There is a craving for skin lightening among women to shed dark skin for a much fairer complexion to look more beautiful or appealing. Skin lightening is the practice of using substances, mixtures, or physical treatments to lighten skin color. These treatments work by reducing the content of melanin in the skin. Melanin is the pigment that gives humans their hair, skin, and eye colour.
It is much milder than bleaching because it tones your skin and brings out your ‘supposed’ original colour. Even some celebrities have been known to use it.
There are chemicals mixed to create a lightening cream, some of which are dangerous to the skin and some of which are not, so it is important to note that skin lightening has its own risks.
Thought of changing your skin colour to a lighter shade? Do you want to seem more appealing with a lighter look? Are you going for skin lightening methods to look fairer and shed your darker skin?
These are 5 facts that you should note before using that skin lightening cream.
1. There is actually no bleach involved in skin lightening
Skin bleaching creams work by reducing a pigment called melanin. By applying the medication to hyper-pigmented areas, parts of the body, or the face that are visibly darker than others, melanin production is disrupted, allowing the skin to lighten and become more uniform.
Sometimes, skin-lightening products can include exfoliants that induce mild peeling. Since skin tends to regenerate quickly and easily, the peeling helps to clear away dead cells and resurface fresher and lighter layers beneath. There are some creams that add bleaching chemicals to them to give a faster result. You should beware of such creams.
2. It can have harmful side effects
Skin-lightening creams contain ingredients that may have carcinogenic properties that can be harmful. In other words, they may increase the risks of cancer. There are chemicals that, if allergic to, might cause dryness, redness, and peeling of the outer layer of the skin. This means that it is not good for your skin.
ALSO READ: 6 Important Facts You Should Know About Skin Bleaching
3. There are huge consequences to abusing skin-lightening creams
We have all likely seen bleaching jobs gone wrong and what overly bleached skin can look like: unnaturally white or red with green lines. When skin lightening creams with high hydroquinone are used for a period of more than three months, the whole skin lightening business can have some pretty negative, even paradoxical, results.
Though there is a possibility that this skin reaction can develop with lower doses, the risks are increased when the dose is higher. Overuse of skin whiteners can also cause pigmentation to build up in your extremities (fingers, toes, ears, etc.), causing them to look darker and mismatched. Yet another negative reaction can develop, known as the “bleach panda effect,” where the skin on the face becomes thinned around the eyes and has increased pigmentation.
4. Natural options exist as well
For those wary of harmful chemicals, explore natural remedies to lighten skin. There are many naturally occurring agents that can be found in nature that have lightening properties, like yogurt, orange, honey, and aloe vera gel. Also, a chemical-free and easy-to-find alternative is vitamin C. There is also some research to suggest that pomegranate extract and vitamin E oral supplements may also inhibit melanin production. So if you must lighten your cream, do it the natural way rather than use products that are dangerous to the body.
5. It interrupts the production of melanin
Skin lightening creams often aim to interrupt the production of melanin or just improve the general health of the skin. Most skin-lightening treatments target the skin’s ability to produce pigment, or melanin, which gives your skin, hair, and eyes their colour. Everyone has about the same number of cells to make melanin, but how much you actually produce is down to your genes.
As blacks, we produce more. When exposed to the sun, the body produces more melanin to absorb harmful UV rays and protect skin cells. And having more natural melanin also means that we tend to develop fewer wrinkles.