Skin Lightening Up In Shades

Lightening skintone up in shades is possible. Contrary to popular belief, it can also be done using natural, safe skin lighteners (not just with hydroquinone). It takes time and a bit of trial and error to see what products are the most suitable, but once the regime is set in place, the results will show.

I've been skin lightening for about 4 years now - trying to even out my entire skin color, fade freckles and a deep set tan on my face and neck. I am successful in that I have faded almost all my acne marks and freckles, and have gone up about 3 shades in total. I am very close to my goal (which is the color on the rest of my body) and should reach it by somewhere in 2010 (maybe sooner since I already see some increased melanin reduction now that it is winter).

The process to get to where I am now wasn't particularily easy or cheap for that matter. I tried a lot of products, have researched a lot, and now feel like I've become an informed, reliable individual in the complex world of skin lightening or 'skin bleaching' as cosmetic companies call it.

The first thing I would counsel to somebody who is just starting out, or is looking for 'the perfect skin lightening regime' is to take things one at a time. I briefly went over this notion in my Motivation & Skin Lightening blog post, but I am going to go into more detail here.

Because everything in this world costs money, you need to budget, plan and prioritize which products you truly need. The first thing is basic skin care. You need a gentle, yet effective cleanser to remove sunscreen, moisturizer, creams, serums and makeup. Most of us have this down right, but if you are still confused, something that really helped me is this: if you have dry skin, try staying away from foaming cleansers since they can overdry. Look for water based, gel or cleansing oils (note: you need a seperate cleanser afterwards though. Look at my Skin Regimen to see what I mean). If you are normal, oily or combination, anything will really do.

AHA (glycolic acid, lactic acid) cleansers are great since they do provide a minimal level of exfoliation as well as cleansing. There are so many out there - I did a review on the DDF Brightening Cleanser, which I find to be excellent.

Once the cleansing methods are down, you need to look for a sunscreen. Use the search box on the right in the middle of the navigation bar to learn sunscreen tips and all about PPD. It's important to wear a sunscreen that is comfortable to you, and doesn't make you super greasy. IMHO, using really greasy, cosmetically unelegant sunscreens (even if they have very high PPD ratings) makes me start despise sunscreen use, and like anything in life, once you start disliking it the more you don't want to use it and get frustrated with it.

I like matte sunscreens. A lot of spray on sunscreens like La Roche Posay or RoC are semi-matte. Japanese sunscreens like Shiseido SPF 55 and Sofina Perfect UV are really matte. Great finish on those sunscreens. Bioderma White Objective SPF 29 is quite impressive and cosmetically nice looking on the skin. Vichy Capital Soleil Fast Drying Fluid SPF 20, and SPF 30 are pretty decent as well. In terms of US brand sunscreens, Hawaiian Tropics Oil-Free Faces SPF 30 and Banana Boat Dri-Block SPF 30 are alright.

After you get the sunscreen down, now you look into the skin lightening aspect. Try using topical antioxidants like Vitamin C serums to wear underneath your sunscreen during the day. Use an AHA mask or peel weekly to keep skin exfoliated. Use AHA products, or retinoids at night. And ofcourse, look into an effective non-HQ botanical lightener. My blog is filled with them, look around here, there are tons.

The whole point of me saying all this is that: this is a long term thing. Lightening your skin in shades requires time and regular, consisten use. That is why you need a stable, effective skin care regimen. Not just a skin lightening regimen, but you need to love your skin care routine because it's going to be a ritual. The results will definitley be showing if you follow strict sunscreen use, consistent, gentle yet effective exfoliation, Vitamin C products, Niacinamide, copper peptides or botanical skin lighteners.

Mixing AHA products or retinoids with niacinamide, copper peptides or botanical skin lighteners is a very powerful thing to do. Lightening can be increased twice as much since absorption/penetration and efficacy is being increased. It is a fact that exfoliated skin absorbs skin whiteners/skin lighteners more effectively. I really strongly recommend looking into mixing lighteners with AHA/BHA products or retinoids at night time. You will be suprised with how fast skin can lighten that way.

When looking for the 'right' skin lightening product, the best tip I can give is to really think, and look at what you need. If you aren't using any AHA products or want to use more, get a skin lightener that combines AHA with lightening ingredients, so you're getting more for your money: Oleda Super Skin Lightening Gel, Vivante Vibrance, Bioderma White Objective, DDF Holistic Lightener.

If you already have enough AHA products and/or are using retinoids, you can look for pure botanical lighteners (w/o exfoliating ingredients) like Skinceuticals Pigment Regulator, Vichy Bi White.

DIY ways can work as well. I like using home-made niacinamide masks and Vitamin C masks on a weekly basis. Those really brighten and add a radiance to my skin.

Remember, skin lightening can be as unique and intense as you want it to be. If you protect your skin and follow the tips, and recommendations I say on this site you can achieve your goal. But I must say, you need to have a realistic goal though, since you can lighten up in shades, but not something along the lines of 10 shades. Undertones, genetics and other factors play a huge role.

Here is a skin tone chart. It's not the best or most specific one (since it doesn't give all the shades or covers undertone) but it is one by SusanPosnick Cosmetics. You can track where you are now, and roughly where you'd like your skin tone to be: