“Whitening/Brightening Products” The new kids on the block

Here is a review of cliniques even better clincal skin tone corrector that may interest you:

http://www.thebeautyclub.com.au/eNews/ProductReviewCliniqueEvenBetterClinicalReview.html

I have been using this product, not everynight as i Have som many products, but it is very hydrating and it has even out my skin. My freckles are still there, but as long as they dont turn into pigmentation then I am happy.. It has a gerat list of ingredients that will benefit my skin in other ways too so its a winner in my opinion.

I use Invite e oil which helps a lot to get rid of pigmentation and spots

to me whitening and brightening are one and the same

They first came to my attention when i was on a family holiday in Vietnam about 5 years ago, and we went shopping in one of their department stores. Every single brand of cosmetics (Estee, Clinique, SK-11, Dior, etc) had an enormous range of “whitening” products. I was intrigued. Isnt it so strange that in some countries people are using products to whiten their skin, whilst we (and many others) are covering our selves in bronzing/tanning products?! You always want what you cant have!

When I was in Singapore last year I noticed heaps of whitening products. They had never really caught my attention before. I was actually on the look out for this face self tanner, but was informed by the sales assistant that they don’t stock that product in Asian countries.

They first came to my attention when i was on a family holiday in Vietnam about 5 years ago, and we went shopping in one of their department stores. Every single brand of cosmetics (Estee, Clinique, SK-11, Dior, etc) had an enormous range of “whitening” products. I was intrigued. Isnt it so strange that in some countries people are using products to whiten their skin, whilst we (and many others) are covering our selves in bronzing/tanning products?! You always want what you cant have!

My family’s from the subcontinent and unfortunately whitening products are all the rage over there. I’m not talking about reducing pigmentation (I definitely more than a few acne scars that I would like to get rid of), I mean the stuff that dark skinned people feel the need to use in order to be attractive. I know it’s a massive craze in China too and it’s really unfortunate that the Eurocentric image of beauty has permeated the whole world to a degree that so many people believe that lighter skin tones equals more beautiful.

I hope the whitening/brightening creams here don’t start getting sold for that purpose and that it stays purely for brightening/skin tone improving uses.

I have fair skin but also have some pigmentation spots from sun damage, so I’m always looking for the products that state whitening or brightening. As far as I know, they’re along the same lines, they help to even out skin tone and give a kind of brightening lifting effect.

Were the products which she was advised against using “whitenening” or “brightening”? or did they imply that it’s one and the same?

It implied that they were one in the same.
Here’s the website: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00nkpmm
I saw in on the Bio channel on Foxtel late last year.

Were the products which she was advised against using “whitenening” or “brightening”? or did they imply that it’s one and the same?

I actually watched a documentary on these sorts of products by an English Journalist with Indian heritage (India has a huge market for these products), she took the products to a well respected dermatologist and he advised her not to use any of them because they can cause irreversible skin damage. She still wanted to try them out though so he advised her of the safest of the bunch that she bought. He took special photos to measure skin pigmentation before and after using the products (She used Givenchy) and there was very little difference, in fact all it did was even out her complexion.

I’ve seen so many women who have permanent skin damage from using these products (and have heard about many more) so I would never ever ever use any of these lightening/whitening products. Skin bleach removes the pigmentation from your skin and makes your skin burn very easily.

Modern skin lightening creams may not use the same harsh ingredients but I don’t think they have any real lightening effect effect either and are very expensive.

Thanks for all the feedback guys! The reason I was interested is not because I “need” to use the products, but am always interested in trying new ones and they caught my eye. I think, based on the information you’ve provided me with, I might steer clear from trying them out on my skin. x

I would just imagine that depending on the ingredients they are designed to target hyperpigmentation, age spots, discolouration from chronic sun expose over the years, possibly even dark circles if it is an eye product, and yes like brightening products they also help you get a more even skin tone with a brighter, more radiant complexion. They should also help to prevent future skin discolouration as well. Different whitening products contain different ingredients, I would steer clear of the ones that contain acid or bleach which can cause dryness or irritation. My all time favourite product is Medik8 White Balance, no nasties such as Hydroquinone or Kojic Acid (which is what I would prefer to avoid as mentioned) and best of all I have found it works better than others I have tried. Still the best one in my opinion at this stage.