Hi there,

I am an indian girl with brown complexion (see attached photos). I would like to lighten my skin a few shades. I have just over a month to do this before my sister's wedding. I am one of four sisters and the 'black sheep' of the family, literally and I am generally diminished in the background in front of my sister's glowing beauty. But at the wedding, I want to 'Wow' every one with my lighter brighter complexion.

I have already used Kojic acid and HQ in the past, it had no effect on my skin colour. I have wasted far too much money and time trying various remedies and creams. I came across an article about benoquin last week and it seems answers to my prayers. I have done some research on benoquin and came across the following web sites selling it:

Fairnglow (india), Mac-Shifa (Ireland), Mazjin(USA), isis-pharmaceuticals (USA)

I have read though many threads and forums about the product and the distributors. All of the above websites and highly praised by many users and completely slatted by others. Its so hard to tell who is telling the truth and who is working for these companies and is lying. I was particularly horrified to see 'dolice' thread and pics... poor girl. I don't want to look like patch-work blanket at the wedding. I was thinking of benoquin 20% cream. Also I was thinking of buying it from Mac-Shifa as it is the local distributor.

Please point me to someone who will:

Send me genuin product (without mercury or any other nasties).
Has a good customer care and information service.
Gives money back guarantee (I know this might be far fetched).

Please help asap, wedding fast approaches on 02/02/2011

Many thanks and Merry christmas :o)

Poca, you are so pretty and I don't think you should lighten at all, however, I completely understand why. To answer your questions, fairnglow (india), Mac-Shifa (Ireland) are NOT authentic monobenzone and have in fact been tested. Mac Shifa is a TCA peel and not mono. It burnt a girl's face badly who used it. So stay away. The other two companies I know nothing about. Please be careful. I make my own mono cause I don't trust anyone anymore. I have been scammed too many times.

Also, you will most likely not see any noticeable lightening or depigmentation in a month using mono. It takes months for results.

Clueless, thank you so much for your reply. And for your compliment. But if you know anything about Indian culture you'd know that EVERYTHING is about fair skin. It is not my nature to bow down to peer pressure normally, but I guess deep down I would like to be noticed too.

Thank you for understanding and not judging ;o) I am very intrigued about your experience with Mono, I would be indebted to you for ever if you could help me. I have following questions:

What was your skin color before you started using Mono?
What is your skin color now? Total depig OR just a few shades lighter?
How long did it take for Mono to work?
During the application period, did you go through 'patching' phase?
Any chance you could show me your before and after pics? As they say, a picture speaks a thousand words :o)

And most importantly;
Where do you buy your mono powder?
How do you make the cream?

If you do not wish to share your info here, you can send me a private message. Again, much appreciate your help and advice, in return, if you ever need fitness or nutrition advice, I'll be happy to share my experience and secrets as I am a fitness instructor.

Thank you x x

I can't seem to send you a PM. If you can, send me a PM instead and I will respond.

PMs are turned off until you have a specific number of posts.

And off-site contact is strictly prohibited.

Please either stay with our site long enough to become a regular member and get PMs, or ask and answer all questions in the thread.

Thank you.

Oops, Sorry about that!

Sorry Clueless, it seems I am not allowed to send or receive PMs as yet! Share what you can on this thread. However, I completely understand if you cant. I thank you any way.

That's OK, Poca. However, I can't share much. I am not completely done with using mono. I have started and stopped this year, but will finish this year. Mono is a lengthy process and you have to be 100% sure that it is what you want to do. You will have ups and downs along the way, but if you stick with it, you will depigment. From what I have seen and experienced, it does cause patches. I started getting splotchy-if you can understand that. My color was not stark white, but it seemed to lighten in stages or something. However, this will take months. I did not use it on my face. I was too scared and also eventually when you have enough mono in your system, your face will whiten on its own. I wish I could be of more help. Also, I do want to warn you of the fake mono sites. Please be careful!

Thank you clueless for spending your valuable time to help me. You have been a great help. Because of your honest and open advise I have decided not to go down the Mono path.

I have just posted another question outlining the research I have done so far, would you take a look? Its called 'Skin Lightening Pro... ', many thanks.

Clueless, do you know anyone who purchased HQ from Mac-Shiffa? I am trying to get hold of HQ powder, not easy job.

Unless you can tell me where to buy some? Many thanks

Hello Pocahantas,

First I'd like to say, I LOVE YOUR COLOR! Your skin tone is actually what I hope to achieve, but to each their own right :)

I am currently using HQ 10% but my sister (who was much much darker) is using monobenzone 20%. It's by "isis-cosmeceuticals.com" Now I really don't think it's the same company as the name you listed (isis pharmaceuticals) I looked up that company on Google and it seems to be something totally different. My sis has tried a lot of creams but regular skin bleaching creams don't really have an effect on very dark skin tones. So she started on the MB cream a while ago and has had some great progress. One thing she comments on is that this particular MB cream doesn't burn or irritate like other creams she has tried.

I hope this info helps you, sorry I can't give more details as this is my sister's experience not my own. Good luck in your skin lightening journey.

~Jianna

Synnen, if I comment on someone's post, is my comment also counted as a post? Also, how do I create a url to upload pics to my questions? Many thanks.

Jianna, thank you very much for taking time to answer my question. May I ask how long has your sister been trying MB, how long did it take for her to see some results, is she aiming for full depig or just lightening? And most importantly is she lightening evenly or in patches?

In the past I had used an over the counter cream with very very low percentage of HQ. I have now ordered 10% HQ from USA, still waiting for it to arrive, can't wait to try it. In the mean time if you have any advise on 10% HQ usage, it would be much appreciated.

Kind regards,
Poca x x

I have no idea how to create a URL---there's a "help" area that may be able to help you do that though.

Your comments show as posts in one skin, and as additional comments in another skin. That's confusing, I know, but it depends on how you are viewing the site. I see your comments as posts.

I don't believe they count toward post count.

Thank you for your reply, the help area doesn't say anything about how to create url for the photos, but, I'll keep searching ;o)

She has been using MB creams for a while and has had a few bad experiences. She's been using this current cream since sometime in October. She has gotten lighter, it mostly shows in her face. I would say maybe a month before any significant change. No she is just trying to get lighter skin not depig. As for eveness, I haven't noticed anything and she hasn't complained of any uneveness.

I have seen good results with the HQ 10%, many said it's too high a percentage but I haven't had any bad side effects. I think a lot of things you hear about HQ are myths, and those that have had bad experiences with high percentages may have had other things mixed in those creams. There is a girl somewhere that said her friend used HQ 40% then 20% then 5% to maintain. I was shocked by that but the fact that the person was able to do it with no issues was amazing to me.

I use my HQ cream twice a day. I exfoliate with a loofah brush in the shower and I apply the cream while my skin is still damp. I use retin-a too. Once I tried this right after I showered and it burned. So I only apply the retin-a during the day long after showering, then I apply my second application of HQ cream. Every so often I do a full body chem peel. This whole regimen has worked great but what I have also noticed is I had some stretch marks on my butt that are now fading. So of course you know I'm happy about that! :) I figure before the summer I will have achieved my goals.

~Jianna

Thank you babe, off to bed now, will reply in detail in the morning. X

Cheers Nick x x