Okay so I often get e-mails asking what I'm using on my skin, what is my routine, what color was I before, how long did it take me to lighten, etc.

Daily routine:
Morning - Wash face w/ dove liquid soap (the gentle exfoliating one with the beads and NUTIRUM MOISTURE. I can't stress how important the nutrium moisture is for my skin and how beautiful and moisturized it leaves my skin without making it oily.) Then I moisturize with st. Ives Hydrating Vitamin E Lotion. I'm in love with that stuff as well. Doesn't leave me oily. But it moisturizes. Then I apply my primer and my make up. (I wear full make up everyday, so it's important that I stick to my routine in order to make sure I don't harm my skin. Make up does not age you or give you break outs if you use a primer and wear it and take it off the right way!! )

Night time - Remove make up with make up remover wipes. Wash face three times with dove gentle exfoliating soap. Then once with st. ives naturally clear apricot scrub blemish and blackhead control. Don't worry. It will NOT dry out your skin. I think it says you're supposed to use it 3 or 4 times a week. Or every other day. But I use it like 5 times a week. And only at night. It's usually my last step when I'm in the shower. I pat my face dry when I get out of the shower. I wait ten minutes and then I apply my St. Ives Hyrdating Vitamin E lotion.

Saturdays - This is when I usually get my lightening done! But if not on a Saturday, literally any day will work there's nothing special about Saturday, it's just usually when I have the most time. I wake up, and wash my face once or twice with dove exfoliating soap (only once or twice because my make up was already washed off from the previous night so it's not like I'm trying to wash it off my face in the morning). I pat my face dry. And I apply a palm full of 55H+ Cristaline (Strong-Lightening Fine Glycerin) to my face and neck and a part of my chest. I let it soak in to my skin for about 3 or 4 hours while I'm just surfing the internet. Sometimes I'll go back and reapply another palm full, and let it soak some more. This part is important: DO NOT RUB IT INTO YOUR SKIN. Let it soak into your skin. Just glide it onto your skin with your palm and let it soak into your skin by itself. I know it might seem slightly uncomfortable. But it's only for 3 or 4 hours out of your whole week.

I also lighten my lips at this time. I apply 55H+ Harmonie Reparateur Multi Vitamin Bleaching Lotion w/ carrot oil liberally to my lips. And let it sit just like I let the glycerin sit. I reapply this often throughout the 3 or 4 hour period. (sometimes during the weak I'll even apply it before I go to bed). I do NOT apply this to my face EVER. I know someone who uses this on their face and it lightens her well, but for me. It makes my face red, and it peels my skin. I just avoid putting it on my face but I do like to use it on my lips.

I like to apply the 55H+ Harmonie Reparateur Multi Vitamin Bleaching Lotion w/ carrot oil to my body daily (my body! Not my face!)... But. I'm a college student at the moment. And I'm trying to save my money. So I can't afford to do this daily.

When I first started using the glycerin, I didn't really notice results to the second or third day? It used to make me extremely scary bright. So I stopped using it daily. I think it has adjusted to my skin. And plus I only use it once a week. Maybe twice a week if I feel I caught some sun recently.

Things to keep in consideration:

I do NOT work for 55H+. I do not recommend it for everybody. I like it because it's natural. I know some people on this board have tried it, and they get break outs or other skin irritations from the contents. Some didn't see any results except baby soft skin. Some have lightened. I'm not promising that this product will work for you, but it IS what has worked for me. Everyone is different. Hydroquinone does not work for my skin. You have to find out what works for your skin. It's a trial and error process. But make sure you do your research! Stay away from steroids and mono. PLEASE!

I have not been using 55H+ my whole life. I started using it around the summer/late spring of 2009.

Tips/advice:

KEEP IT SIMPLE. You do not have to have a bunch of overly expensive products all the time. You don't have to use and try everything all at once. I used to have really bad acne and really bad scars from using movate (a steroid based cream. DON'T USE IT), when I was younger. I used it a LOT when I was younger and I used it for a little bit during the fall of 2008. I completely stopped using it when I started using the glycerin during the fall summer/late spring of 2009. My scars have pretty much faded, and thank God I wasn't left with extreme damage from this product. Because many others have been. It causes stretch marks. Saggy lines. These tiny but very noticeable holes in the face. And it doesn't work forever-- sorry. I kind of strayed from the topic. But. KEEP IT SIMPLE. Notice my products are all simple products. Dove soap, st. ives lotion, st. ives exfoliating soap, lightening glycerin. When you keep it simple. You take the stress off your face. You protect yourself from premature aging. Quick results are nice. But in a few years from now. You STILL want to be beautiful. So you have to take care of your skin.

DON'T EXPECT A MIRACLE. Skin lightening takes patience and consistency. It's a full time job. If something lightens you EXTREMELY fast, be weary. Example: Bio Claire.

IT TAKES A WHILE TO LIGHTEN BUT ONLY A FEW MINUTES TO DARKEN. Avoid the sun! Don't let your hard work go to waste. :( I don't wear sunblock because I don't like my make up to look cakey. But I think there is sunblock in my make up already. So make sure you're protecting your skin from the sun at all times. And I may seem a bit extreme. But if I can, I don't go outside unless it's early morning or after 4 PM when the sun's rays aren't as powerful.

HAVE A REALISTIC GOAL.

My original color:

http://www.bargainlacewigs.co.uk/images/estelle.jpg

My current color:

http://www.teairrafans.com/gallery/albums/userpics/normal_001%7E15.jpg

I might try and achieve a shade lighter than this. But I would never aspire to be the color of Beyonce. It's unrealistic. Maybe a very slight few have achieved extreme goals like this. But that usually takes a lot of time and patience. But have a realistic goal. And I know society is saying that dark is ugly. Honestly, it is beautiful. So if you are having a hard time lightening, don't get discouraged. No one can deny a beautiful face no matter the shade of skin. But of course we're all here to lighten. So I'm not judging anyone at all.

DO YOUR RESEARCH. DON'T JUST JUMP ON BANDWAGONS. This is how you harm your skin. It's your skin. Take care of it. Don't just put anything on it. And make sure you do your research on it.

MAKE SURE YOUR NECK MATCHES YOUR FACE. If you don't want anyone to know your bleaching. You can't walk around with a face that is 5 times lighter than your neck. Seriously. Make sure you're applying your products to your neck as well. And if you wear make up. Don't go more than one shade lighter than you really are. It'll look bad. I used to apply make up that was lighter than my skin because I thought that it made me look lighter... But it really just made me look like:

http://fashionbombdaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/lil-kim1-530x367.jpg

(I'm not trying to make fun of or drag little kim down. I have nothing against her. I'm just using her as a reference. I also know she feels the same pressures that we feel to have lighter skin. I think she's beautiful... when she wears her right color of foundation. Not one that is a million shades lighter than what she really is.)


MAKE SURE YOU EXFOLIATE. You'd be surprised at the amount of dead skin that just sits there. Get that dead skin off. It'll make your skin naturally brighter and smoother.

Vitamins: I know some ladies on here take vitamin c pills and they have noticed great results in their skin. I've always been meaning to pick some up but I've never gotten around to it. I do take fish oil pills 4-5 times a day though. It keeps me from getting break outs and it keeps my skin glowing.

Also. Keep in mind that I have been lightening since the age of 14 and I am now in my early 20's

I hope my tips and routine have helped. :)

I always enjoy reading your threads Brown! Thanks for this.

Thanks Golden Girl! I've missed you! I'm going to be posting and frequenting this board often again. I've missed you all. :)

Great post

Thanks Brown D!

Brown Deceit

Thank you for sharing!

My fear of lightening my darker areas are looking pale and not natural. I love the brown tint of my skin and do not, under any circumstances want to lose that.

Once you start seeing results just monitor it really well.

Once you start seeing results just monitor it really well.

Thanks, So sexy. Does it always look pale, anyway? Are you treating your face or entire body? With that, what was your complexion like vs now?

Cinnamon - Pale appearance will depend on a number of things

1) Your haemoglobin count - If your already anaemic, it means you are already paler looking than you are supposed to be. Using creams will indeed make you look paler

2) the kind of product you use - some whiten with a pale appearance. Anything with mercury will make you look PALE. Anything with Hq will either make you look PALE, DIRTY YELLOW etc. depending on your skin colour.

3) Also most products solely created for cosmetic purposes seem to work well on the face and neck best and not on the rest of the body. So if you need some real lightener , think over it , research well, understand if steroids or mercury is your choice, or something else which is identified as a lightener by the government and is a healthier option etc. and then use .

Note: Do NOT be foolish enough to listen to most people on forums and listen to their testimonials about products unless they are really trustworthy, have been around you for a long period, or possibly have shown you BEFORE and AFTER PICS.


Oh by the way, Brown Deceit. I know your genuine. Sorry just posting on your thread. Not making any attack on you :) My answer started from her question on paleness and I took it to another topic. Sorry. But its not directed at you or anyone who has posted in this thread in general.

Thanks for the lovely post BrownDeceit! I want to use your reg and hope I achieve great results like you. I have a question for you. How long did it take to achieve your current shade? (I hope not 6 years... lol) Thanks in advance for your reply!

Oh and one more question. When you apply the 55H+ to your body, are you applying this after you shower? If so are you using any exfoliating soap in the shower? Thanks Again

It really did that me a while. It was more gradual if anything. I hadn't really realized that I had gotten so much lighter until looking back at pictures. I wouldn't expect dramatic results. And a lot of my success is owed to skin peels which I DON'T recommend. Just this last January I was on here in a state of panic because I had messed up my skin with this skin peel. It was so uneven and blotchy. Thank God everything evened out. But those things are like a wild card! Whether you get it done professionally or if you do it at home. I DON'T recommend it.

But to answer your second question, sometimes I apply it after I shower. If I'm going to be at home or in my dorm room the whole day doing nothing so it can dry completely. But if I'm planning on going to bed or going out, I'll wash it off in the shower. Or by washing my face if I only applied it to my face. Because it is quite sticky. And it's not very comfortable when sleeping or if you're going out. So in those cases I'll leave it on for at least an hour or two then quick wash it off. Hope this helps.

Hi Browndeceit, I would like to know how much all those product cost and if my boyfriend could use the same regiment with me. We only need a 1,5 shade lost.

Thanks so much browndeceit for sharing , you really helped me,