| The first thing to consider about skin bleaching is that it | | | | Within four months the symptoms disappeared and |
| will work. And that it will take time. A skin bleach | | | | she walked again without difficulty. |
| cream used repeatedly will encourage skin to fade. It | | | | Hydroquinone has been banned in the EU and |
| can work on a concentrated spot such as removing a | | | | Japan. |
| mole, or over large areas to copy the lighter skin of a | | | | It is still available over-the-counter and in |
| favorite movie star. | | | | prescription form in the US. |
| The second consideration is natural ingredients before | | | | The English Take Hydroquinone as a Serious Risk. |
| chemicals. It is going to take time regardless of the | | | | London Police Officers, wearing body armor, raided a |
| active ingredients in the skin bleach cream. In which | | | | cosmetics firm. They were in search of illegal skin |
| case, why not use a product made without harsh | | | | bleaching creams containing hydroquinone, which British |
| chemicals? | | | | Health Authorities consider harmful to consumers. The |
| There are natural acids and vitamins shown to impact | | | | raid turned up bars of soap listing hydroquinone right on |
| melanin, which is the pigment that makes skin darken. | | | | the box. The danger is using hydroquinone repeatedly |
| Natural Ingredients to Look For in a Skin Bleach Cream | | | | over large areas of the body. When the skin breaks, |
| 1. Kojic acid-a natural substance used as a health | | | | the chemical penetrates into the bloodstream to reach |
| supplement in Japan. | | | | the liver and kidneys. There it can cause more |
| 2. Ascorbic Acid, or Vitamin C. | | | | damage. Source: |
| 3. Azelaic acid. | | | | Mercury is also of particular concern in skin bleaching |
| 4. Derivatives of Vitamin A, also known as retinoids. | | | | products made or shipped from overseas. Mercury |
| 5. Niacinamide, a form of Vitamin B-3. | | | | poisoning is known to cause neurological and kidney |
| 6. Arbutin, a natural substance found in plants. | | | | damage and may also lead to psychiatric disorders. |
| The third thing to consider is the warnings about | | | | Doctors found high levels of mercury in the urine of |
| common skin bleach chemicals. | | | | men and women in Tanzania. They thought the |
| The evidence against hydroquinone continues to | | | | mercury poisoning might have been from fish, or mining. |
| mount, especially regarding the use of hydroquinone | | | | Later it was determined all of the test cases had |
| skin bleaching products on African-American skin. | | | | poisoned their bodies using mercury-based skin |
| A study in the East African Medical Journal cited the | | | | bleaching products. Source: Harvard Medical School. |
| case of a 30-year old woman who ran a cosmetics | | | | What mercury skin lightening cream did to lab rats is |
| shop. She had been using two hydroquinone-based | | | | startling. Doctors found repeated application of a |
| skin fading creams for four years. By the time she | | | | cream with mercury base induced permanent damage |
| saw a doctor, she suffered chronic tiredness and a | | | | to the kidneys, brain and liver. |
| lack of feeling in her legs. The diagnosis was | | | | To sum up there is compelling evidence to choose skin |
| neuropathy, a degeneration of the nervous system. | | | | bleachers made from natural ingredients rather than |
| As she was otherwise healthy, the doctors advised | | | | chemicals, to insure safe skin bleaching. |
| the woman to stop using the hydroquinone creams. | | | | |