Have you ever asked yourself what all the hype is about Skin lightening? There are so many different facets to this one topic, that you can spend an entire day just reading about all the different products that you can use to all the different research and case studies that have been done around it, and not even touch the tip of this iceberg.
To add more fuel to this fire, there are various different terminology that is often related to this idea of reducing pigment on the skin, namely Skin brightening, whitening, and lightening. The reason for this, however, is that each defines various degrees of potency in its ingredients. For instance, when you read about whitening products, the ingredients used are a lot stronger than the brightening products. So, one might be more effective than the other depending on what outcome the user desires.
The important thing to remember here is the ingredients. All 3 of these may have different ones. Below are a few of them.
Skin Brightening
So, for Skin brightening products, we have included a few common ingredients that are incorporated into relevant products:
Good Old Vitamin C
Possibly a universal favourite of every skincare enthusiast. Vitamin C has won so many awards as a highly effective ingredient used in tons of beauty products, it has hit 5-star status very quickly!
It has been noted to be one of the most influential antioxidants used in skin care protection and environmental pollutants. It is used in day cream as an SPF to protect the skin from the harmful effects of UV radiation. As we age, it is natural for our skins to do the same and lose either their elasticity or radiance, and so in trying to keep it as best as possible we advise using only the best and high-grade products that have an average percentage of Vitamin C in them, as the higher ones are for people who do not have sensitive skin.
It is also known for its suitable skin repairing properties and boosts not only the enzyme known as Glutathione but also helps stop free radicals from building up on. Sometimes if you lack this enzyme, which is normally produced in your cells, you need to take an external helper like Vitamin C cream or even oral supplements. You can find more beneficial information about this here.
Fruit Enzymes
Fruit Enzymes are recommended for people who have sensitive skin. The recommendation is not to use any of the AHAs or BHA creams but instead to go with this slightly more natural solution that gently exfoliates the skin. As the name suggests, they are enzymes derived from fruits like pumpkins, grapes, papayas and more.
AHAs or Alpha Hydroxy Acids
AHAs or Alpha Hydroxy Acids are amongst the most popular and effective of the lot. The reason for this is because of its consistency, it can go deep down into all the layers of the skin to help repair any damage in a more permanent and long-term was, as opposed to only the top layer of the skin and a temporary solution.
However, the caution here is to choose a mild one such as lactic acid instead of the normal glycolic acid that is used in most products.
BHA or Beta Hydroxy Acid
It is stronger than its sister product AHAs, and is usually prescribed by medical professionals in treating things like acne. The reason it is not available over the counter or in beauty stores is that it can be very harsh on the skin and usage needs to be monitored.
Skin Lightening
For Skin lightening products, it is the same. There are a few safe and controversial common components used:
Hydroquinone
Hydroquinone is one of the controversial ones. It is a chemical skin lightener and has been named as possibly the most effective one on the market and can be bought over-the-counter.
Its use varies between inhibiting and/or reducing the production of melanin on the skin, and is pretty strong so one can see a considerable difference in skin tone over a few weeks of regular use. The down side of this is that when people over-do it, by using it long-term, it tends to have a reverse effect by making your skin so sensitive to UV radiation that you will need to lather on that sunscreen more often than normal, not to mention with your skins layer becoming so thin that any other products might not work on you or may have a harmful effect on your skin.
However when looking for a more natural option to skin lightening, we have found various information on slightly more safer ingredient products Meladerm skin lightening cream review that have no mercury or steroids in them and are also vegan and cruelty-free. These products have things like Kojic Acid and Licorice root in them rather than parabens and harsh chemicals.
Kojic Acid
As mentioned above, this falls under the category of the less-harmful and more natural category of ingredients in skin lightening products and can be used in place of the harsher sister product – Hydroquinone. It helps to lighten the skin by also inhibiting melanin production but is suitable for more skin types and does not make your skin as sensitive to the sun’s rays or other products.
Azelaic Acid
You can get topical creams as well, which can be applied directly to only the problem areas. For instance, if you have dark spots on your skin like blemishes or acne scars, this would be the best one to use. It helps fade away these spots in the long run. It does not fade natural birth spots like freckles though.
Skin Whitening
The category of Whitening in a nut-shell is the amalgamation of both the above lightening and brightening approaches, this enhances the skin tone as well as lightens it through bleaching, by a few shades, but also uses stronger ingredients and one needs to be very careful when using these.
The best thing would be to get advice from a dermatology clinic and recommended products from experts in the field, as opposed to experimenting with them yourself.
