While many women dream of a tanned complexion, others want to whiten their skin. Motivated by complexes, people with dark skin have often formulated this wish, marked by spots and imperfections and/or lacking in shine. But thinning your skin remains a delicate operation with irreversible effects. Beware of miracle cures and other express whitening creams …
To take no risks and lighten your skin safely, follow our guide!
Protect your skin every day to lighten it
For visibly brighter and clearer skin, the first reflex is to take care of it daily. Lack of hydration or overexposure to UV rays will inevitably make your complexion dull and glowless.
Apply these good tips daily:
- Moisturize your skin morning and evening with skin treatments tailored to your skin type;
- Cleanse your skin morning and evening to rid it of impurities;
- Exfoliate your skin with a gentle scrub, once or twice a week, to remove dead skin and blemishes;
- Protect your skin from the sun’s rays by applying treatments adapted to the rate of sunlight (face cream containing an SPF or sunscreen) and avoiding prolonged exposures.
These gestures will not change your skin color per se, but they will make it brighter. Also, protecting your skin from UV rays will prevent the appearance of pigment spots, also called brown spots. The skin will therefore be sharper and appear clearer.
Whitening your skin: watch out for bad reflexes!
To further whiten their skin, some people do not hesitate to use radical methods and tout the benefits of “miracle” remedies. Beware of these techniques too “beautiful” to be true.
Depending on your skin is not natural. Your color is the result of specific and unique genetic criteria. There is no way to change its criteria without risking your health radically.
Aggressive or toxic products should never be applied to your skin to clear it up. Some products made from hydroquinone – a chemical used in the textile industry to wash clothes – can be dangerous. They can cause severe and deep burns, promote certain cancers and irreversibly weaken the skin. The same is true for cortisone, often used to whiten the skin quickly and radically. Cortisone destroys the epidermis: the product then passes into the bloodstream and becomes highly addictive. In addition to damaging the skin, it can cause serious side effects such as depression.
Also, beware of “natural” remedies that spread on the internet. While some are simply useless, others can also be dangerous to skin and health. This is the case with lemon, for example. This fruit does have lightening properties, but it is also very aggressive with the epidermis. Dry skin with lemon juice may result in redness and even a burning sensation. Not to mention that lemon has a photosensitizing effect; that is, it increases the risk of sunburn and brown spots. Not exactly ideal when dreaming of a clear and unified complexion!
Lightening your skin: targeted care in pharmacies
To lighten your skin safely, you must first accept that its color will not change radically. If your skin is black or mixed-race, you won’t be able to get a porcelain complexion. On the other hand, you can hope to standardize it and make it clearer with care available in pharmacies.
Some of the most well-known ranges include:
Pigmentclar de La Roche-Posay
La Roche-Posay’s Pigmentclar treatments protect the skin from pigment spots and dull complexion due to oxidative stress triggered by pollution and UVA. The complexion is brighter and more uniform in just 4 weeks. This range combines a concealer, an anti-stain serum, and a uniformizing corrective treatment.
Bioderma’s White Objective
White Objective is a complete deposing program for sensitive skin designed and patented by the Bioderma brand. The treatments work on all phases of melanin synthesis (the origin of skin color) to correct and prevent biologically effective against pigmentation disorders.
This program includes a night lightening serum, a lightening cream, and a targeted peeling action treatment: the White Objective lightening brush.
Deiwhite from the ACM laboratory
The ACM Deiwhite range is also known for its effectiveness against pigment irregularities, such as pregnancy masks or brown spots.
The intensive anti-stain cream Deiwhite has, for example, the peculiarity of containing 4 deposing active ingredients that regulate the production of melanin by 3 synergistic actions:
- Slowing melanin production
- Elimination of existing epidermal melanin
- Stimulation of melanin biodegradation.
It, therefore, acts on the origin of the stains to stop future reappearances while removing the stains already present. The color of the complexion is also unified.
The action of this cream can be supplemented by the application of the contour gel of the Eye Dépiwhite and the use of the die white pelliculable mask, two to three times a week.
MELA de Topicrem
The MELA range is a New Topicrem. Unlike most other brands that offer only facials and hands, Topicrem has designed lighting products for the whole body.
MELA ultra-hydrating lightening milk brightens, unifies, and prevents the appearance of brown spots while providing intense hydration for 24 hours. It must be applied morning and/or evening on the body.
The serum and day and night corrective creams apply to the entire face for a visibly luminous, unified, and hydrated complexion.
Nova’s White Trio
Nova’s Trio White treatments work at the heart of the melanocyte for global anti-stain action. The range combines daycare, night care, an intensive SPF50 treatment, and a corrective pen.
Our favorite: the Trio White corrective pen that acts on the most marked brown spots. It speeds up the de-approval process in record time. Equipped with an applicator tip, it allows a targeted application to correct the stain by stain.
Pigment stains: dermatological practice solutions
When brown spots are critical and care is not available in pharmacies, it is advisable to consult a dermatologist.
Several procedures are possible to standardize the complexion:
Cryotherapy treatment:
The dermatologist may offer cryotherapy. The sessions consist of applying cold on brown spots. As melanocytes are very sensitive, hyperpigmentation will gradually subside.
Research has recently led to a medical device that makes this type of home care possible. This revolutionary treatment, called CryoBeauty, combines the effectiveness of cryotherapy and cyto-selectivity to overcome the brown spots on the hands. It allows the death of melanocytes to be destroyed by cold without damaging other skin cells from home. The advantage is that it does not leave scars or painful sensations after application.
Laser treatment or intense pulsed light:
To lighten the skin when stains mark it, it is also possible to use laser treatment or intense pulsed light. This type of treatment destroys by photothermolysis of the melanocytes so that the spots fade.
It takes 2 to 3 sessions spaced 6 weeks apart to remove most brown spots. Following the action of the laser, the skin will be weakened for several weeks. Healing Care is usually prescribed to help him recover.
The peeling:
The dermatologist may also perform an average medical peel to lighten the skin. This treatment works up to the superficial part of the middle derm so that the stains subside. It is practiced in 2 to 3 sessions at 6-8 weeks intervals. Be careful; this treatment sensitizes the skin, hence the importance of taking care of it before and after treatment, and especially to protect it well from the sun.
What to remember:
Lightening your skin is a common trend among black-skinned or mixed-skinned women. However, it is important to know that skin color cannot change radically without danger. Dermatological care or treatment can provide a solution to pigment spots, often the source of complex problems. The complexion will be unified and will appear clearer.
