Skin Lightening Treatments
Skin lightening products
There are some many different kinds of skin lightening products which are available in the market. Especially with women, who like to look beautiful and radiant all the time, some of them who need to keep their skin glowing, because of their profession, and mostly all women love to have flawless and clear skin. There are many bleaching creams, whiteners,skin brighteners, or fade, to reduce the pigmentation, called melanin in the skin. Most people use different products, like skin lighteners, to treat their skin problem, such as age sport, acne scars, or discolouration related to hormones. This technique is also used to lighten naturally dark skin.
The skin lightening products that you use are not guaranteed, and do come with some risks
What Determines Skin Colour?
This depends on the amount of melanin in the skin. Melanin is the pigmentation of the skin, this melanin is produced by special cells called melanocytes. People with darker complexion have more melanin in them. How much melanin you have, depends upon the genetic make -up. There are certain factors, which also add up to the sunlight exposure, hormones, skin damage, and also exposure to certain chemicals which can also affect melanin production.
Certain changes in skin colour,do often resolve themselves. For example tans fades away, when the person is less exposed to sunlight. However certain discolouration like, age spots or liver spots become more or less permanent
What Is Skin Bleaching?
Skin bleaching, is done to reduce the prominence skin spots and discolourations which show on the skin. Bleaching creams are available, over -the-counter, as also by prescription recommended by a dermatologist.
There are some people, apply skin lightening products to their entire body to change their entire complexion,but this is risky. Certain skin lightening products, and bleach contain mercury, so bleaching can lead to mercury poisoning.
As mercury is a toxic agent, it can cause serious psychiatric,neurological, and kidney problems. If a pregnant women who uses, skin lightening products, are putting their baby at risk, as mercury can be passed to the child
How Do Skin Lighteners Work?
There are certain active ingredients, or a combination of ingredients which reduces the amount of melanin in the skin where it is applied. The most widely used ingredient is sold in the U.S, and is known as hydroquinone.
There are certain rules and regulations which are controlled by the FDA, which controls the use of hydroquinone in the U.S. Skin lighteners are available over the counter, with the ingredient of 2% hydroquinone, dermatologist recommend the use of skin lighteners with at least 4%.
It is always important to check with your doctor whether you can use skin lighteners with the content of hydroquinine in it,
There are other skin lighteners, which use drugs like steroids, and retinoic acid, that comes from vitamin A,as active ingredients.
Special Precautions When Using a Skin Lightener
- Talk to your doctor before using skin lighteners, and ask for specific instructions of the product.
- Make sure there is no mercury in the product, Mercury is sometimes listed under other name like, calomel,mercuric,mercurous, or ,mercurio.
- If you buy skin lighteners over the counter, make sure that less than 2% of hydroxyzine is present.
- When buying a skin lightener, and it list hydroxyzine, but does not tell you the percentage, then it is best not to use that skin lightener.
- If you have any questions about the product, then talk to you doctor to be certain if it is safe before you use it.
- The dermatologist, may also recommend other treatments as an option to use chemical peels, microdermabrassion and laser treatments.