I have very dark skin, and I want to have lighter skin. What should I do?

What is so wrong with dark skin ?

Hi, tickle. My first question to you is are you dark? Please anwer me, then I will answer your question.

No, not dark, per se, but have olive skin and become quite dark when out in the sun. Does that answer your question ?

I still say, what does it matter. Black, coffee coloured, red, yellow: whatever, beautiful people abound in any colour skin. I am not prejudiced, only against ignorance.

Whatever. Yea that does answer my question, but I still have a second and last question for you. Please answer it. Where do you live?

Lets stop this back and forth nonsense. vanfal, you came for help and want lighter skin then lets find something for you and forget about tickle. There is nothing wrong, stupid, selfish, ignorant, with skin lightening. Its not more vain then skin tanning and it doesn't necessarily mean you have self or race hatred issues. Now its only a question of how light you want to go and weither or not you want to be bound to maintaining the results for as long as you want to be fairer.

If you are looking for brightening and a little bit of lightening then consider using makari or buy a skin lightening kit at skinactives.com.

Sun screen (especially proection against UVA which is what causes skin darkening), vitamin C serum (10-30% concentration), AHA peels( like glycolic acid or lactic acid. Daily at no more then 10% and weakly get that done professionally), microdermabrasion or enzyme peels, retinol or Retin-A. all these treatments help to brighten and smoothen the skin while allowing other topical treatments to penatrate deeper so that they work better.

There are suppliments like glutathione (injections cause pills don't get absorbed readily through injestion), vitamin C, A and E, selenium, cysteine, Alpha Lipoic acid, MSM, Whey protein, melatonin, glysine and glutamine.

There is also the typical Hydroqinone but that's better for sort term (no more then 4 months) treatments for hyperpigmentation but it has potential for lightening the skin complexion. There is a risk of ochronsis but that risk can be reduces if you use HQ properly. At no more then 2% for no more then 4 months then maintain with another skin lightener.

There is also fast treatments like Hydrogen peroxide (etta's bleaching powder). I don't know what would be a safe and effective concentration to do this treatement but etta has a line of cosmetics that seem to work well on even the darkest skins. HP is relatively safe but very irritating and drying to the skin. Our bodies produce HP naturally to help oxygenate tissues and some people will acutally go to doctors and get HP injections for health benefits and anti aging. There are people who produce too much HP in the skin which causes their skin to be bleached from the inside out ( non as some forms of virtiligo). HP is used in skin oxygen facial masks at spas and its also used to bleach dark facial hair. There are different grades of HP and only use a product with cosmoseutical grade and never mix up our on batch at home.

There are other skin lightening actives, arbutin, kojic acid, lemon bioferment, bearberry extract, mulberry extract, licorice root extract... products like Euoko Carrara collection has a pretty good list of some popular and effective skin lightening actives. I wouldn't bother with euoko cause the stuff is so expensive but you can note the actives and compare with other products out there.


Hope this helps.

Hey, tickle. I want your answer. I'm sorry HonEB, it irritates u, but I'm just answering her question. Telling her how it feels to be dark. I hope you don't mind.
N thanks 4 your help.

I know exactly how you feel cause I too have to put of with irritating questions from people like tickle but the thing is, no matter how eloquently you put it or how much sense to you try to make, most likey people like tickle will never understand if they have never lived a day in your shoes. Its easy to turn one's nose up at someone who goes through, what sees to most people, as a extreme amount of cosmetic procedures just to look a certain way. But mind you, if you don't tell these people what you have done they usually are the same ones complimenting you and/or feeling enviouse when you have achieved your goals. Most people who lighten their complextion want a natural and realistic change quite comparable with preferring short hair to long or dressing in parts rather then dresses. Ideal complexion is a preference and has nothing to do with changing one's race or trying to be "white".

Anyway, I don't want you to feel bad or disappointed if you don't get what you are looking for from tickle's answers. Just know what you want, do your homework, go for it and be happy. Good luck.

Thanks for your help HonEB. And for reminding me my goal and supporting me. Thanks ones again.

I agree with HonEB to some extent and that answer you gave was excellent. But something that Vanfal said was quite disturbing.. something about do you know how it feels to be dark? I am dark and it does not feel anydifferent for me. A week does not go by literally with out someone (women and men black and white) telling me I am so beautiful. I love my milk chocolate complextion and I have confidence. I am not trying to change my color but I have dark knees and the skin under my but is much darker than the rest of my body. So basically I have some areas where I have up even complextion that I am trying to correct and honEb's answer helped. So don't try and change your entire complextion and embrace it because it is beautiful. Naomi campbelle is dark and she is one of the most beautiful black woman I have seen. So light skin does not equal beauty.