Many people swear by steroid cream. It clears acne and eczema but what effect does it have on the skin with long time use?

Long term use of steroid based creams can cause:

• Skin thinning
• Patches
• unusual hair growth
• darkening of skin
• breakouts

However, as you said, many people swear by it for skin lightening. Many have managed to perfect a routine where they have managed to avoid the full blown side effects.