Posts Tagged ‘Alpha Hydroxy Acids’

This scared me to death! If you are going to buy skin whitening products, you need a little information, first. There are some safe and effective ingredients, but most of the chemicals and other compounds used by the major manufacturers are not safe. They can cause allergic reaction, irritation and long-term damage. They may even increase your risk of cancer.

I’ll get to the good and bad ingredients, in a moment. But, first let me just mention the affect that UV rays from the sun have on your appearance and your skin’s health.

Sun-screening compounds, both organic and synthetic, have become increasingly popular ingredients for cosmetics, primarily because sun-damage is one of the causes of skin-aging and UV rays from the sun can cause free radical damage, which can lead to skin-cancer. A small amount of sunlight is important to our health, mood and overall well-being.

Without it, the skin’s cells cannot produce vitamin D. If you decide to avoid the sun, all together, you must be sure to get enough vitamin D, either by eating more fish or by taking a supplement. Doctors that care for older patients have noted an increased rate of vitamin D deficiency.

If you use skin whitening products, you must use extra care to protect yourself from UV rays, because the most effective ones inhibit melanin production and melanin provides natural protection from UV radiation. Wear a hat or other protective clothing, whenever possible. On exposed areas, use a zinc oxide sun-block, with a 20+ SPF rating, whenever you expect to spend more than a few minutes in direct sunlight. Remember that UV rays get through, even on cloudy days.

Now, let’s look at some “bad” ingredients for skin whitening products. Avoid:

1.    Hydroquinone, may increase cancer risk and causes serious adverse reactions, including the appearance of permanent dark bumps

2.    Mercury, extremely toxic substance that builds up in the body’s organs

3.    Alpha hydroxy acids, not effective for inhibiting melanin production, cause redness and irritation

4.    Kojic acid, may be carcinogenic

5.    Vitamin C, can cause irritation, only effective at large doses, which are not found in cosmetic formulations

There are several specific ingredients to look for. The best skin whitening products contain all of these:

1.    Nut-grass root extracts, shown to safely inhibit melanin production by over 40% without causing irritation

2.    Functional Keratin, shown to increase the production of new skin-cells, resulting in a faster acting product that has an anti-aging affect

3.    NANO-LIPOBELLE HE Q10, a proprietary formulation that contains coenzyme Q10 and natural vitamin E in an emulsion that is small enough, molecularly to penetrate the skin’s layers to prevent and repair damage done by UV radiation

4.    Maracuja passion fruit extract, softens, balances sebum production, good for dry, oily and combination complexions

5.    Grape-seed oil, an effective moisturizer that creates and invisible film that prevents dirt and grime from entering the pores.

Make no mistake about it, if you start using skin whitening products and other creams that contain similar ingredients, you’ll never go back to your old skincare system, regardless of how good you thought it was.

To learn more about vitamins for healthy skin, and other incredible natural substances for natural healthy skin care, visit my website today.



By: Laurel Levine

My. Fair. Beauty. Fair skin is sexy. A lady with fair fine skin is regarded as a fair beauty.

For centuries, men have equated fair skin on ladies with beauty. Even today, although tan skin is appreciated in the west, most cultures prize fair skin. Men love fair beauties. Not the sickly white, corpse-like complexion, but fair, translucent and radiant with a healthy rosy flush.

With sun exposure, even wearing an SPF 50 sunblock will not prevent your skin from darkening. That fair, white complexion is hard to attain and just as hard to maintain.

In the past, women would stay out of the sun as far as possible in order to prevent their skin from darkening. If they had to go out in the sun, they would carry parasols to protect themselves from the sun’s skin-darkening rays.

Whitening home remedies have been in existence for as long as fair skin has been in vogue. In the kitchen, a woman might mix egg white with lemon juice to use as a facial mask to lighten the skin.

Licorice root contains substances that fade away the pigmentation in the skin and hence is used in many skin lightening products. Hydroquinone is another potent skin lightening ingredient used in skin whitening treats. It disrupts the production of melanin and hence prevents skin from darkening. Arbutin is another skin lightening ingredient that works by inhibiting the production of melanin.

Many of the skin whitening products contain plant extracts to give you fairer skin. Mulberry, white mulberry and paper mulberry contain arbutin which makes skin fairer by preventing your skin from darkening. Elizabeth Arden’s Prevage White Concentrate Brightening Serum has Soy Ferulate-C.

Most whitening skincare products make skin fairer by sloughing off the darkened surface of the epidermis. Alpha hydroxy acids like lactic acid and glycolic acid remove hyperpigmented skin cells and boost cell turnover, hence making skin fairer. Garnier light night overnight whitening peeling cream uses AHAs to peel the skin and slow down melanin production.

Then there are those that prevent skin from darkening by inhibiting melanin production. Melanin is the pigment that gives skin its color. More melanin is produced when the skin is exposed to sunlight. Vitamin C, Kojic acid, Azelaic acid, Arbutin and Hydroquinone are substances often used in skin whitening products to lighten your skin through the inhibition of melanin production. Biotherm white detox targets RAB27 which would otherwise support the melanin that would cause dark spots.

Typically, whitening skincare products treat the epidermis at most. Recently, Lancome has come up with a range that treats the dermis as well as the epidermis. Since UV rays penetrate the dermis as well as the epidermis and causes inflammatory messengers to stimulate melanocytes to produce melanin which causes skin to darken, Lancome’s blanc expert GN-White generating new whiteness spot eraser targets these inflammatory messengers on the epidermis and dermis to prevent the darkening of the skin.

This is done through the use of sphinganine and mint to neutralize those signals so that melanocytes aren’t stimulated to make melanin.



By: Janice Tham

The advent of skin discoloration creams is the latest craze among people but with so many creams promising the same thing it usually becomes confusing to pick the best one for your skin. In order to lighten your pelt naturally and safely we should firstly know about our skin types.

Hydroquinone is one of the most effective bleaching agents but one should completely avoid this ingredient. This constituent can cause various deadly diseases such as leukemia, liver damage and thyroid disorders. There are other ingredients such as mercury and steroids that can also be harmful for your membrane.

Tips to pick best Skin Whitening Cream to fight hyper pigmentation

* A good discoloration creams, pills or lotions contains natural ingredients.

* One should know the advantage and disadvantage of whitening creams before its usage.

* It is advisable to consult a doctor before purchasing a whitening cream.

* Some of the most recommended ingredients of bleaching cream are Arbutin, Kojic Acid and Alpha hydroxy acids.

* You should do little research on the Internet before buying the suitable whitening cream.

* Hyper pigmentation and darkening of membrane is caused due to excess production of Melanin. A good cream, lotion or pill inhibits its production naturally without causing any side effects.

* The cream should give a gentle feeling to your skin.

* You should always first apply in a small area and then see its results. If it causes irritation and allergies then you should preferably discontinue its usage.

* A liquid based cream is usually more preferred because your skin easily absorbs it.

One of the most effective skin bleaching cream is Meladerm, which claims to diminish dark spots and skin discoloration within 2 weeks. It can also reduce the appearance of various other problems such as liver spots, hyper pigmentation, birth marks, old scars, acne marks, dark elbows, knuckles, melasma, freckles and uneven skin tones.

This product contains nature-based ingredients like kojic acid, mulberry acid, alpha arbutin, vitamin B3, lemon juice extract, lactic acid etc. This product also claims to treat deadly disease like vitiligo. You can easily apply this cream from the comfort and convenience of your home.

By: Lauren Gibson

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