All About Skin Lightening: Am I Anti-HQ?

Sunday, March 13, 2011

Am I Anti-HQ?

Photo Credit: Neostrata

I wanted to address this topic since it’s been nagging at me for the last couple of days.

Like many people, I love to surf message boards and read topics that interest me. I came across a post on a skin care forum which was about this blog and my views on hydroquinone. The consensus of majority of the people who posted was that I am strictly anti-hydroquinone and don’t advocate it at all for skin lightening.

That is so not the truth. At all.

Though I do understand why someone would think this because in my previous articles pertaining to hydroquinone usage, I focus mainly on the negative aspects of it.

The point of this blog was to provide information for safe skin lightening methods. In a way, I guess it’s very limited in that majority of the posts are about skin lighteners that have plant extracts, or vitamin c or anything but hydroquinone in them. But lately, probably I would say within the last 6 months I have become a bit more lenient on the usage of hydroquinone. The reason why is because I just researched more into it and realized a lot of my misconceptions.

The truth is that there is inadequate evidence that controlled usage of hydroquinone can lead to cancer or health issues. Controlled hydroquinone use is basically the usage of hydroquinone at 2%-4% - nothing higher.

Most of the research done on hydroquinone was conducted on rats, which is always to be taken with a grain of salt. Many of these studies where rats developed tumors were because of incredibly high levels of hydroquinone being subcutaneously injected into them.

Nothing concrete has been discovered in terms of humans developing these issues.

I know there are numerous reports and cases where people who used (or I should say abused) hydroquinone got terrible adverse reactions (total blackening of the skin, collagen fibers pretty much destroyed, cancer etc.) but you must understand that most of these situations come from third world countries – where vendors illegally get hold of dangerously high amount of HQ based creams and sell them (usually marketed at a much lower concentration). Many of these creams contain hydroquinone up to 30%, and also have mercury or steroids. If that wasn’t awful enough, adequate sunscreen usage wasn’t practiced amongst these people either.

It’s clear that hydroquinone has the potential to be VERY dangerous. But, if used at low percentages and used correctly, it can be very beneficial for a lot of pigmentation issues.

So, what’s the point of all this? Really why am I even addressing this? Well, because in the past I only recommended HQ usage on localized legions. But I now know that it can very well be used as an all over treatment, but under extreme caution and discipline. That discipline being: used at 2%-4%, only at night with very high PPD sunscreen during the day and for no more than 6 months of total usage.

It can be done. Though I would personally not use it, and it certainly isn’t the healthiest option – it is at least an option now in my eyes. I understand a lot of people out there that respond very well to HQ and it lightens their skin excellently. Used with an alpha hydroxy acid or an rx retinoid, the results are even greater. It really boils down to your own personal choice. If you use it wisely, you can reap a lot of benefits from it. If you abuse it, then your skin and health will pay the price.

It’s a big deal for me to ‘accept’ the usage of hydroquinone, but I still stand by non-hydroquinone treatments options as the first options and only resorting to HQ usage after ALL non-HQ routes have been exhausted.

Link To Study:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18027166

Labels: skin lightening, study

10 Comments:

Anonymous said...: Hi Mileena,

I've been trying letting my skin recover after the breakout with Pail & Joe Serum. The thing is my face is full of white head/pimples (basically congestion). It's mainly because of trapped sebum and I'm having a lot of clearing it up. I've tried everything like retinol creams, murad acne treatment etc. Situation is still the same. I've also stopped using Paula's BHA 2% and MUAC Lactic Peels, thinking that, that would make a difference. My last option now, would be to go for facial and get it extracted if possible. Is there anything I can do to get rid of trapped sebum.

I would greatly appreciate your help :)

Thank you,
Hana; March 13, 2011 at 8:38 PM
Mileena said...: Hi Hana,

I'm sorry to hear that the whiteheads and pimples are still there =( Paula's Choice 2% BHA Liquid didn't do anything? BHA works amazing on my skin, but I understand everyone's skin responds differently.

What exactly are using in your regimen right now? Which sunscreen, cleanser, makeup sunscreen etc?

Have you tried benzoyl peroxide? That is highly effective at treating stubborn acne that retinoids or salicylic acid cannot treat. Look for PanOxyl products - they are very good, I've used them in the past with great success.

An extraction would be highly beneficial, but that should be a last resort. Stick to simple things in your regimen and add in BP (PanOxyl Aquagel 5% is nice). Give that a week or two and see how it goes.

Best of luck!! <33333; March 14, 2011 at 12:07 PM
Anonymous said...: hey mileena. i used a lightening cream called "L'oreal white perfect" a year ago because I wanted to fade my face/neck tan. It worked really well but it left the dreaded "bleached look". I was sure that it was safe.. i think the active ingredient in it was niacinamide but i could be wrong. anyway, i'd like to know your opinion on what i should do. my face and neck are only slightly different in colour but my face and neck have obviously different undertones. My natural undertones are yellow (neck) but i feel the cream made the undertones of my face pinkish.. i'm currently using l-ascorbic acid/doing lactic acid peels/been using retin-a for 6+ months. they all make my skin really nice/soft but my original yellow undertone on my face hasn't returned :( my face just looks white/bleached.. it's annoying. thanks for your help!; March 14, 2011 at 12:59 PM
Mileena said...: Hello! Which specific product in the L'oreal White Perfect range was it? Do you remember? I know there is a day cream and night cream and some other stuff. Anyway, I just wanted to know so I could look into the ingredients of that specific product.

If it was niacinamide then it must have been well concentrated at 5% to give such a profound lightening effect.

There is no hydroquinone in the L'oreal White Perfect range, I know that for sure.

Often times sun damage can make undertones look different then what they really are. Did you apply the L'oreal on your neck too? I know you stated your natural undertones are yellow. Did you have visible sun damage before using the L'oreal? Like darker skin on your face and neck in comparison to other areas of your body?

Also using vitamin c can give the skin a 'pink' or reddish look and that is solely due to the acidic content of it. It can be a bit irritating on a macro and micro level on the skin, so that can also make the skin appear more pink. Also it lightens very well on its own.

It seems to me the L'oreal has faded some type of sun damage since that is why your skin isn't reverting back to it's original yellow tone. Perhaps the color on your face is truly pink. Using vitamin c, retinoids, peels and sunscreens preserves the results of lighteners so if you discontinue the usage of these (well except sunscreen that is important!) perhaps maybe your yellow undertones will come back. But to me it seems like it lightened sun damage to an original color.

I'm interested to know what was in this L'oreal White Perfect product!; March 14, 2011 at 2:33 PM
Anonymous said...: thanks for your help :P it was the night version! I don't remember, but I must have only used it on my face for there to be the colour difference between it and my neck. i got it from india if it helps! maybe i should stop using retin-a/lactic acid on my face and just use them on my neck? i think i should do the same for the ascorbic acid.. it works amazingly on acne marks. i make it fresh everyday. but i find that using it at night as opposed to in the morning has given me better results as my acne marks have faded tremendously then when i was just using it at night.; March 14, 2011 at 4:59 PM
Mileena said...: If the Retin-A and lactic acid are working well for your facial skin then stick to it! Don't give it up. Just use it on your neck as well. Be extra cautious with your neck though, you most likely have to buffer with a moisturizer since the neck is really sensitive.

Vitamin c is amazing at fading acne marks isn't it? yay! I'm glad it's working so well for you!! Use it whenever you feel it's best. It's not written in stone to use vitamin c during the day, so you can definitely use it at night.

I truly do think that the L'oreal faded sun damage. Skin remains light ONLY when you have reversed a deep tan. =); March 14, 2011 at 5:25 PM
Anonymous said...: thanks for the help! do you have any tips on lightening the neck? it's much harder to lighten than the face + more sensitive.; March 15, 2011 at 3:17 PM
Mileena said...: No problem ♥

I usually love to use Phyto+ on my neck. I never put vitamin c serums there or even Retin-A gel. Using a retinoid and vitamin is highly beneficial, but it's just too much for me. You're absolutely right - the neck is so sensitive.

Plant extract based lighteners like Paul & Joe, Dr. Ci Labo Super White 377, Phyto+ are great for lightening the neck. And also sunscreen there too!; March 15, 2011 at 3:39 PM
Anonymous said...: Hi Mileena,

Thanks for replying! :) Im severely allergic to Benzoyl Peroxide, the last time my doctor prescribed it, my face swoll up like a hot air balloon. Anyway, ive been using an acne treatment by Go Clear which seems to be working better then Murad, but it's taking it's sweet time :)

Have you tried the clarisonic or the olay pro? I was wondering if one should incorporate these gadgets in skin cleansing routine.

Thanks,
Hana; March 15, 2011 at 8:21 PM
Mileena said...: Hey Hana,

Oh, too bad about the BP =( Actually it's very common to be allergic to peroxide agent like this. My skin doesn't tolerate it too well either, I can only use it for a very little amount of time and usually never consistently or I'll get hyperpigmentation.

I've never heard of Go Clear but I'm glad to hear it's working. Acne fighting treatments sure do take their sweet time, lol. Stick with it and I know it'll produce really great results. It's already showing good signs! :)

I haven't personally tried the Olay Pro or Clarisonic but I've obviously heard of them and my room mate last year used to use Clarisonic with the LRP Dermo Cleanser. It's quite pricey, but it does go that extra mile in pore cleansing. It works great with a regimen that has BHA,AHA or retinoids.

I'd suggest sticking with the Go Clear. The Clarisonic is definitely something that is in an investment. After 3-4 weeks if no further improvements are appearing, then perhaps look into the Clarisonic to add into your regimen for that extra pore cleaning. It does a great job at vacuuming up a lot of gunk in the pores.

<33; March 15, 2011 at 9:42 PM

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Sunday, March 13, 2011

Am I Anti-HQ?

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