Skin Lightening Ingredients: Some Pose a Threat to Health and Beauty
Did you know that a high number of skin whitening products contain illegal ingredients that pose a risk to your health? Some of these ingredients include high-dose steroids, such as hydroquinone, which may cause your skin to thin, your skin to stay permanently bleached, uneven color, redness, and severe irritation. Some whitening skin products have mercury in them, which is highly toxic for the kidneys and nervous system. It has the potential to be lethal. If you’re thinking about using skin lightening products, make sure to avoid these ten dangerous products.
Products 1-6 contain dangerously high levels of hydroquinone.
- Clair Liss Lightening Cream
- Akagni Luxury lotion
- Clear Essence Skin Beautifying Milk
- Maxi White Lightening Gel
- Niuma Skin Lightening Body Lotion
- Niuma Lightening Cream
Products 7-10 contain both hydroquinone and significant levels of mercury.
7. Jiao Li Speckle-Dispelling and Whitening Cream
8. Erna Whitening Cream
9. LMSER Cream
10. Angela Placenta Whitening Cream (Tender Skin & Whitening)
All of these products have a similar danger: hydroquinone. These products go over the suggested amount of hydroquinone a person should apply to their skin (which is 2%). These 10 products can get up to 6% hydroquinone, which is very dangerous for your skin. Hydroquinone is very controversial and has been known to cause skin burning, burning, dryness at low doses at the suggested amount. High doses may cause blistering, skin cracking, and blue-black skin darkening.
Mercury has also been found in 4 of these 10 products, as if hydroquinone wasn’t enough to worry about. Mercury will cause kidney damage because the toxins within it seep into your skin. Mercury will also cause rashes on the face, skin discoloration, and many other side effects.
Skin whitening products are very controversial and have the potential to be very dangerous. Make sure to read reviews and check out the ingredients on the back of any skin whitening product before you buy it.
Alpha Arbutin is one of the most popular skin lighteners currently on the market. People have flocked to it due its promise of fantastic results, but more importantly, the fact that it claims to be safer than many other skin lightening ingredients.
How Effective and Safe is Alpha Arbutin for Skin Whitening
Does Alpha Arbutin Really Lighten Skin?
The simple answer is yes! alpha arbutin does really work. What’s better is that unlike many products on the market that claim to lighten skin, alpha arbutin does it without the harmful chemicals that are present in so many other products. This means that, unlike other options, no harm will come to your skin due to using this product.
How Long Does It Take For Alpha Arbutin To Work?
You should begin seeing results in just a few weeks. As the melanin production is inhibited by the alpha arbutin, the skin will become lighter.
Of course, for best results, you need to use it over a longer period of time.
Is Alpha Arbutin Safer Than Hydroquinone?
Yes, it is! Hydroquinone (and other products like it) are absolutely packed full of chemicals that can cause serious damage to your skin.
Unlike hydroquinone, and other products, alpha arbutin does not contain any chemicals that are designed to inhibit melanin. What it does is inhibit tyrosinase temporarily, while not destroying anything. This means that the process is completely reversible, and is incredibly safe.
Hydroquinone: Side Effects and Safer Alternative
Making the right choices about your skin care is extremely important to avoid the unwanted side effects of many of the health and beauty products on the market today. When it comes to skin lightening products, you may have heard a great deal about hydroquinone, a substance that has been using by some dermatologists since the seventies.
Hydroquinone (1,4-benzendiol) lightens the skin by decreasing the production of melanin. Melanin is secreted by specialized cells called melanocytes for giving your skin its color. Hydroquinone does not bleach the skin. Skin lightening caused by hydroquinone lasts a long time when skin is maintained and you use a broad-spectrum sunscreen outdoors. However, pigmentation results created by hydroquinone are not permanent.
Side Effects Of Prolonged Hydroquinone Use
Using this chemical compound for skin lightening on a long term basis has been associated with some forms of cancer. Common side effects of long term use include rashes and irritation and ochronosis. Ochronosis is skin thickening that also becomes darker, occurring especially in people with colored or darker toned skin. However, ochronosis is rare and generally occurs in people using this chemical long term. I personally advise you to stay away from all skin whitening products that contain hydroquinone. Always bear in mind that prevention is better than cure.
Reversing The Effects Of Hydroquinone
When used for a short period, the effects of hydroquinone are generally easily reversed by simply stopping its use. Long term side effects should be seen by your dermatologist and treated in an appropriate manner. If you worry about side effects, you might consider kojic acid, a natural skin lightener that works. It is safer alternative to hydroquinone because it is natural. Kojic acid is derived from mushrooms and fermented rice and has no reported side effects to date. A lot of people say that kojic acid is the best alternative to hydroquinone.