# Skin Whitening/Lightening



## newagetomatoz (Jan 29, 2008)

Hey everyone!

So, I tried searching for this and I couldn't find anything that was close to what I was looking for, so I appologize if this has already been posted before.

For a little over a year now, I have been really interested in lightening my skin.  I have already managed to pale it down by religious sunscreen usage and advoidance of the sun, but I would love to take it paler.  I know that there are a lot of chemicals out there that can lighten with varying results, but some of them can be pretty dangerour, so I want to be safe about it.

Does anyone have any experience with this or recommendations?  Any help would be greatly appreciated! 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			





 Thanks so much in advance!


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## sherrle (Jan 29, 2008)

I actually went to sephora today, looking for something to lighten some spots on my skin from tanning.  It looks like I have hair on my upper lip but its actually some subtle spotting, called melesma or something.  Anyway, the lady recommended a product with hydroquione.  Apparently it works well to lighten skin.  The one I got is more for certain areas of the skin, not for your entire face, but they had others for the whole face.  The stuff is pretty pricey.  The one I got was by Murad and was $58, it was one of the cheaper ones.  But if you check out sephora they actually had a little skin lightening section in the one I went to.  

Not sure if this stuff works at all, she said it would take around 4-6 weeks to really notice a difference.  But I will keep you posted if you like....


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## (:KrIsTy:) (Jan 29, 2008)

mama lotion is meant to be good


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## Kuuipo (Jan 29, 2008)

I've been using Peter Thomas Roth. Two years. It's the only thing that works-for me......I use it every other day-I used to use it everyday before bed, but I'm really lightened! I use a zinc and titanium sunscreen. If you are not using a sunscreen and you use lighteners you will wind up with damage. You will also wind up with damage if you use any standard non mineral sunscreen and do not reapply every 2 hours for Parasol  types (Shiseido, Banana Boat, L'Oreal , Hawaiian Tropic, etc) or every three hours for Neutrogena with Helioplex.  It does take about 6 weeks to see any difference. See it does not lighten skin or bleach it- it inhibits the overly concentrated areas of melanin from expressing pigment. Which means you are not permanently relieved of your melanin problems once they have faded-consider it a hibernation. Only lasers will permanently depigment-and they are not without risk!!!


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## newagetomatoz (Jan 29, 2008)

Thank you everyone!!  Now I have more information to go on!  And sherrle, feel free to keep me updated!


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## darkwater_soul (Jan 30, 2008)

OK, be prepared for a novella... When going about lightening/brightening the skin, there is no product available over the counter that is safe or ph balanced correctly to use to actually *bleach* the skin. The topical lighteners (such as viniferine and hydroquinone) will work differently - Here's the process.  Basically when your skin cells start below the basal layer, they are nice and fat and rich with moisture. As they rise to the surface, enviromental damage, winds, the sun, impact them and they become thinner and thinner. When the sun's rays hit unprotected skin, the rays penetrate deep, down to the deeper layers of skin, where they are being made. Each cell is made with melanocytes, which contain melanin, which gives our skin color, and protects our skin from the sun. Now, when the sun's rays go into these mother cells, they react differently than older cells, they will absorb too much UVB and the melanocyte trys to offer protection and generally overspills it's melanin, causing it to burst, and thus, sunspots and freckles. As these damaged cells rise, they become darker and darker as more of the suns rays hit them, causing that continued chain reaction. Now, with OTC lighteners, how they work is they penetrate inot these cells, and help to restore the melanocyte wall, which stops the overflow of melanin. As these new uninfluenced cells come to the surface, they will replace the old dark cells, with new lighter ones, thus getting rid of the dark damage. With this, however, it does take time, and you HAVE to wear at least a 30 spf and reapply every 4 hours, or the damage will continue to be done. You will see results from these in about 4-6 weeks, because that is how long your skin takes to cycle through. Keep it up though. I will suggest to you though, to switch the chemical and natural brighteners, becasue hydroquinone is filtered through the liver, and can be damaging if used for long periods of time. Best rule of thumb is 3 months on (or one bottle of that Murad age spot gel) 3 months off (maybe switch to a botanical brand, such as Caudalie's Vinoperfect during this time) and then 3 months back on, then off for one year. I also like Kinerase's new system, becasue it also includes and pen that you can target additional spots. If you have any questions, let me know in a PM and I'll be glad to answer them. Good luck!


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## Love Always Ivy (Jan 30, 2008)

everytime i see my aunt from the philippines she hands me a packet of these weird pills that are apparently the shizz in the philippines to inhibit pigment production in the skin. i never know how to take this - as insult or not?... anyway these packets have white round tablets in bubble sheets with gold foiling and blue asian type. she keeps saying how everyone loves "mestizo" looking filippinas and insists that i take them, but they secretly sit in a basket in my room at home. i find it interesting how they spend all their money to get lighter, while here everyones all about the tanning.

i dont have them on me so i couldnt tell you the name but i remember researching them and its a temporary pigment inhibitor as long as you continue to take them. if memory serves, the pill basically inhibits an enzyme along the metabolic pathway that yeilds melanin. 
once you discontinue use your cells continue to produce pigment and your coloring comes back. i do not believe that they are FDA approved in the US but they are in other countries. 

once i go home one of these weekends ill post what they are


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## GlamYOURUs (Jan 30, 2008)

I used to use this to lighten my acne scars when I was a teen. I used to get them at the Indian stores (south asian). Its called Fair & Lovely. Its a fairness cream that contains Vitamins A, B3, C, & E. And it really works! Its under 10 bucks but us Indian women swear by it. Its sad to say but south asian women always want fair skin because they are usually tan or olive toned and they look at the westerners and think they need to be like them too. Its more of  an obsession and has been for sometime now. There are so many products like this in the Indian market but this is the one that is most popular.






Try it out!


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## Kuuipo (Jan 31, 2008)

This is a really informative link:



Beverly Sassoon | The Secret of Beautiful Skin


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## Merula (Sep 2, 2009)

I'm actually doing a homemade concoction of lemon, glycerine and peroxide. Mainly for my arms and chest as this gets the most exposure throughout my commutes. 

Has anyone done anything similar? It's definitely cheaper, though I'm too early in the process to see any change. 

(Obtained recipe from here)


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## Tahti (Sep 3, 2009)

After summer, my skin tends to be a small bit darker on my face and hands. I bleach it out with fresh lemon juice (watered down - I use it as a toner, 50/50 mix of water and lemon juice... IME the lemon juice that comes ready squeezed doesn't work at all, it pays to do it yourself) and it bleaches it out within a month if I use it everyday, along with my usual super high factor sun screen.
You have to be very careful with lemon juice though... find a ratio that works for your skin, it took me a while to find what works for me. Don't go out in the sun with it on either, you'll get a vicious burn!!
HTH! ^_^


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## kathyp (Sep 6, 2009)

Quote:

   Originally Posted by *Tahti* 

 
_After summer, my skin tends to be a small bit darker on my face and hands. I bleach it out with fresh lemon juice (watered down - I use it as a toner, 50/50 mix of water and lemon juice... IME the lemon juice that comes ready squeezed doesn't work at all, it pays to do it yourself) and it bleaches it out within a month if I use it everyday, along with my usual super high factor sun screen.
You have to be very careful with lemon juice though... find a ratio that works for your skin, it took me a while to find what works for me. Don't go out in the sun with it on either, you'll get a vicious burn!!
HTH! ^_^_

 
Do you leave it on or rinse it off? I tried this on some of the darker spots on my arms, but I started getting little red bumps before I saw any improvement.

One thing that has helped me somewhat is an AHA lotion (Lac-Hydrin or Walgreens AHA cream, what I'm using now).


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