Skin Whiteners, skin bleachers, skin lighteners.....they are all called the same. If you are chasing the idea of perfect, flawless skin then you have probably checked all of them. But before you go off believing what is on the labels of skin bleaching products, you should know what you are putting on your skin. In the whitening business, not all products are created equal and there are some that could affect your health. In this article, I am going to explain some of the common ingredients that can be found in skin whitening products. Once you read it, you may be interested in taking a look at some natural solutions to making your skin lighter.

If you have applied a topical skin whitener, then chances are you have used hydroquinone.  It is perhaps the most used whitener ingredient on the market and the reason why most companies use this is because of how effective it is.

Hydroquinone works because it inhibits melanin, the substance responsible for "tanning" your skin.  Many darker pigmented women use this because it has been found to be effective even on the darkest individual.

The problems with hydroquinone are numerous though.  Some studies have found that this ingredient could be responsible for causing cancer, most notably leukemia.  Other side effects are numerous and many have reported thyroid and liver disorders after taking hydroquinone.

Because the skin lightening effect is temporary, prolonged exposure to the potential side effects are high and women have to continue buying bleaching products to keep lighter skin.

Hydroquinone can be found in anal and vaginal bleaching creams as well.

Another ingredient is monobenzyl ether and it is pretty much like hydroquinone.  The one difference is that while hydroquinone is temporary, monobenzyl ether has a more permanent effect as it not just disrupts melanin but destroys the melanin cells entirely.  Because of this, this skin bleaching ingredient is very popular with darker skinned women. 

Monobenzyl ether is a harsh chemical though that can be found in various household cleaners and antibacterial products.  Because of this, caution should be taken before considering.  Monobenzyl ether could raise the risk of cancer as well.

Another popular skin whitening ingredient is alpha arbutin.  There are many up sides to using alpha arbutin since it is a natural plant derived skin bleach that is found in what would be considered a weed from northern Canada.

Alpha Arbutin works because it inhibits tyrosinase which is responsible for catalyzing melanin in the skin.  Products with this ingredient work faster than any other natural skin lightener BUT the effects are only temporary which means that if you want continuous white skin, you will need to continuously purchase more products.

Alpha Arbutin has been shown in case studies to reduce reddening of the skin and therefore may be the best natural eczema treatment available, although this hasn't been confirmed by studies and tests.