African American Skin Care and The Use of Skin Lighteners
Posted by Reporter on Tuesday
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A chemical called hydroquinone has been the active ingredient in skin lighteners and skin whiteners made in the USA since 1922. It really does whiten and lighten African-American skin, but it has some side effects. If you choose to use a whitener or lightener containing hydroquinone, there is a real chance that instead of just lightening the skin, it will lighten parts of your face and then make new, dark spots wherever you get a touch of sunburn, pick a pimple, or suffer a cut on your face.
The standard formula for hydroquinone used to be 4% hydroquinone and 96% “cream.” As the government watchdog agencies in the US, Canada, Japan, Nigeria, South Africa, and the United Kingdom received more and more reports of dark spots as a side of the cream, they lowered the formula.
At first the standard was lowered to 2%. This was mild enough that the creams did not cause skin rashes. They still caused permanent skin spots, but at least there were no rashes. Then the standard was lowered to 1% hydroquinone. Still the whiteners and lighteners caused permanent skin damage, and in the US, the product stayed on the market.
Well, at least if the label says 1%, you have a minimal risk of skin damage, don’t you? Not really. Many of the hydroquinone products you can get off the Internet are made in China and Korea. In these countries, there is no standardized formula for skin lighteners. Manufacturers take 100% hydroquinone tablets, crush them, and mix them with lanolin or cholesterol so they can be spread over the skin.
The problem is, when hydroquinone is used on Asian skin, it’s used in the 5% strength. Manufacturers can’t be sued if their products cause problems in the USA, although they had better work in their own countries. The solution? Simple. Just put a label on the tube that says 1% cream when it’s really 5% (sure to cause skin damage on African-American skin), and take all of your product out of the same batch.
Certain imported formulas contain another ingredient they don’t list on the label: Mercury. Throughout the Middle East and in India and China, even in the twenty-first century women lighten their skin with mercury and/or arsenic. These chemicals do make your skin lighter. They also are deadly poisons.
Don’t put yourself in a position where you have to worry what’s in your skin lightener. Avoid hydroquinone creams altogether. Stick to the natural alternatives for lightening skin.
Juliette Samuel, Esthetician/Publisher-NYRAJU Skin Care, http://www.nyrajuskincare.com.
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