Lightening With Hydroquinone.permenant
I've been reading post on this board for some time now, so I thought it was time for me to start posting too, lol.
Now a little about my self:
I'm 20, of nigerian decent (both my parents are nigerian), according to that skin chart I'm about "red tone 9", and I was born and raised on the east coast of America.
I first realized skin bleaching was a common practice in America and around the world when I saw that Tyra Banks episode. I knew it was commin amonst nigerians but I never thought americans did it... how niave I was, lol.
I knew that my mother had been bleaching her skin for years, but never really thought nothing of it. For as long as I can remember my mother has always been light skinned. But I remember as a kid see older pics of her where she was brown skinned and it always used to stun me that the was once brown skinned. It wasn't until I was arould 10 that I realized she was bleaching her skin.
She would mix moisturizing cream with crusader cream (a bleaching cream that contains 2% hydroquinone) and Top-Gel (some cream but I'm not sure what it does). She would also shower with the crusader soap. It wasn't until about 8yrs ago that she stared adding hydroquinone powder to mix. Based on pictures, I believe she started bleaching her skin shortly after I was born.
She was originally around "olive tone 9" and became somewhere between a Rihanna and Beyonce tone. And she has been that color for as long as I can remember. I'm not sure how long it took her to reach that tone but read below.
Now, like I said my parents are both nigerian. My father became a US citizen but my mother never did. And late last year my mother had problems with immigration (thanks Bush!). She was in immigration custody for 1yr. Needless to say she had no access to her cream. She is back home now (thanks to god!) but while she was in custody she did get about 2 shades darker but she was no way as dark as she originally was. This leads me to believe that hydroquinone is perment in some way. She didn't return to original color or get darker than her original color.
When she came home she began using her cream again. And I started to see results after the first week. She has been home for a month now and has already lightened up about 1 shade on her body and 2 on her face. She puts the cream on her face several times a day and on her body once a day. She also showers with the crusader soap.
So, she has been using hydroquinone for nearly 20 yrs and she said she has never been burned by it, never suffered from thining skin, nor has she ever had any medical problems from it. So I'm not sure why every one is scared to use it. She is a pharmacist and nows all about it, and she wasn't even scared. I don't ever even remember her using sunblock, though I think the crusader cream contains some. She would always go out in the sun. She would tan (never to her original color though) but then lighten back up.
The only way you will get burned is if you don't use it properly or your skin is just very sensitive. I got burned from it the first time I used because I didn't dissolve the powder in the cream, I just mixed it in.
Now, I have started using the same cream mix as my mom, but I also added alpha arbutin powder to it.
I mixed moisturizing cream (eucerin about 7oz), about 20g of hydroquinone powder, 5g alpha arbutin powder and 4oz of crusader cream (a bleaching cream that my mother used and contains 2% hydroquinone). I mixed them all together then held the cream in boiling water for 8-10 minutes until I could no longer feel the hydroquinone in it.
I also shower with l-glutathione soap, AHA soap, Kojic Acid soap, and that Tone sugar exfoliating soap. I shower once a day and apply the cream twice a day. I just started this routine 2 days ago, so I'll keep you guys updated.
It seems like a lot but after I reach my desired tone, I'll stick to the cream and one soap. Many of you seem to be concerned about having to do this every day for ever, but it really isn't even that much. My mother bathed once a day with bleaching soap and applied her cream once after her bath. It wasn't a task that dominated her life, lol. If she wasn't bleaching her skin she would have been doing the same thing, bathing and moisturizing, but with regular soap and cream.
Sorry for the long essay, lol. I just wanted to share my experience with you all. If you have any questions I'll be glad to answer!
