Dark side of fairness creams

Dr Vikas Sharma

As the mercury is rising each day so are the sales of fairness creams.

With issues such as employment and relationships often resting on skin tone, people invest in skin-whitening creams in the hope of a better existence.

We in India have an unfair obsession for a lighter, fairer skin. 

Products promising to lighten the face, body and armpits are available all across the country, with tall and big claims such as instant fairness.

The risk factor

Melanin responsible for our skin colour is produced by skin cells “melanocytes” to protect the DNA of our skin from sun damage. Excessively reducing this concentration of melanin may increase the risk of skin cancers.

Determining the cause of the hyperpigmentation is important in selecting the best approach for treatment so getting a proper diagnosis of the pigmentation disorder by a dermatologist before applying any fairness product is of paramount importance.

Non-prescription creams that claim to bleach or lighten your skin can be harmful.

Unfortunately, many skin-lightening creams contain illegal compounds that can damage your health, the most common compounds are high-dose steroids.

Hydroquinone is a strong inhibitor of melanin production. The fairness creams having hydroquinone in 4 per cent concentration have been banned in some European countries because of fears of a cancer risk.

Because of hydroquinone’s action on the skin, it can be an irritant, particularly in higher concentrations of 4 per cent or greater and predictably when combined with tretinoin.

Many skin fairness creams contain toxic mercury such as mercury chloride or ammoniated mercury as the active ingredient. Since it has a tendency to accumulate on the skin, this can have the opposite results in the long term.

Skin lightening creams having improper compounds/chemicals can cause:

• Permanent skin bleaching 
• Thinning of skin
• Uneven colour loss, leading to a blotchy appearance
• Redness 
• Intense irritation
• Contact dermatitis

Many things need to be considered before selecting any skin lightening agent. One must choose according to his/her skin type, after ruling out any medical conditions, any current medication, present or past medical history and avoid using unsupervised lightening agents boasting of overnight fairness. Consult your dermatologist for what is best for you.

The right choice

The medical science has discovered some agents which when applied in proper dosage and concentration can lighten the skin colour to certain extent. The agents which have shown good results include:  Proanthocynadins, Glutathione and provitamin B3, L ascorbic acid, plankton extract and alpha arbutin. In addition other natural ingredients providing skin fairness are licorice, mulberry extract, grape seed extract, pine-bark extract. Skin-lighteners mainly act via inhibiting enzyme tyrosinase or melanotropin and reduce or block some amount of melanin production. In addition to this, they also act as potent antioxidants, reduce UV induced damage and scavenge free radicals hence preventing ageing and giving youthful appearance. Glutathione is one such potent antioxidant which helps in reducing melanogenesis. However, proper dosage and supervision is necessary in its use as a systemic lightening agent can have serious side effects when injected intraveneously such as skin rashes, severe reactions, acute abdominal pain and renal overload. Some oral preparations may have dangerous combinations like monobenzone which causes irreversible depigmentation and hydroquinone (higher concentration) which is banned by FDA due to carcinogenic potential. L-cysteine is another skin lightening agent proposed to be effective skin fairness agent. Natural sources of L-cysteine include yogurt, egg yolks, red peppers, garlic, onions, broccoli, Brussel sprouts, oats, and wheat germ. So to be fair to the skin, always read the labels of composite ingredients and their concentration so as to avoid dark (negative) effects. 

(Dr Sharma is a Chandigarh-based dermatologist)