Hydroquinone cream
Are you fed up with..
- age spots
- dark skin discoloration
- patches of hyperpigmentation?
Hydroquinone creams are the standard treatment for skin discoloration. You can get 2% hydroqinone creme over the internet, or at the store. 4% cremes work a little faster, but the overall result is the same.
What part of my body can I use hydroquinone?
You can use them on all the usual skin discolouration problems - age spots, pregnancy hyperpigmentation and post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation after a graze or injury - but do be careful! Hydroquinone cream can be quite harsh and on senstive skins could even make the skin discoloration worse.
Hydroquinone on sensitive skins
If you have sensitive skin you will be better off with the lower 2% concentration or you might prefer to use something more gentle such as licorice extract.
Cautions..
Also don't forget to always use a sun block over the top of any hydroquinone cream! Half an hour of sun exposure will ruin weeks of effort. Most come with sun block already in - SPF 15 or so. This is not enough. You need
factor 30 sunblock at least, then avoid the sun anyway.
I have found you can cover, say, your entire face with hydroquinone cream and it will find and eliminate marks you have lived with for so long you didn't notice them any more. Incidentally, if you have a mole or beauty spot you like, don't let the hydroquinone get on it - it will vanish along with the rest.
Don't let it get on or behind your fingernails either or they will go all yellow! If I were you, I'd use a cotton bud to apply hydroquinone cream. It looks nice and white and innocent but as soon as it dries it will stain your nails a nasty shade of orange that won't wash off!
Here is some science stuff explaining how skin bleaching with hydroquinone works. Hydroquinone cream products are below that.
Benefits and side effects
(From "Topical Agents Used in the Management of Hyperpigmentation" by RM. Halder, MD and GM. Richards, MD)
"Hydroquinone, which is a hydroxyphenolic chemical, has been the gold standard for treatment of hyperpigmentation for over 50 years. It acts by inhibiting the enzyme tyrosinase, thereby reducing the conversion of DOPA to melanin.
Some of the other possible mechanisms of action are the destruction of melanocytes, degradation of melanosomes and the inhibition of the synthesis of DNA and RNA.
Hydroquinone can be compounded into 5%-10% concentrations, but at these strengths, may be irritating and unstable. The 2% concentrations of hydroquinone available over the counter in the US and Canada are not as efficacious as the 3% and 4% prescription formulations, as their onset of action is later than with the higher concentrations.
Antioxidants, such as vitamin C and retinoids, as well as alpha-hydroxy
acids may be used as additives to increase penetration and enhance efficacy.
Adverse reactions from hydroquinone use include irritant and allergic contact dermatitis, and nail discoloration."
Sasha recommends..
I like hydroquinone - it has a slight peeling effect which is good for light wrinkles, although I could do without it staining my fingernails! My skin is not especially sensitive though. If you have hyperpigmentation or discoloration on sensitive skin I would suggest you try
licorice extract if you are also prone to atopic dermatitis (a kind of allergic excema) or for marks left behind by acne use
azelaic acid as it is also a treatment for spots.
