Skin lighteners, in all the forms they take, are used by people to either lighten their overall skin tone, or to fade and diminish scars, blemishes, discolorations and various other forms of hyperpigmentation on their skin.

Perhaps the most well known form of skin lighteners are skin lightening creams. Using specialized ingredients specifically formulated for reducing the production of the skin pigment melanin, these creams provide an affordable and convenient way to even out skin tone and fade blemishes.

So, what are the best skin lighteners to use?

Let’s examine some options:

1. Homemade skin lighteners

We are not a fan of homemade products. Firstly, the success rate is extremely low, despite the low cost of actually making them. Secondly, you are going to find out the hard way if that lemon juice or whatever else you are going to put on your skin is going to cause any irritation or allergy problems.

While this is a risk even with well tested creams, it is definitely more of a problem with home remedies.

2. Natural skin lighteners

This is the preferred way to go. Natural extracts, like Arbutin, has proven themselves to be extremely effective at lightening skin tone. You have to realize that chemicals like Hydroquinone do pose a risk to many people and should be used with care.

Natural extracts are generally considered much safer. They may take a little longer to produce results, but you have to weigh this against your own health.

3. Skin lighteners reviews

So, when you want to make a decision on what to buy for lightening your skin, what should you choose? Here  are short reviews of the most popular and best performing products in this market.

- Meladerm

This natural cream contains 11 natural skin lightening ingredients, and is also paraben free. It has an amazing track record, but is also slightly on the expensive side. However, if you are looking for your best shot at positive results, this is it.

- Revitol Skin Brightener

As far as skin brighteners go, the Revitol product perhaps provides the best value for money. The advantage in its affordability is that you can use the product for a good long while at minimal cost. Time is often the enemy when it comes to results with skin lightening creams as many people simply don’t use a product long enough.

This product allows you to do just that at minimal cost, and it has all the right ingredients.

You cannot go too far wrong with either of these products. In closing, here are you three tips for success with skin lighteners:

1. Choose a product you can afford to use for at least 3 months

2. Use a natural product for increased safety – never use a product containing mercury and be cautious of Hydroquinone

3. Be realistic in your expectations – you won’t see spots and blemishes disappearing in just a few days

Face Lightening Cream Safety

Let’s talk about safety first, because if it’s going to actually harm your skin, then you’re going to have two problems to take care of – the darkness and the damage caused by the cream.

If your face lightening cream contains steroids of any type you’ll want to stop using it.  Steroids can cause severe side effects, including conditions like steroid rosacea and skin atrophy.

You also want to avoid products that contain Hydroquinone.  This particular ingredient has been associated with cancer, liver disease and Leukemia and has been completed banned in the UK.  Its use is currently restricted in the US and some manufacturers still include it in their face lightening creams.

Stay away from products that are highly abrasive.  It might sound like a good idea to try to “sand” those dark patches off your skin, but too much abrasion has the opposite effect and may actually increase the level of pigment production in your skin cells. These procedures are also expensive, and since you need a series of them for best results, you can quickly find yourself with a seriously empty wallet and no success guarantees.

Best Face Lightening Cream

Look for a face lightening cream made with natural ingredients, like Meladerm.  Meladerm contains safe ingredients like Lemon Juice extract, Bearberry extract, Mulberry extract, Licorice extract and Kojic acid (a safe, all natural whitener).  Natural ingredients are safe to use and cause no adverse side effects.

Meladerm is also affordably priced and has a guarantee – not like some of those other treatments.  Dermabrasion, laser treatments and chemical peels are all expensive and require multiple applications before you’ll see any change, often costing hundreds or even thousands of dollars before you’re done.  Meladerm face lightening cream is inexpensive and it works. We’ve tested quite a few other lightening creams over the years, but have yet to find a single one that we can recommend over Meladerm. It’s just that good.

Are you looking for a way to lighten dark spots on your skin? What you need is the best skin lightening cream money can buy, and we’re here to help point you in the right direction.

Skin lightening products, and for that matter the whole skin bleaching industry, has somewhat of a stained reputation. Skin bleaching has become an almost desperate desire of many people all over the world, especially those with naturally dark skin. You can thank the ever expanding Western perceptions of beauty for that. With this desperate need comes rich opportunities for exploitation, and dangerous methods of skin lightening have now even reached black markets all over the world.

Even in the Western world some dubious substances are often used in these creams. For example, Hydroquinone, a popular skin bleaching agent, have been banned in countries like the UK. It is still prescribed in the US, although tightly regulated.

So, what can you do to lighten dark spots safely? How do you find the best skin lightening cream for your needs, without ending up with something dangerous on your skin?

You do what we did: go natural.

Nature has no shortage of answers for human problems, and when it comes to skin bleaching creams it yet again provides us with a solution. You can now safely say goodbye to potentially harmful chemicals like Hydroquinone as you don’t need it in order to take care of your skin whitening needs.

What natural ingredients should the best skin lightening cream contain?

In all our testing we have isolated two:

- Alpha Arbutin

- Extrapone Nutgrass Root

We have found each of them to be best suited to different needs.

Alpha Arbutin, one of the ingredients of the fantastic Meladerm cream (read our Meladerm review), is better suited to darker and more stubborn hyperpigmentation like age spots.

Want to know how to make your skin lighter fast in the comfort of your home? Let’s look at how you can not only get lighter skin fast, but also without any unnecessary risk.

Whatever your reasons are for wanting to lighten your skin tone, there’s no doubt that a fair complexion is increasingly desirable these days. For many though, wanting to get rid of blemishes or liver spots are the driving force. Regardless of your reasons, we’ll show you how to make your skin lighter at home.

Great, well, as you’d like to know how to get lighter skin fast, let’s proceed by having a look at the options you have.

1. Home remedies

While home remedies are by far your cheapest option, I’ve found this to be such a hit and miss affair that it often leads to more frustration than results. For example, some popular home remedies include the use of lemon juice. Lemon juice can be beneficial for the skin, but it is not suitable to all skin types and may cause itching or burning on sensitive skin. Since results aren’t instant, you can easily spend months of trial and error trying to find home remedies for lighter skin that actually work.

Since the aim of this article is to show you how to get lighter skin fast and fairly predictably, we won’t dwell on this any further.

2. How To Make Your Skin Lighter with Skin Lightening Creams

Specially formulated creams with active skin whitening ingredients remain the most predictable and reliable way to make your skin lighter.

Take care to avoid creams containing harsh chemicals like Hydroquinone though. Safe and natural skin lightening creams have come a long way over the past decade, and there are now highly effective ones available.

Safe and effective ingredients

Personally, we’ve had good results with two creams. The first one contains the ancient ayurvedic herb called nutgrass root as the main active ingredient. Nutgrass root is not only a soothing anti-irritant, but also inhibits the production of the skin pigment melanin by up to 40%. This cream is very soothing and well suited to slowly lightening overall skin tone over time. Read a full review here: Xtend-Life Whitening Day Cream

The second option you can try is Meladerm, which is great for all kinds of skin lightening, from spot treatment of hyperpigmentation to overall lightening. It is the most effective way to make your skin lighter at home that we’ve ever tested. You can read our full Meladerm review for more info.

Don’t expect overnight results though. Making your skin lighter is not a case of flicking a switch. It’s a gradual process, but you should start seeing results within 30 days. Trying to force faster results with dangerous chemical bleaching creams could irritate and damage your skin, leading to breakouts or discoloration.

Now you know how to get lighter skin fast and safely. Always put your health first, and use only gentle natural creams to achieve the results you desire.

With so much demand for skin lightening, it’s inevitable that there would be people who’d want to take it to the extreme. And taking an interest in permanent skin lightening is taking it to the extreme, make no mistake.

Sometimes you just need to accept yourself as you are. Remember what happened to Michael Jackson? That’s probably not the road you want to get on.

Let’s see why trying to change your skin tone permanently won’t make the “Top 10 Bright Ideas of the Year” shortlist.

What Causes Skin Color?

The skin pigment called melanin is responsible for the color of your skin. Darker skinned people have more melanin that lighter skinned people. It’s that simple.

So, can you see the problem with permanent skin lightening yet?

Your body produces melanin all the time. It’s not something you can just shut off. So, to have lighter skin forever, you’ll need to destroy a natural process in your body.

Secondly, melanin protects your skin from the sun. Why do you think your neighbour’s wife with her milk white skin was as red as a tomato after she fell asleep by the pool under the summer sun for an hour? Very fair skinned people are more susceptible to sun burn than darker skinned people because they have less melanin to protect their skins from sun damage.

Skin cancer can be directly connected with less than optimal amounts of melanin in the skin.

How Badly Do You Want Lighter Skin?

Any skin lightening creams or skin whitening bleach will inhibit melanin to some extent. That’s why your skin gets lighter when you use them, and that’s why any responsible person selling these things to you will make you aware of the critical importance of protecting yourself from the sun while using them.

Amazingly you apparently do get a substance that can cause permanent skin lightning, but I’m not even going to name it here. It’s not something I recommend to anyone, and not something I want to be associated with.

Use natural skin lightening creams for fading annoyances like age spots, melasma or general discolorations and uneven skin tone. Don’t use it with the goal of permanent skin lightening. You’ll only live to regret it.

However, the best place to start your journey is obviously with skin bleaching products that are producing results for the masses in general. Just be aware that a skin whitening cream that works spectacularly for one person may not work as well for you.

With that said, let’s try to find a solid, sensible place for you to start your search for the best skin lightening cream.

Why not chemicals?

The most popular skin bleaching agent around is probably Hydroquinone (HQ), and you’ll hear it mentioned a lot with regards to this topic. Is it safe? Opinion is divided. It’s been banned for cosmetic use in the UK. That should already tell you something.

Many dermatologists on the other hand maintain that it’s been used for over 50 years in prescription skin bleaching products and that there’s no health risk.

In 2006 the FDA proposed a ban on Hydroquinone after carcinogenic activity was detected in animal testing. In the end it wasn’t banned in the US, but it is being restricted.

The biggest problem with HQ seems to be the irritation it can cause on certain skin types. I’ve often heard people say that HQ worked fine for a while and then it started to irritate their skin. Obviously this isn’t going to be a great long term solution then in some cases.

It’s safe to say that you’d do well to avoid a Hydroquinone skin bleaching cream. What we’re looking for in the best skin lightening cream is something that you can use long term without hazardous side effects.

Avoid creams containing steroids (unless it was specifically prescribed and you are monitored while using it by a healthcare professional) and absolutely do not touch creams containing mercury.

Natural skin lightening cream

The best skin lightening cream for you could very well be something natural. Products using certain natural extracts as active ingredients have proven to be extremely effective at improving most normal hyperpigmentation problems.

An ingredient like Extrapone Nutgrass Root, used by the New Zealand based company Xtend-Life in their wonderful skin whitening cream, was first developed as an anti-irritant before its skin whitening properties were discovered. It’s a wonderfully soothing way to gradually ligthen your skin.

Meladerm skin lightening cream is another great product.

Ultimately what you use will depend on what exactly you’re trying to achieve. Do you want to lighten age spots? Maybe fade a melasma? Or do you just want some gentle lightening of your overall skin tone?

There’s a natural alternative for just about every problem. To find the best skin lightening cream for your situation, read our natural skin lightening reviews, or jump straight to our recommended product by clicking on the image below.

First, there is more pigment in the skin of Asian people than in white skin, hence the yellowish brown color it tends to have. Skin tones will differ based on different regions, nationalities and the usual genetic factors that come into play.

Possible challenges

The fact that there is more pigment present, means that Asian skin whitening is going to be more difficult than it would be in the case of lightening white skin. Keep this in mind when taking on an Asian skin lightening treatment. Also, the darker your skin, the longer it will take to see results.

It is highly advisable to only use natural extracts to lighten your skin as opposed to chemicals like Hydroquinone. Chemicals often product irritations with prolonged use, along with other side effects like possible damage to skin cells.

Natural ingredients and derivatives like Kojic Acid, which ironically comes from China, has been used successfully in Asian skin lightening.

Products to try for Asian skin whitening

Meladerm has been successful for Asian customers. Using a blend of 10 active skin whitening ingredients, including Kojic Acid, this product is worth a try. Feel free to read our Meladerm review.

Xtend-Life’s Natural Whitening Day Cream has the extract Extrapone Nutgrass Root as its active ingredient. Extrapone was first developed as an anti-irritant before its considerable whitening properties were discover. This has also been used successfully for lightening Asian skin. In fact, you can see a testimonial from an Asian lady right on the product page.

This is one of the safest products you can use for Asian skin whitening and it is moderately priced, although results may take some time. It has outstanding anti aging properties thrown in for good measure as well, so you’re killing two flies with one blow here.

Asian skin lightening conclusion

As you can see there are definitely safe, natural options available for helping Asian people to meet the requirements set by their unique skin. Always remember: safety first!