“Skin-lightening” VS “skin-bleaching”. Let’s clear the air!
A glowing and even skin tone is the goal for many people today – men and women alike, no matter what your beautiful skin shade is. Many external and internal factors, such as UV rays and hormones, can affect the skin, causing breakout of blemishes that are usually darker than the rest of the skin.
This is when most people turn to skincare products to help bring back the balance. However, with similar terms such as “skin-lightening”, “skin-whitening” and “skin-bleaching,” it can be difficult to find the right product for your skin. Today, our team at Q7 Paris is here to help you understand the difference between these two terms and why skin bleaching should be avoided at all costs.
Hyperpigmentation and Skin Tone
When browsing for skincare, you are sure to stumble upon the term “hyperpigmentation” and products that aim to reduce it. This refers to the darkening of the skin in small patches mostly found on the face, as this is the body part that has the most exposure to the sun.
The UV rays cause an excessive amount of melanin production to protect the skin. These hyperpigmented spots can also be caused by hormones and stress. You can read more about the medical side effects of hyperpigmentation here.
Skincare products that aim to minimise hyperpigmentation are marketed as skin-lightening or skin-bleaching. So what’s the difference?
Skin-Bleaching
Skin-bleaching is an extremely harmful practice, meant to target the production of melanin, which is produced by melanocytes and is the skin’s natural pigment. Skin-bleaching targets and destroys the melanocytes thereby leaving the skin without protection and vulnerable to attacks which can consequently lead to “green-veins” and other deadly diseases such as skin-cancer. These products are very unsafe and often marketed as ‘skin-whitening’ to unwary consumers most especially, people of ethnic minority who are looking to whiten their skin.
Skin-bleaching products often include harmful ingredients such as steroids and abuse of other chemicals such as excessive amount of hydroquinone which damage the melanocytes and can harm your beautiful skin. Most skin-bleaching ingredients have been banned by the EU cosmetics regulators and the FDA in the USA due to horrible side effects that extend beyond the skin, such as mercury poisoning and nephrotic syndrome.
Skin-Lightening
On the other hand, rather than targeting and killing-off melanocytes which produces the melanin, skin-lightening focuses on controlling the amount of melanin that reaches and stays on the surface of the skin thereby making the skin appear lighter and brighter without harming the integrity of the skin. This way, skin-lightening helps clear hyperpigmented or discoloured areas of the skin without causing damage to the rest of the skin. These spot treatment products help get rid of acne, ageing spots, blemishes, and anything else that isn’t contributing to an even skin tone.
The ingredients in these products are not harmful and do not cause unexpected side effects. Although at first glance it may seem that skin-lightening and skin-bleaching products are similar, their formulation and chemical components make all the difference.
Our team at Q7 Paris is devoted to making products that will even out skin tone without damaging the gorgeous melanin of the skin. That’s why we created our new Luminaire range with lotions, serums, creams, and shower gels to help you achieve glowing skin without unwanted side effects.
Whether your skin is suffering from sun damage, ageing, or just a dull complexion, we have a product for you! We know the struggle of hyperpigmentation on the skin, and we are here to help you safely brighten your already beautiful skin.
Now that you know the crucial difference between these two terms, be on the lookout when you are searching for new products to keep your skin looking and feeling beautiful!
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