Skin-lightening products abound in the cosmetics industry. Their promise—of making skin lighter or lightening and removing brown skin discolorations—shows up worldwide, but most notably in Asian and Middle Eastern countries where the beautiful darker skin colors are apparently considered less aesthetically appealing than lighter skin tones. The names of the products in this arena are compelling, and of course the all-natural versions boast of plant extracts that can do the job and are better than prescription formulas. As you have probably come to expect from the cosmetics industry, when it comes to what the products and ingredients can actually do the claims are misleading and often downright deceptive. Almost all of the products offered are enclosed in far prettier packaging and adorned with far more beguiling names than most other cosmetic products, but are filled with formulations that barely live up to even a fraction of the illusion they present.
Even if somehow there was a plant extract or miracle formulation, none of that explains why the suggested routines also include a special cleanser, toner, treatment, moisturizer, or sunscreen. It all adds up to a waste of money and endless disappointment. In my book Don’t Go To The Cosmetics Counter Without Me and on my Web site at www. Beautypedia. com, I review most of these products and explain at length which ones work, which ones barely have any impact, and which ones are a complete waste of money.
The information that follows gives you an overview of what research shows does work to improve brown skin discolorations. Reality isn’t as sexy as fantasy, but the actual results and cost savings have their own rewards. Wasting money is not pretty, nor is using discoloration – reducing products that have little to no hope of causing visible improvement.