Making The Most Out of Skin Lightening: Layering Products

First of all, I want to thank everyone who has e-mailed me or commented so far since I put up the Skin Lightening Consultations post. <333 you all. Keep em' coming, I love answering any inquires or comments.

I seem to be getting a lot of messages about layering products, and I can understand why since I talk about so many skin lightening products. In a way this article can be a second part to Stopping Melanin Formation Through Combinations however this one I am specifically referring to layering products.

In a skin lightening regimen, certain ingredients need to be applied before others simply due to their composition, or there will be contradictions and other problems arising.

The general rule is that products with a low pH (in order: BHA, AHA, Vitamin C) should be applied first if you are layering. Now obviously if you do not layer products ( that is perfectly fine) this article probably won't be that relevant to you.

So for example, let's say at night time, you have a product with a host of alpha hydroxy acids in it (lactic acid, glycolic acid, mandelic acid etc.), a skin lightener with botanical extracts (say...Makari Body Beautifying Milk) and a retinoid.

Now that is a lot of very strong products. A lot of dermatologists would look at that and say, "you are not going to reap any of the benefits of these products because your skin's pH is off". Now, to a degree that is true. The skin likes to be at a pH of around 5.5 (which ironically is the pH of most niacinamide products - fun little fact).  When you simply just layer products with different pH's on top of one another, without waiting for the skin to restore or neutralize back to its original pH - you are not absorbing the ingredients properly. The efficacy of all your products are being compromised.

After doing a lot of research, and trial and error with my own self - I have learned a way to work around this problem so you are actually absorbing each ingredient.

The skin restores itself back to its original pH, generally in about 30 minutes.

I will put a disclaimer here that most products work better when applied to bare skin (and nothing else layered on top or underneath). That is just a fact. This is especially true for AHA products. Niacinamide products. Copper peptides, and most of all retinoids. Retinoids work better when they aren't mixed with anything (greater efficacy and penetration - but in the same turn, not many people can tolerate retinoids straight on their skin. They need something to buffer it, so it's not so strong or drying).

There are a few exceptions like Vitamin C + sunscreen (still there needs to be a waiting period, I will get into that below), retinoids and botanical skin lighteners, AHAs and BHAs (low pH ingredients combined).

So with those products I mentioned above, I would recommend that person to do the following:

Apply the alpha hydroxy acid product first since it has a low pH
*give at least 30 minutes for the skin to neutralize*
Apply Makari Body Beautifying Milk (relatively normal pH)
Apply retinoid

There is no wait time between most generic serums, esters, botanicals and retinoids.

Giving your skin 30 minutes to balance it's pH only applies to AHAs, BHAs, and Vitamin C. So once you introduce those products into your regimen, the product immediatley following that must be applied 30 minutes later. If you don't, you not only risk irritation and flushing, but you actually do not abosrb the active ingredients. They pretty much just stay on your face like a mask (well not that extreme, but you get the idea), and do not absorb into the stratum corneum.

So let me summarize this up so it makes clear, concise sense:

• You should always apply low pH products first (low pH products are BHA, AHA and Vitamin C)
• If you want to layer anything (retinoid, niacinamide, copper peptide, botanical skin lightener) on top of those low pH products, you must wait 30 minutes (except for sunscreen, which usually can be applied in about 10-15 minutes following since it's inactive base is very bland)

..and that's about it. I hope that clarified some things up for people, and helped you realize that certain things contradict one another in a skin lightening regimen. Its not always this black and white, some people can get away with mixing an AHA product with niacinamide without any negative effects from the hydrolyzes. But just to make the most out of your products, I recommend following these rules. You will see greater skin lightening results, because your skin will actually be absorbing and making use of the active ingredients.

Mileena ;)