46 Of The Best Skin Lighteners

@ Yogi

Oh no, you're right about that without a doubt Yogi,I'm careful after peels.
Once I rid my self of the hives and provided my skin can take the 10%, I'll send you some before and afters Yogi. How does everybody else post pics w/ eyes and smile erased? It's a clever way to publicly post anonymously.

eyes and smiles erased is fine. Was hoping to put some up of my lips but camera broke

Rainbow, did you have good lip results?

Lilikoi wrote:Thanks Kim,

yes I've tried it before (o.1%) but only on the body, just wasn't sure everyone here was using it successfully. Once my skin fully recovers from this Carolight disaster I'll try the HQ 10% with retin A, not in big hurry so once a day will be fine ( I also live with my bf so don't want anymore strange looks lol!)
I'll also do a patch test ( even though test didn't work for the Carolight) and see. I currently use 50% LA peels and I get good exfoliation but not actually peeling,but that's fine by me.

You are right that it does not always prove to be a good indicator but for most can flag up potential problems. I know that it did not really work for me either, though I did get a very slight irritation initially but this disappeared fast so I did not think it would be an issue

Lilikoi wrote:Rainbow, did you have good lip results?

I have seen a difference using the latisha and my lips do look lighter. It has been a slow process though

Holy cow didn't think I'd be writing an update when I'm still in the is-this-crap-gonna-make-me-look-like-Freddy Krueger testing phase.

It's only been 2 days since the HQ, and 3 days since the retin A 0.1% (once dly @ night)as in:

Tues : Retin A 0.1% (face only) p.m.
Wed : HQ 10% (face only) p.m.
Thurs: HQ 10% (face & body) p.m.

My skin looks wicked nice,smooth and lighter.
I've been using LA peels wkly(face & body)for the past 4 wks prior to my HQ/R.A. Starting w/ 40%,then graduating to 50%, then 85% (85% very strong so only used on body with 50% on face.)But during L.A.peels I never saw my skin physically peel, although the occasional Carotein cream must have helped and I noticed that my legs got the lightest of all other body parts. So peels worked well for me, and safe.

This afternoon my face finally peeled from
R.A. applied from 3 days ago( don't wanna use R.A. everyday, every 3 days is good enough)

But like I said earlier Isis cosmet. dissapointed me by sending me a bottle of HQ labeled 20% but then crossed out in ink and wrote 10% underneath on the label. So in short, I don't know if this 10% or 20% I used, but giving them the benefit of the doubt,we'll say it 10% for the sake of argument.

The directions state:
1 part HQ
3 parts (Eucerin or Aveeno) lotion for the first wk.

This stuff must be strong to see good result after only 2 days, that could be good and/or bad

Face;
BUT... as much as I'd like to see instant results I will go slow for I don't want my skin to reverse after a few mo. of the high concentration HQ (after all I don't even know what the heck %tage I'm actaully using).
My skin looks very healthy & lighter and even my BF noticed the difference when we Skyped each other an hr ago.

Body;
Saw an over all difference on body too. Are my eyes deceiving me or are my knuckles trying to even out also? I'm shocked because it's been only 1 day.Still waiting for my other R.A. tubes to come so will do wkly 85% peels until then & then eventually alternate. The long term is what I'm curious about as are many of you so I'll keep you posted.

Wow this sounds so good. I was going ot get this when I saw entincing's results with it. Trouble is where I live everyone is pro tanning so I could not do anything too drastic or quickly else I might get too much reaction to it. I really wish I could move from here some times and just get on with my lightening. How do you manage to peel and get on with going out. The peeling I got made me super paranoid when I had to go out and I don't think it was as much as yours. I had to slick on a load of moisturiser to cover all the peeling skin. Does your boyfriend know that you are lightening then? I have not told anyone but that is because I know what would be said.

@quiamontana

-Well the peel just looked like a I had a bit of food on my cheek until I tried wiping my face and realized it was starting to peel.Shocked cause the LA's didn't peel like that, just a natural slow sloughing.The peeling was as thin as the out most thinnest layer of an onion so it wasn't thick at all, so I took my time throughout the day and peeled as much would come off,ever so gently w/ my finger then my Japanese scrub cloth after my shower for the leftover skin.

-I live in the sunshine state & you could swim to Cuba from here it's so d**n hot, as I now live in purely Cuban pro bronze community so I understand the pressure.Trust me I get the ONLY strange looks when I walk my dog with long sleeves,pants,UV umbrella, shades & UV gloves.

- I'm mixed race (half black & a lot darker than others with my ethnic combo) and the other half hasn't even heard of lightening & it would be a no-no.Being raised by that side of my family only, I wante to look more like my grandma & cousins or just the women in that culture.Being from the city means I have a United Nations diverse group of friends, so if you're circle of people are negative then drop them like a bad habit, remember it's the ignorant ones that will give you a hard time. Especially from your own ethnic group for this can really strike a nerve & hit you personally,if they can wear contacts,weaves,nails etc.then why can't you do what you want?

-My boyfriend is Asian American and, though American born, he has lived a couple yrs in Japan so is familiar w/ the whitening concept & says he'll love me either way,but when I showed him some before & after pics of successful lighteners he thought the change was too drastic and told me not to end up like MJ.After the steam came out of my ears I told him from now on my skin is my business and to stop asking questions. My process has been so slow that he thinks my skin is nicer & doesn't see drastic results so the pace will keep them quiet I think.

-I have treated patients that have been on meds where sunshine is contraindicated & that can be a perfect excuse for the haters if you go sloowwwwly (this will also explain your sudden new spiffy SPF getup lol!). I'm not sure what your start & goal are but the pace is/will be the key for me personally.

-I'm pretty happy so far with the 1:3 ration of mixing, I think once you start using the HQ w/out any lotion dilution it's gonna be quite strong. I couldn't do R.A. everyday, this peeling is enough. Don't get me wrong though, the new skin is only a bit lighter than the dead -like the contrast between a light tan & original color- but coupled w/ HQ really packs a punch. I didn't get a chance to see Enticing's pics, but I can see how one could get crazy light results w/ this stuff.

-You would think moving would help but I just moved here (in swamp like heat I might add)& I live in a condo community, literally 20 or so condos with a 3 block radius. I've met tons of people already, see neighbors during dog walks & the dreaded bf's work events where I meet his coworkers. My point is I don't have friends here yet but people still see me & in 6 mo will see a difference. NY does give you a thick skin to people's opinions, but now even in the south I still have the NY attitude of 'whatever'.Be safe & brave and remember that only you will have to live in the skin you're in...may as well enjoy it

You have a really great attitude

thanks angel eyes!

as the queens would say "2 snaps up & a circle, okaaaaaaayyy!"

Thanks for sharing.

Lilikoi that is fast to be seeing results already. I know it is 10% or possibly 20% but I still did not think it would work so fast. Please keep us posted on how it carries on working. This sounds like it would do wonders on really difficult areas.

@ Kim & others,

hi there,

today marks wk 1 of this new regime:

The results I saw so quickly, I've deduced, was due to the Retin A. Magical the 1st 2 days but nothing short of reptilian the other 5. Maybe b/c it was my 1st exp. w/ Retin A my skin seemed sooo bright/light. After day 2 I thought the skin was getting darker, b/c it was, only as what was to be expected w/ a a semi invasive peel. It eventually all sloughed and skin was in tact.After that never ending peeling I decided to only do The RA 2 xs w/in that wk. I used lots of Eucerin throughout the day to camouflage peeling but for some areas i.e. chin & around mouth, i have super dry skin type naturally. To get through it I broke down twice and used good old fashioned cheap Vaseline on those leathery patches on my face in fear of deep cracks that would end up as light scars. I know, I know, but I'm broke & it worked. In the morning the Vaseline made the leather sloughed beautifully then washed well w/ Likas. I figured as long as there's fresh skin at the end of every day the HQ should still absorb & it did.

For those of you wanting to address tough spots, well I got news for yous (I know bad English but it's a New England thing lol!)
Even though I only used the RA twice (face) I continued to use it every other day on my dark circles (which aren't virgin btw, used Se Quiiso on those previously), knees, elbows and knuckles.So far these areas w/ the R/A only fared:

knees -great
elbows -great
dark circles -good
knuckles -good


This wk is:

face- 1 part HQ,1 part Eucerin (or
Aveeno)
body- 1 part HQ,1 Part Eucerin (or
Aveeno)


Overall I'm seeing results and @ a pace I'm satisfied w/. I'm convinced that Isis did send the correct 10%. My legs are shiny and the dark spots are beginning to fade. Keep you posted in 1 wk.

thanks for the extensive review. It sounds like you are happy with the results so far. I will wait to hear how it goes in another week. How do you manage being in public with your reptilian skin, as you put it.

Your welcome. I rewet my face w/ water, then reapply the Eucerin before immediately before leaving the house. I make sure I pack away some extra Eucerin in my purse, in a ziplock baggie, so I can do touch ups when I'm outta of the nouse. But I found that I never needed to yet.

I'm not sure if I forgot to mention that:
the 1st wk of RA applications on my face were RA only @ night, not mixed in my hand w/ HQ& Eucerin, The HQ/Eucerin mix was in the morning. I wanted to see the full effect of the RA. After yesterday I finally began mixing RA/HQ/Eucerin (except for the thick skinned/drkst areas where the xtra solo RA apps are a must) together in my palm and applying all 3 of them together as one. So far I feel some tightness but nothing like when I applied the RA alone.

Lilikoi you should strat your own thread about your 10 % journey. I am really interested in how you and quiamontana find it, especially as I will be looking out for a body lightener soon

Good idea and it will be easier to find it.

Likas Papaya is so effective. I use it on my body. For my face, it's not on the list, I use Omorovicza Complexion Brightener with spf 20.

I'll think about starting the 10% thread Kim, only after another bottle though since I'm still not 100% sure on if Isis sent me the 10% or 20%. But that's a good idea right?

Face:
I'm finally in the HQ only stage, no need to mix w/ Eucerin. And there was the fatal mistake, ok maybe I'm being a bit dramatic but my face broke out into tiny little bumps, chin area mainly.Remember they sent me a bottle that said 20% then crossed it out and wrote 10% over it? Assuming I was using the 10%, it still too strong on my face alone, needs to be mixed w/ a buffer e.g. Eucerin or Aveeno. They bumps were small enough to not scar and went away w/ a bit of Carotein nourishing cream (acid based & good for bump removal, I don't have to remind you of the bad case of chicken skin from Carolight now do I?)

Body:
Finally started peeling a week ago and it was my first experience w/ below the neck peeling. It was the day after I did a LA 85% & left the LA on for about 5 mins too long. I live near the Everglades and swore I began morphing into a one of native species of local alligator, I mean a bullet wouldn't even have penetrated my skin. From that day I scratched & scratched till I gave my self a few scabs, stupid I know. A sea salt water bath helped a lot too (no soap, just hot h20 & sea salt & Japanese fiber cloth), after soaking for about 30 mins the water turned slightly dark like I placed a tea bag in the tub,of course skin got smoother, but salt is drying & can intensify itch. But I'm not crying about that, will address that later. Since I need intermittent breaks w/ the Retin A, I decided I need a non peeling lightener in between.

My face is crazy light & can't go any further until I get catch my body up. I only used HQ 3xs in the past 11 days or so & no redarkening. But Retin A (everyday for a week )& LA 85% once a week can break up permatan like nobody's business but be prepared for the ugly stage before the skin finally sloughs.

Oh wow, apart from the peeling skin it seems like it is going the way you want it. I am not sure I could even attempt to put it on my face as the smell of it makes me choke a bit. It seems really strong

Lilikoi have you still not been applying the 10% and seeing the results maintained. I was reading that someone said that the results were not lasting and I am curious to know how long before one needs to reintroduce a lightening agent. Do you think you have lightened on your face beyond your natural colour?

Hi Gothqueen,

oh yes, my complexion has gone shades beyond my natural color and hasn't darken a bit, I stopped applying it to my face 2 wks ago to give my body time to catch up. My body is almost there now so I will resume face and body with HQ in maybe a week or so.

But to answer your question,I've never even in childhood been this light. Another reason for stopping is because it gave such fast results, I didn't get the enough yellow tones, just a little yellow.

Of course hiding from the sun in daily 90 degree+ weather is a challenge of within itself but with umbrella,floppy hat & UV umbrella I haven't redarkened.

I've only used Carotein cream to keep face exfoliated which resulted in a bit of a pale bleached out look. My goal is to be able to be completely without makeup and other than a blemish on my chin which looks better with a bit of concealer, my skin looks pretty good.

My friend hasn't seen me since I starting the HQ/Retin A and was shocked, she told me I look white and to not go lighter cause it's good the way it is. I don't look white but I guess I didn't really realize how much I changed until I talked to her.

I am now trying Copper Peel from Omorovicza. Have heard some rave reviews on how it brightens the complexion. Hope it works for me.

Correction:

"I've only used Carotein cream to keep face exfoliated which resulted in a bit of a pale bleached out look."

That was a typo. I meant to say the Carotein has merely kept my face exfoliated, it has never whitened.

Lilikoi please tell me how long it took you to lighten. I really am not seeing much lightening on my arms so far. It does look more even though . I am still only using it once a day as well because of the intense smell but wondering if I need to try twice a day. I would love it if the results do not immediately fade once you stop using it. I just feel a bit impatient about it and wish I could see some difference.