I am new to this forum.. I read a lot of reviews about lighteneing products. A lot of people seemed to like fair & flawless. However, I read reviews by some that after they stopped using it, their skin became darker than before. I don't understand why that happens (if they are being honest) because fair & flawless says that it is all natural. I am just curious to knew because if it really works than I will order.

I am Asian. My rest of the body is pretty fair but arms, face, and neck are olive. I don't tan or anythign so do not know why this happened. I want to be the same color as the rest of my body. Which product do you guys feel is the best from all the ones you tried? I am getting enagged in march so I really want to fix my face by then. I would appreciate your help!! Thanks

:rolleyes:

There are hundreds of brands to choose from, you have to just try and see which is best for you.

I've been using fair & flawless for a few years now, yes it does lighten effectively but you have to keep using it all your life if you want to maintain it. I stopped using it for a while and after a few weeks I was way DARKER than my original color and not only that, my skin looked terrible with large cysts everywhere. So I had to start using it again. So, bottom line, it works, but once you start using it, you need to keep doing so to maintain the results.

That's for any lightener that works. The skin will always slowly redarken after you discontinue it's use because the body will have a skin cell turnover and regeneration approximately every 28 days. And if you are not continuing to use an effective sunblock with about spf 50 or higher, then the skin is more prone to not only darken, but will become darker because it is not being protected.

Doesn't Fair & Flawless have Hydroquinone or Arbutin in it? Those 2 are very, extremely temporary so once you stop, within a few days you will notice melanin production returns right back to its abundant rate.

In that regard, its better to avoid such temporary tyrosinase inhibitors and use instead retinoids, which stimulate healthy collagenous epithelial cells that are less overpopulated with melanocytes.

Doesn't Fair & Flawless have Hydroquinone or Arbutin in it? Those 2 are very, extremely temporary so once you stop, within a few days you will notice melanin production returns right back to its abundant rate.

In that regard, its better to avoid such temporary tyrosinase inhibitors and use instead retinoids, which stimulate healthy collagenous epithelial cells that are less overpopulated with melanocytes.

Golden boy you should already know that Fair & Flawless does not contain hydroquinone. You even stated that you used to use it, so if you did use it you would have already noticed the ingredients that were listed.

Besides, skin lighteners are all temproary so the skin will redarken. They will only inhibit the tyrosinase, but when the usage has ended the skin will redarken.

Golden boy you should already know that Fair & Flawless does not contain hydroquinone. You even stated that you used to use it, so if you did use it you would have already noticed the ingredients that were listed.

That was a few years ago! You're saying everythings the same at Fair & Flawless from yrs ago? I don't remember the ingredients, I don't have a photographic memory of them but I do of the burn marks it left for a while. Google 'Fair Flawless Acid' and see what comes up :eek:




Besides, skin lighteners are all temproary so the skin will redarken. They will only inhibit the tyrosinase, but when the usage has ended the skin will redarken.

Not all skin lighteners work by tyrosinase inhibition. Ask lilgreg! :p

No. I can ask myself :p:p:p

You had mentioned how Fair & Flawless is very temporary with lightening.. the ingredients they used are mostly tyrosinase inhibitors and aha acids (along with majority of skin lighteners that use tyrosinase inhibitors. It could have possibly been the aha acids that gave you the burn, but that does not mean that it is ineffective for everyone as it has clearly given others success.

If you chose not to study their ingredients then that responsibility is yours that you chose not do. All of the skin lighteners that I have used, including ALL beauty products, food, liquids, everything... I always carefully try and study every ingredient listed (then and now) until it is embedded in my memory. So if a company chooses to make any changes I will be aware of it and know what to embrace and what to avoid in case I have any form of allergic reaction or if the product is just not for me. That is the smartest thing to do and it will help prevent history only repeating itself and getting angry over it. Majority of the skin lighteners that are used in commercial lightening products are tyrosinase inhibitors including what you had mentioned about fair&flawless. I have already carefuly read all of the fair&flawless ingredients that were posted from their site and I printed it and made notes of it. If people do not do this then that is their own fault for allowing things to happen to them.:confused:

For many months I had used makari and many had a bad reaction from it, does not mean I must bash it too. They mostly use tyrosinase inhibitors, retinol, silicones, and hydrogenated oils. I read carefully what the ingredients were and how they operated in the body and why, so that I knew the risks... very vital.:p

What works for some may not work for others. Understand it and move on to something that may possibly work for you. Simple

I've been using fair & flawless for a few years now, yes it does lighten effectively but you have to keep using it all your life if you want to maintain it. I stopped using it for a while and after a few weeks I was way DARKER than my original color and not only that, my skin looked terrible with large cysts everywhere. So I had to start using it again. So, bottom line, it works, but once you start using it, you need to keep doing so to maintain the results.

:rolleyes:
Here we go again with a "newbies" first post about how FF messed them up? Lol So obivous!

Usually these ID's don't stick around for too long, that's why they are never credible to me, so will see what else you have to contribute to this forum other than the exaggerated claims of what Ff did to your skin.

If a cream made your skin way darker along with cysts why would you go back? That was dumb!

Nikki, I think she meant that after she stopped using the cream, then that's what happened. So in order to get rid of the bad side effects, she had to start using it once again.

nikki, I think she meant that after she stopped using the cream, then that's what happened. so in order to get rid of the bad side effects, she had to start using it once again.

Bad side effects from what? The cream?
She should have stopped using it!

She experienced the side effects when she stopped using it. But when she used it again they went away. So yes she could/should have stopped to clear up the problem completely. But I suppose using it again yielded quicker results. And I'm assuming as long as she uses it and doesn't stop, she doesn't have problems.

Actually my natural color is Fair. My rest of the body is fine, just my face and arms have becoming way darker than the rest because of sports and all. All I want is to be the same color as my legs, and I wanted soemthing instant. However, I do not want to use anything that would make me darker than my natural color. Lolz.

By the way, all of you seem to have been using different products... how many shades did u guys lighten in the whole process? It is just interesting to know... :)

Sara_c have you tried lactic acid or salicylic acid peel for the face along with high spf sun block? How many shades darker is your face and arms compared to the rest of the body?

Golden_Girl, I have not tried these peels. Actually I just recently began to look on internet about whitening after college ended. So I am not familiar with a lot of these things. I just recently learned about some of the companies and acids (kojic, alpha arbutin) through these forums, but there are so many things that I was getting confused about what to use. I did not have a lot of time to just try things so I just wanted something that I know would work for sure.

Okay about the difference in color. My legs are very Fair as I have never worn shorts or skirts in my life, so sun has not touched them much, which is probably why they are fine. But my face and arms are olive tone. So what would you call that 3 - 4 shades??

OK, my face is like this color

http://www.urbaneperspectivemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/hispanic-woman-washing-face.jpg except this girl's skin is glowing, mine has become dull :( and my legs are this color (the second one from the right) Google Image Result for http://www.wnwbeautybenefits.com/images/home/looks/bill.jpg (http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.wnwbeautybenefits.com/images/home/looks/bill.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.wnwbeautybenefits.com/looks/index.php&usg=__BvUmuV0mNBSo34AAyja3rGM4s0I=&h=400&w=760&sz=57&hl=en&start=2&um=1&tbnid=WFuatFVGzpVYPM:&tbnh=75&tbnw=142&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dfair%2Bskin%26hl%3Den%26um%3D1)

Yes believe me! When I put my hands with my legs, it looks like two different people :( what should I doooo??

:(

The pic http://www.urbaneperspectivemag.com/...shing-face.jpg is like a shade I would like to achieve, glow and all. Yeah, so many products and so much information can cause confusion and a headache. Especially when some things work for some and may not work for others.

Yes, it seems to me to be a 3-4 shade difference. If your skin is dull and you also want to lighten a few shades, you could include retin-a 0.025% since this is the mildest. Strong sunblock with high spf. I like neutrogena spf 70 or higher, but spf 55 and 60 are really good too. Choosing a good skin lightener I think is the tricky part, because what works for one may not work as well for another.

Has anyone tried stilmans whitening cream? Its kind of old, but I use their acne cream and it works pretty well. So I wonder if their fairness cream works as well:-s... I might give it a try, but I recently inquired about alpha arbutin. A lot of people said its safe and effective if used at 5%, which can be achieved by 6gms of alpha arbutin in 4 oz lotion or cream. I also heard that niacinamide is pretty good for lightening and combining with alpha arbutin. However, I am not sure that if I combine the two, how many gms of each should I combine?

Also it tretinoin the same as retinol a? I am currently using tretinoin my doc recommended for acne. Howevere, it is not making my pale or anything... every now and then the area peels where I use tretinoin.

I have tried stillmans and I do believe it did contribute to some lightening for me but as the ingredients have never been made clear, I stopped using it.

Tretinon and Retin A are the same.

Yeah, the same. It can help aid in skin lightening by speeding up the results when used with a good skin lightener.

I have read many times that Stillman's had been banned in European countries due to a 5% mercury content and that they are unclear with posting their ingredients. I am not 100% sure, so I have been trying to find hard evidence for this... although I wouldn't be surprised if it's true.

I read somewhere that if such creams get dark or black stuff around the bottle mouth or cap, then they have chemical and such things which are not good for skin. I use stillman's freckle cream every now and then when I get a bad pimple, but I know it began to have black stuff in the creases on its cap soon after I bought it and began using it. I didn't think of it as anything. I thought it was just cream dryign up. But now I am wondeirng if it is because of mercury :s I probably should stop using it.

@ Maharni & Golden_girl

I know you guys have been using lightening regimes as well. I heard that alpha arbutin & niacinamide combined are really good lightening agents. I don't know how long it would take to lighten, but I heard that it works.

Do you guys know by any chance how many gms of each should I combine in like 4 oz cream? Or is there a website from where I can find out? :)

sara_c ,

Have never tried making my own cosmetics, but here is some info that might be helpful

Cosmetic Ingredients Supply - MakingCosmetics.com Inc. (http://www.makingcosmetics.com/home.html)


Skin-Lightening and Whitening Ingredients (http://www.makingcosmetics.com/Skin-Lightening-Agents-c36/)

Some more info


Skin Actives Scientific : Arbutin (alpha) (http://www.skinactives.com/product/detail.aspx?prodID=8)

Skin Actives Scientific : Niacinamide (http://www.skinactives.com/product/detail.aspx?prodID=73)

Thank you so much Maharani. This was helpful. I appreciate!!

You're more than welcome :)

I have read many times that Stillman's had been banned in European countries due to a 5% mercury content and that they are unclear with posting their ingredients. I am not 100% sure, so I have been trying to find hard evidence for this...although I wouldn't be surprised if it's true.



Golden_Girl,

It really would not surprise me! I know this company has been around for 100 years and yet in that time they have never gotten around to listing their ingredients... Boy someone in there is mighty slow and needs to get fired! I know that some companies may not fully state ingredients to avoid copycats and possible competition but there is absolutely no indication of what is in it. Highly dubious to me, but I guess like BIO CLAIRE, it's what you don't know that makes stillmans work.

And another thing, I remember that the instructions for stillmans said to apply but NOT to rub in. I wonder why. Maybe concerns about too much "mercury" getting into the system... Who knows?

Interesting, Stillman's instruct to apply but not rub in? All of the lotions and cremes I had instruct to rub in.. yeah they are hiding that special little something.

Sara_c, yes I have heard positive things about alpha arbutin & niacinamide for lightening. I will have to read more about it, as I have never made my own cosmetics either. But, I'll need a really good alternative in a few months down the road.