You know that feeling you get when you’re afraid to look in the mirror because you don’t like what you’re going to see? I’ve been there. We all have.
We worry about hyperpigmentation of our skin, afraid that everyone will notice that our skin tone isn’t perfectly even. We wonder if the beauty of our skin will ever reflect the beauty within us.
For some of us, hyperpigmentation can be caused by sun damage, freckles, or melasma. In my case, it was caused by acne scarring from when I was younger and had tons of zits.
We torture ourselves worrying about what we can do to get rid of our skin discolorations, or at least hide them.
Maybe you’ve already tried some skin lightening products that didn’t deliver on the promised results. Perhaps you’ve even considered drastic measures like surgery to lighten skin tone.
But there is hope. It’s important to remember that not all skin lightening creams are created equal; some can work wonders, while others are total junk.
Before you go out and buy a whitening cream, make sure you choose one that actually works. You want to get the best whitening cream that you can afford, so that you won’t be disappointed with the results.
But which products work, and which ones don’t? Let’s talk about your options.
When I first started trying to find the best whitening cream, I was lost. There are tons of products on the market. But after many hours researching online, I think I’ve figured out the 3 best whitening creams available.
List of 3 Best Whitening Creams
1. Revitol Skin Brightener
Revitol is currently one of the most popular skin brighteners on the market in the United States. But is its popularity justified?
Well, it’s certainly very effective at brightening skin. Revitol has received mostly positive reviews from its customers. In general, it takes about one month on average before you start seeing noticeable results.
But the biggest problem that I have with Revitol is that it still uses hydroquinone, like many beauty products unfortunately do. Hydroquinone is a potentially dangerous chemical. Studies have indicated that it may cause cancer, and long-term use can cause serious side effects on your skin.
The FDA has considered banning hydroquinone for over-the-counter beauty products, so you need to be very careful about using products like this. I prefer products with natural ingredients, like the other two products on this list.
But that’s just my opinion. Given its huge fan base and positive reviews from its customers, Revitol is clearly quite good at lightening your skin.
2. Shiseido White Lucent
Shiseido White Lucent is a lightening cream that is manufactured in Japan. It uses all natural ingredients, so you don’t need to worry about hydroquinone or other nasty chemicals when you use it.
White Lucent includes makeup remover and skin cleaning chemicals in the cream, so it lightens your skin up and moisturizes your skin before it works its magic with your skin’s melanin. This is very helpful if you have sensitive skin, like I do.
The best thing about this product is that it does what it claims it will do: lighten your skin tone. Just apply it in the area that you’d like to lighten, and you’ll see results in a few weeks.
Unlike many other good whitening creams, White Lucent is available in stores such as Macy’s. If you don’t like to buy things online, White Lucent may be your best bet.
However, there are two big drawbacks to this product that I feel I should mention:
It has a very heavy consistency. If you dislike goopy creams, then White Lucent probably isn’t the best choice for you. You get used to it after a while, but it can be a bit uncomfortable at first.
The second drawback is the price tag. White Lucent is considerably more expensive than any of the other brands, and I’m not really sure why.
As far as I can tell, nothing about White Lucent warrants a higher price than its competition. It works well, but I think there are better options out there that don’t cost as much.
3. Meladerm Skin Whitening and Hair Lightening
The best whitening cream is Meladerm, for six years running. Meladerm is the only brightening cream that I know that does everything that I want it to do.
According to Meladerm reviews, Meladerm is the hands-down winner at whitening skin. It only takes about two weeks on average to start seeing results, which is much faster than any other skin lightening cream.
The full results take about 2-3 months. However, it may be faster than this if you have naturally light skin. In general, the more melanin that you have in your skin, the longer it will take to achieve the full results.
Meladerm has one of the strongest formulas available over the counter, but don’t let that scare you. It doesn’t contain any hydroquinone, mercury, or steroids. In fact, Meladerm is all natural.
It has been professionally tested for safety, on human volunteers only. Animal lovers like me can rejoice.
What really sets Meladerm apart from other brands is the care that goes into its manufacturing. A lot of the substances such as Kojic acid that go into skin lightening creams are very fragile, and can be damaged by exposure to light or to the air. Many brands cut corners and ignore this, which can lead to ineffective creams.
Meladerm stores its ingredients in vacuum dessicators, where they are protected from exposure to the air and light, and packages the cream in an air-tight dispenser. This ensures that the ingredients are still at their full potency when you apply them.
Another thing I like about Meladerm is that it can be used on any part of the body. Some creams only work on the face, but Meladerm can be applied anywhere.
This is nice, because a lot of people experience skin discoloration around their joints, especially their knuckles and elbows. Meladerm can solve this problem quickly.
I don’t really have any major gripes with Meladerm, but if there is one area that I think can be improved, it would be the fact that you can’t get Meladerm in large sizes.
It comes in 1.7 oz. container and a 3.4 oz. container. It would be nice if larger sizes were available, which were proportionally cheaper than the 3.4 oz. dispenser.
With that said, you probably don’t need a larger size if you’re a first time customer anyway. After all, you want to try it out first and make sure that it works for you.
The 1.7 oz. container should last you about seven weeks, if you apply it to your face twice a day. If you’re using it on a smaller area of your body, it should last even longer.
Meladerm offers a 30 day money-back guarantee for first time customers, so you can try it first with no commitment. Give it a try, and if it doesn’t work for you, just send it back. Many people see results within 2-3 weeks.
I’m going to dive deeper into why I think it’s the best whitening cream on my full Meladerm review, but I think it’s pretty clear why Meladerm is better than the other two creams on my list.