How to Lighten Dark Skin

What does it take to lighten dark skin?  Worldwide, there seems to be a preference for lighter or paler skin.  And there is a huge market for bleaching creams, skin whiteners and skin lighteners.  Asians and Africans want to have lighter colored skin and are willing to do just about anything to get it.  So how do you do it?  In this article, I intend to talk about ways to bleach darker skin and make it...whiter.

What is the big deal with white or paler skin anyway?

I don't necessarily have the answers but I would imagine that the reason for white skin could go all the way back when the poor had to labor in the fields and because of this, their darker skin could have meant that they were labourers.  Compare this to the aristocracy who only had to get out in the sun when they wanted and you could see that white skin meant that you didn't have to work.

For Asians and African women, this could be troubling.  People with naturally darker skin would need to find alternative lighten up their complexion.  And for decades, there have been bleaching creams that would do just that.

One of the most popular skin whiteners that really works well is hydroquinone, which incidentally has been banned by nearly every country in the world because of the health risks associated with it.  The dangers of hydroquinone include cancer and liver failure but the cosmetic ramifications can be equally damaging as well.  Many women who abuse this ingredient to get whiter skin have found that it can not only result in hyperpigmentation but also burn the skin.  And sometimes, the effects are non-reversal.

A better, albeit, not as effective way to lighten darker skin is to use products that are natural.  These include plant extracts that work to help reduce melanin which is responsible for darkening skin cells.  Examples of this include Alpha Arbutin, which has shown very positive results in case studies and is possibly the most effective skin whitening ingredient on the market.  It is also the most expensive and skin bleaching creams that use A-Arbutin as their primary ingredient charge a premium for their lotions.

A distant cousin to A-arbutin is beta arbutin which has been used for a couple decades and is also a proven winner to brightening the skin.

It should be noted that both of these can help with age spots, melasma, or liver spots as well and are very effective for treating and lightening darker age spots on the body and face.

Other very good skin lightener creams that opt for all natural ingredients use kojic acid, which is a by product of the fermentation process of malting rice (most of us who eat sushi know it for producing sake).  Bearberry extract, licorice extract and some fruits which produce absorbic acid (like lemons) all have skin lightening agents in them as well.

When you are choosing the right skin lightener lotion or cream, you will want to make sure that you read the ingredients and look for any of the ingredients mentioned above.  Some of the premium bleaching creams like meladerm contain all of the above.  

Since the black market sell bleaching creams, you will also want to only deal with reputable dealers because what you put on your face or body can absorb through the skin.  As is the case of hydroquinone, this can be very risky.