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best skin lightening products for african skin
Everyone wants to look their best, and doctor prescribed skin treatments or skincare products can help individuals to achieve a perfect skin.
Having a lighter, glowing and blemish free skin plays a role in getting the perfect skin tone, especially for those who have darker skin types. African skin is quite different in character as darker skin types are predisposed to hyperpigmentation and may require a special skincare regime.
Darker skin contains higher concentration of melanin and more pigment than lighter skin and the main advantage is that this increased melanin offers greater protection against harmful ultraviolet rays and delays the onset of ageing skin changes.
Melanin is contained in cells called melanosomes and in darker skin types, these cells are much bigger than they are in lighter skins. This may lead to or predispose one to problems of hyperpigmentation most notably caused through inflammatory skin conditions known as post inflammatory hyperpigmentation. These marks can fade away naturally, but it usually takes much longer in darker skin types.
Post inflammatory hyperpigmentation has raised the demand of effective skin lightening products to achieve a blemish free, brighter skin. There are a number of go to ingredients that help to minimize post inflammatory hyperpigmentation and the two main cornerstone ingredients are vitamin A and vitamin C based serums that help to minimize these dark blemishes gradually and safely.
African skin and Hydroquinone
Hydroquinone-based creams are quite effective but unfortunately, they have the potential to cause skin reactions. Because of this, the sale of hydroquinone-based products is banned in several parts of the world. It has been reported that prolonged use of hydroquinone creams, particularly on darker skin can have adverse effects, including permanent darkening and even predisposing one to skin cancer.
For these reasons, there is a strong need for alternatives that are free of hydroquinone and contain safe and natural ingredients to fade dark spots. There are serums that repair and counteract the signs of UV sun damage and intrinsic skin ageing without causing any serious skin reactions. These products are specifically designed for improving skin texture and hydration, and minimize pore size, increase collagen production, diminish pigmentation, and improve the health of the skin and the vital skin barrier.
Safe skin lightening
When seeking an alternative to skin whitening products, you should look at the ingredients. There are some natural lightening ingredients like bearberry extract, kojic acid, glycolic acid, licorice extract, niacinamide, vitamin A and vitamin C.
So, products containing these ingredients are safe to use and don’t have any side-effects unless you are pregnant and or breast feeding.
By using these hydroquinone alternative ingredients you can achieve a radiant and glowing skin without exposing your skin to potential side effects.
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2 Comments to “ best skin lightening products for african skin”
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I have been struggling with hyperpigmentation for years untll my Dermatologist prescribed Kligmams cream which has 2% “hydroquinone, vitamins C etc and it has completely removed my hyperpigmentation and my skin looks brighter, soft and glowing. The problem is that as soon as I stop using it my skin becomes darker, dry and with more pigmentation which means I must always get a repeat prescription from my Doctor to keep my skin lighter and glowing. Can you please suggest an alternative skin whitening cream which is not harmful and I can use it always like the one I am using now without side effects. I would appreciate your advice in this regard.
Hi Maggie I hope this email finds you well
Thank you for your question and my apologies for the delay in my response.
Hyperpigmentation can be difficult to treat with a topical skin regime.
Following hydroquinone our mainstay products/ingredients for reducing pigmentation is daily sunscreen (applied several times daily irrespective of the weather), chemical exfoliation, vitamin C and a vitamin A based serum.
Specifically from the sk.in range I would have a look at the following products:
sk.in avenge | glyco 10
To be applied at night after cleansing and drying the skin every third night for 2 weeks then every 2nd night. This will exfoliate the skin and help to reduce more superficial pigmentation.
sk.in gloss | radiant shot
This is a high concentration vitamin C serum that should eb applied every morning after cleansing and drying the skin and before any other serums or moisturiser/SPF. Vitamin C helps to lighten pigmentation, prevent new pigment from forming and helps to increase your own skin’s SPF.
sk.in bounce | combo shot
This is a retinol (vitamin A) and vitamin C combination based serum and should be applied at night after cleansing and drying the skin. Both the retinol and the vitamin C will help to further reduce pigmentation and dark marks.
Ultimately with the above we may only achieve a mild improvement especially if your pigmentation is Melasma (hormonally induced) or caused by post inflammatory reactions and other treatments may have to be considered such as chemical peels or Dermapen.
Also please note that with a topical skincare regime one will only start to see an improvement after 6 to 8 weeks of use.
I hope the above has helped but let me know if you need any further info.
Kind regards
Dr Alek