Fairness Creams–Are they Worth the Risk?

As a country, we’re obsessed with fair skin. But is applying fairness creams to get lighter skin worth the risks they come with?

The unfortunate myth that fair skin brings you prosperity in your social and economic status, and the resulting insecurities and worries that dominate many people’s self-perception, has given a large consumer base to manufacturers of skin lightening products. Skin lightening lotions are easily available in the market. They vary as per their price tags and their contents. It is very important to know how our skin derives different skin tone and what actually the lotion does to get us a fairer looking skin tone.

How does skin get its color?

Basically, our skin derives its color from the cells contained by the dermis and epidermis. Secondly, blood vessels provide us a red or blue tint depending on the level of oxygen. And third, and most important, is the level of melanin. How dark your skin is depends on the level of melanin in the layer of the skin. The greater the production of melanin, the darker the skin tone. Melanin plays an important role as a shield against the sun by protecting it from harmful ultraviolet rays.

How skin lightening creams work

What skin-lightening lotions do is that they hinder the production of melanin. This gives you a fairer looking skin tone in the initial stages of application. But this feature of skin lightening lotions turns out to be dangerous for the health of your skin because of its harmful contents like hydroquinone, mercury and kojic acid.

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Tagged fair skin, Hydroquinone, Kojic acid, lightening creams, melanin, mercury, Skin lightening lotions