Beauty and the Bleach

Some people don’t like their overall skin tone. Some hate the spots and dots that naturally crop up on our bodies. Some people bleach darker parts of the body – including intimate areas – in order to be more alluring. It’s a little harsh to say these consumers use skin bleaching products because they are vain. Maybe vanity got a bad rap. It’s natural to want to look good in the reflection in the mirror. It’s natural to want to reflect the best qualities we can.

Consumers want to look good, but they can’t always afford skin clinics and dermatologists. They find skin bleaching creams are very effective at fading skin tone over large or small areas, at a fraction of the cost.

Also, who needs to know you’re bleaching? An at-home lightening product is private, personal and practical. While older ointments use harsh chemicals, you will now find skin bleaching creams made with the natural bleach kojic acid, and also a very effective melanin inhibitor called Alpha Arbutin.

Some consumers use skin bleaching creams to fade hyperpigmentation.

Hyperpigmentation is an active build up of pigment in skin. This pigment is known as melanin, and when it is out-of-control melanin will clump just below the surface of the skin.

•Some examples of hyperpigmentation include so-called liver spots, age spots, sun spots, serious freckling, and discoloration from acne scars. The marks occur first in areas exposed to sunlight.

•But doctors don’t know exactly what causes the pigment melanin to migrate to a particular spot.

•A common misconception is that avoiding the sun prevents it. Staying away from UV rays does prevent melanin-saturated skin from getting even darker.

The best of the new wave of skin bleaching creams inhibit melanin production. So they are very helpful with hyperpigmentation. Over time, as skin replaces itself, there is less melanin in the new cells. The darker skin fades. There is laboratory proof of the effectiveness and safety of the ingredients kojic acid, Alpha Arbutin, and Vitamin C.

Skin bleaching creams can be vastly superior to surgery for hyperpigmentation, because surgery does nothing to impact melanin. Dark cells can come back, or simply cluster in a new area.

When the need for skin bleaching products is serious

Melasma is the most striking example of hyperpigmentation. People develop large grey or brown patches of skin with uneven edges. A melasma rises most often in skin exposed to the sun. There is no known cure.

Vanity is seldom the issue with melasma. People become ashamed and embarrassed when what they call “blotches” are large and can’t be covered up with clothing. Ninety percent of melasma develops in women. Estrogen may cause it. Women taking hormone therapy at menopause or on oral contraceptives are most at risk of melasma. Pregnant women are also prone.

Once again, skin bleaching products work to inhibit the clumping of melanin that results in a melasma. Kojic acid and Alpha Arbutin encourage melanin to break down. In lab tests alpha arbutin inhibited up to 40% of melanin from ever forming. It also slowed down the growth of the melanin that did form.

Consumers appreciate the privacy of applying a skin bleaching cream at home to deal with melasma. When you talk to people who had excellent results from whiteners, many talk of being too embarrassed to leave the house. They would never seek treatment outside the home. Because they were able to lighten their melasma at home, they found the courage to go back out into the world.