Introduction
There can be numerous reasons a person may consider skin bleaching. A lot of people do it because they find their natural skin color not to their liking but most consider bleaching their skin due to hyper pigmentation or conditions where their skin develops uneven discoloration and patches due to hormonal imbalance or skin damage. While the reasons for skin bleaching can be many, aestheticians and dermatologists agree that lightning your skin is usually a lengthy, expensive and dangerous procedure.
History
For those who have decided to go ahead with skin bleaching and want to find out the process or the ways in which they can go about lightening their skin, this article can help you acquaint yourself with the basics of skin bleaching. What you must first of all know is that although skin lightening using chemicals is less expensive than say, using laser treatment, it can be a little more time consuming and the results can be adjusted with a little more flexibility. If you suffer from a skin condition which has made your skin slightly discolored or if your disease is in its initial stages, you may be able to get away with using a cortisone cream for lightening your skin. These are available over the counter in various strengths and can be effectively used for skin bleaching. Other option include using alpha hydroxyl peels or creams which help exfoliate already existing discoloration more than they inhibit melanin production and can help lighten scars and hyper pigmentation if used over a specific time period.
Features
Apart from these two, other options for those looking for over the counter creams and potions, products made from vitamin C and E can also be useful as they are somewhat less harmful, being non-carcinogenic when used in small doses, and can help stop melanin production. However if you find that none of these work for you, your last option may be to go for hydroquinone for skin bleaching , which is used in a very large number of cosmetic preparations and is used in various strengths to counteract the production of melanin. This is usually prescribed by dermatologists as it is not possible to obtain hydroquinone preparations having strength greater than 2% over the counter. However this lightening agent should never be used for long periods of time as it is a known carcinogen and just like with any other lightening agent, you should always remember to wear a sunscreen with a relatively higher sunscreen during the day as your skin may burn drastically.
Tips and comments
For people who suffer from debilitating skin conditions such as vitiligo, where darker colored skin can lose its pigments and become lighter colored in uneven patches, and those suffering from severe facial hyper pigmentation, the options to chemically lighten or even the skin tone sometimes may be the only way to achieve a somewhat normal looking appearance. For others who suffer from less severe skin problems such as freckles or scarring due to acne or eczema, options other than skin bleaching do exist which are usually lees dangerous and while take even longer to show results, can be less expensive and effort consuming. Therefore before you make the final decision to go ahead with skin bleaching, do consider the other options available to you and also take into consideration the severity of your skin condition.
