Does Skin Whitening Work?
Does Skin Whitening
Work?
Powerful whitening agents, according to the
fine print, have been able to reduce skin darkening agents by as much as 53%.
Others claim to be able to strip off a top layer of skin ot show the lighter
skin below. End result: no one really knows. There are anecdotal stories
indicating that skin whitening can be effective, but no scientific studies have
been completed that show the effectiveness of most of the new methods for skin
whitening.
Hydroquinone, a skin lightening agent, has
been found to work in sixty to seventy percent of users in a 4% concentration
topical application, but it may have dangers that offset many of the benefits
of using it. It should be used under a doctor’s care, even if you can purchase
it over the counter or online.
How Does Skin
Lightening Work?
Your skin and hair are the natural color they
are due primarily to the actions of a pigment called melanin. Coloration in
most people varies depending on the type and quantity of this pigment
synthesized by the melanocytes, cells that create melanin. It is essential to
have some melanin pigment in your skin to protect you from the sun’s UV rays.
Skin is divided into the epidermis, or the
outer layer, and the dermis, where new cells are generated. The epidermis is further
divided into four layers, from outside to inside called the stratum corneum
(horny layer, where dead skin cells are primarily found), the granular layer,
the spiny layer, and the basal layer. Melanocytes, the cells that produce
melanin, are found in this basal layer.
In general, whitening one’s skin entails
eliminating melanin, which is the substance that creates pigment in the skin.
Asian skin, because of the nature of the melanin in the skin, tends to darken
more quickly than Caucasian skin, and can become much darker.
There are two types of melanin: eumalin, a
brown pigment, and phaeomelanin, a red color. When influenced by certain
factors, your skin and hair may change pigment or increase production of
melanin. The overproduction of melanin causing spots is called
hyperpigmentation; it leads to freckles, age spots, sun spots, and other
pigmentation most women want to avoid.
Tyrosinase, an enzyme that plays a key part
in distributing melanin in your skin, is produced in increasing levels with
age. And with the hyperproduction of tyrosinase, melanin is also overproduced
by your skin.
Racial Differences
Most people have the same number of
melanocytes, whether they have Irish-pale skin or Nubian black. The difference
is in the activity level of melanocytes and the type of melanin produced. And
melanin granules in darker skin are much larger than in light skin.
In Asian people, the melanosomes are large
and distributed in single and complex forms. In African skin, they’re even
larger, heavily pigmented, and distributed in single forms. And in Caucasian
skin, they’re smaller with less pigment, and are distributed in clumps –
which is why Caucasian skin is most prone to freckling. The complex forms in
Asian skin, though, also can freckle.
How Does Skin Darken?
The primary determinant of your skin color is
the amount and type of melanin present in your skin. This substance is
synthesized in melanocytes, found in the epidermal basal layer. After it’s
synthesized, it’s bound to a protein matrix and forms melanosomes. Inside the
melanosomes, tyrosinase converts tyrosine into eumelanin or pheomelanin, which
are actually skin coloring.
Note: As
you can see, there are four different distinct steps to coloring your skin.
Skin lighteners block the process at one of the points in the pathway, and thus
can inhibit or even reverse the process that colors your skin. Even if your
problem is local, skin lighteners can treat hyperpigmentation without fading
the skin around the dark spot.
The difference between skin that tans easily
and skin that doesn’t is in the melanosomes and melanocytes, cells found in the
skin that cause the darkening you see with a suntan. Asian skin has more of
these cells, the cells are larger, and the cells possess longer dendrites than
those found in Caucasian skin. The color of the melanin itself is also slightly
darker. And the outer layer of Asian skin is thinner as well, making the
melanosomes and melanocytes more reactive to even a little light. The overall
effect is that Asians tan darker, faster, and more thoroughly than Caucasians
in the same light.
When a product is advertised as a skin
lightener, it primarily inhibits the synthesis of tyrosinase, an enzyme which
stimulates melanin production and distribution. Hydroquinone is the most
effective lightener known, but it’s also know to cause skin irritation and has
several undesirable side effects. Arbutin and harounoside, derivatives of
hydroquinone, are promising in their action without so many negative side
effects.
Many skin lightening creams have gone to all
natural alternatives to hydroquinone, and use extracts of plants like
mitracarpe (containing harounoside), bearberry (containing arbutin), and
licorice root to effect skin lightening. The advantage to natural ingredients
is that they more rarely have negative side effects, and are generally nontoxic
and nonirritating. You should also ensure that your skin lightening cream
contains some sort of moisturizing ingredient that will not clog your pores.
Prepare your skin for a lightening cream by
using a good natural cleanser made for your skin type, followed by an
alcohol-free toner. Apply your lightening cream, and then follow by a light
moisturizer, especially if you have a lightener with no moisturizer inside it.
After lightening, always avoid exposure to the sun and use a sunscreen whenever
you need to go outside.
