cancer causing.
2. Animals developed cancer when scientists put hydroquinone cream on them.
3. Hydroquinone is unsafe in products left on the skin. Yet skin lightening takes repeated use over significant periods of time.
4. There’s a really scary side effect. It may cause ochronosis. The skin becomes dark and thick.
5. You can’t buy it in The European Union or Japan. It’s banned because it’s dangerous. In the US, only doctors know how to use it safely. But it’s still sold in do it yourself creams for skin bleaching.
Another chemical to watch out for is mercury. It’s in bleaching products made overseas. Mercury poisoning is known to cause neurological and kidney damage and may also lead to psychiatric disorders.
Remember, you have to leave this stuff on your skin a long time for it to work. Your pores are soaking up mercury, or hydroquinone.
3. Give it time
Our final skin bleaching tip logically springs from the first two tips. You must use any skin lightener daily, consistently, and for many weeks or months. That’s why you want to know what’s in it. That’s why you want to stick with natural products and refuse to use chemicals.
A rule of thumb:
You eat it. You smear it. It’s safe.
Some kojic acid comes from rice. It’s left over when the Japanese make saki. It’s all natural. It’s totally safe. You can eat it. It’s also found in a plant and extracted.
Alpha arbutin comes from the leaves of the Bearberry plant. Bears eat it. Herbalists use the juice. Years ago they began to notice that when they smeared it on a wound to keep it moist, the skin around the wound lightened. Bear in mind wounds absorb anything. But there are no side effects to arbutin.
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