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Bleaching Your Face

Yash Gode
Bleaching your face can prove to be an effective remedy for many of you who might be fed up of your skin complexion and are craving to flaunt glowing skin. Using a bleach cream can not only help those who want to get rid of age spots and skin pigmentation, but also boost self-confidence. To know more about it, read on!
Everyone of us wants to look good. If blemishes, dark patches on face due to an exposure to the sun and the pollution that cause a dull skin; and that is what prevents you from going out, it's time you take up a bleaching face cream, as it can show wonderful results.

Bleach Cream: How Does it Work

Bleach lightens the skin complexion by reducing the concentration of the skin darkening pigment 'Melanin'. This pigment is responsible for the color of skin and hair.
Lighter skin has melanin in lower concentration, darker skin has melanin in higher concentration. A face bleaching cream contains chemicals, which hinder the production of melanin. As the melanocytes are no longer able to produce melanin, it results in lighter and even colored skin tone.

The Need for Bleaching Facial Hair

Facial bleach is used to treat facial hair. Since 'bleaching' only lightens the facial hair making them less noticeable and does not remove them which is painful; it is widely appriciated process to make the face look flawless. 

Bleaching at Home

  • The first step is doing a patch test on a small area of your body. This should be done 24 hours, before you bleach. This is done because our body can be allergic to the chemicals in it. Mix small quantities of various bleaching products in the proportions, and apply it. If no allergic reactions are noticed within 24 hours , then you can go ahead.
● Clean the face with a gentle soap. Don't use hot water, as it opens the skin pores and exposes sensitive tissues to bleaching agents.
● Always adhere to the recommended proportions, and don't try to change it to make it milder or stronger, as reactions may be unpredictable. Only use a freshly prepared bleaching mixture, as it is more potent.
● Apply the mixed product to completely cover the face while carefully avoiding the eyebrows (unless you wish to lighten them!) and the area around the eyes.
● Leave it for about 10 minutes. Avoid rubbing. If burning or irritation is felt, remove immediately.
● After sufficient time, remove the bleach by rinsing with cold water and pat dry using a dry towel. If the prepared mixture is left, it needs to be disposed off, as this product cannot be stored and reused. Bleaching effects persist for about 3-6 weeks.

Advantages

  • It is fast, easy and pain-free process.
  • A bleaching cream can be bought over-the-counter without any kind of a prescription.

Bleaching: Is it Safe

Though this looks very rosy, there are a number of demerits. All face bleach creams contain hydroquinone and mercury. Mercury is toxic. Scientific studies have recommended to avoid using hydroquinone in skin bleaching creams.
Though, hydroquinone whitens the skin rapidly and is a FDA-recognized bleaching agent, dermatologists are engaged in finding more about the long-term bleaching cream side effects due to hydroquinone.
Some common side effects are:
  • Burning, itching or stinging sensation along with skin redness.
  • Mild to severe allergic effects like skin rash, blistering, inflation or swelling of lips or cheeks and difficulty in breathing are also known to occur in deteriorated cases.
  • Dryness and cracking of skin, when applied on sensitive areas around the eyes and nose.
During pregnancy, some women may feel the need to bleach their face. The reason behind this is skin discoloration in melasma. Melasma, also known as mask of pregnancy, is a common condition in pregnant woman, when excess secretion of hormone estrogen makes the melanocytes produce higher quantities of the darkening pigment melanin.
This results in brown patches on the facial region. Though, there is no way to examine the extent of harm the use of bleaching cream may cause during pregnancy, many doctors advise against its use. So, it's always better to consult your doctor or a dermatologist before using it.
Using a branded bleaching cream instead of a cheap one is strongly advised. If your skin is sensitive, taking utmost care while choosing the bleaching product is necessary is necessary.