Might Skin Lightener Be The Right Solution For Your Dark Skin Issues?

Skin Bleaching-Chispa MagazineSome people have dark skin that they want to brighten, and some people have dark spots that they want to lighten. In either case, is does lightening your skin address your dark skin issues?

Wanted: Lighter skin
In Asia, where 29 percent of the US$ 465 billion global sales in beauty and personal care came from in 2014, that is according to Euromonitor International, women and men are obsessed with having whiter skin. Elsewhere, people are merely concerned about lightening a freckle, an acne mark, a dark spot or a hyper pigmented patch of skin.

Blemishes can be hard enough to deal with. The sad part is that once the breakout disappears for good, it leaves behind permanent dark marks on the skin. Other than blemishes, aging skin and UV exposure can cause an overproduction of melanin, the substance produced by the skin which gives it color. In turn, higher rates of melanin can cause hyper pigmentation, freckles and liver spots to appear.

Therefore, to address dark skin issues, a skin lighter must tackle melanin to significantly reduce its production and cause your skin to lighten and brighten.

What lightens your skin? There are a number of ways by which you can lighten your skin, among which are as follows:

  1. Natural remedies. There are a number of items in your kitchen and in the market that can help you lighten that dark spot. Papain in papaya, for instance, is a natural exfoliator which helps facilitate faster skin cell turnover so that new skin can replace your old, damaged skin. Natural astringents, lemon juice or orange juice, can whiten skin and even help smoothen it out. Green tea can also help depigment skin. Making a mask out of any of these with baking soda, another whitening agent, can help brighten your skin.
  1. Topical creams. The gold standard in skin whitening remains to be hydroquinone. The FDA has approved its use for over-the-counter formulations up to 2 percent only, and up to 4 percent with prescription. However, debates are still up on the safety of use of hydroquinone. If you have doubts, therefore, you should read up more on this ingredient, consult with your dermatologist or, try alternatives.

The best alternative then is a skin lightener that either contains glutathione, arbutin, kojic acid, licorice extract and flavonoids, or a combination thereof. All of these contain powerful antioxidants that help stop the expression of melanin, and even have natural bleaching and anti-inflammatory properties. Retinols and, for higher dosages, prescription only tretinoins, are also a potent way to lighten dark patches in your skin. Other than correcting wrinkles, these also have been found to inhibit melanin production.

  1. Oral supplementation. The most common of which will have to be a combination of glutathione pills and Vitamin C in high doses. This combination works by not permitting enzymes, like Tyrosinase, from connecting with each other to cause melanin production. It also works by dramatically increasing the amount of antioxidants in the body, regulating the expression of Tyrosinase itself.
  1. DIY skin bleaching. Carefully select the product you will use and make sure to follow the instructions down to a T. If you have dark skin, it will be best to consult with a skincare specialist first because bleaching can cause skin to permanently lose color.
  1. Clinic-based skin whitening treatments. Other than clinic-based bleaching, you can also choose to avail of peels, laser skin resurfacing, cryotherapy, and Intense Pulsed Light therapy.

Conclusion?
Stop lamenting about that dark spot. It’s time to act on it. The right solution to brighten your skin or to lighten your dark skin problem is out there. All you have to do is seek the solution that suits your skin type and that addresses your specific skin issues.

Photo by Tikkho Maciel

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Addie Davison

Addie Davison

Addie Davison, health and beauty consultant from New York, New Jersey, USA. She holds a bachelor’s degree in English literature. She likes to write about beauty, skin care, and makeup. She is very passionate about writing. Her articles mainly focus on content quality and originality. She has self-promotion abilities and works independently on her own initiatives.

Addie Davison

Addie Davison, health and beauty consultant from New York, New Jersey, USA. She holds a bachelor’s degree in English literature. She likes to write about beauty, skin care, and makeup. She is very passionate about writing. Her articles mainly focus on content quality and originality. She has self-promotion abilities and works independently on her own initiatives.