Skinfare Skin Care Blog

Skin Lightening Creams are often sold as a skin treatment to address age spots and other skin discolorations like birthmarks, freckles and sun damage. The goal of these creams is to lighten up the areas of the skin that have become darker (hyperpigmentation) so that the skin color appears more even. Most frequently, these treatments are used on areas that almost always visible such as the face, arms, neck, hands and chest.

The active ingredient in most effective skin lightening is Hydroquinone. This substance is thought to reduce the production of melanin which is responsible for the darker tones used to blend and produce skin color. This ingredient can actually be made more powerful when used with tretinoin, another melanin inhibitor.

So Do They Work?

There is some evidence that hydroquinone can assist in reducing dark spots on discolorations onthe skin when used for a significant period of time. These effects however are likely to be subtle. It is thought aht topical solutions such as creams are unable to penetrate the skin far enough to have any significant impact on melanin production. Also, hydroquinone, when mixed into skin care products, becomes less stable and its effects can be drastically reduced by exposure to sunlight. For this  reason, it is important that the packaging be non-transparent.

If skin lightening (or skin bleaching) is being considered, there are more effective alternatives such as skin peels and laser skin treatments but these of course require a higher investment and recuperation time. A cosmetic dermatologist can help you make the right choice when it comes to these advanced approaches.