The advertising on this product wants you to believe that it contains a Korean pink pearl ingredient that promotes fairness. I am about to disabuse you of that notion. This product is a standard Indian fairness cream that uses mainly a combination of Niacinamide and sunscreen filters to achieve fairness.
I will be applying this test:
Q1) Are harmful chemicals present?
Yes. This fairness cream contains BHT (Butylated hydroxytoluene) and parabens and I seek to avoid both.
David Suzuki’s excellent explanation of BHTs is, “Limited evidence suggests that high doses of BHT may mimic estrogen, the primary female sex hormone and prevent the expression of male sex hormones, resulting in adverse reproductive effects.“
Parabens – are cheap and effective preservatives that are endocrine system disruptors (estrogen mimickers). (See also Chemicals to Avoid – Parabens).
If you are completely fine with using a fairness cream with these chemicals, then I respect that. Please continue reading.
Q2) Are skin lightening ingredients present?
Listed ingredients that can contribute to skin lightening are: Niacinamide (3rd ingredient), Tocopheryl Acetate (Vitamin E), Sodium Ascorbyl Phosphate (Vitamin C).
Both the Vitamin E and Vitamin C are not present in great quantities – they are listed half way down the label.
Therefore, I will be generous and assume that they are acting as anti-oxidants, reducing free radicals and the impact of exposure to UV radiation. It is a good thing that both are present together, as Vitamin C and E enhance each other’s effect.
Niacinamide is an excellent skincare ingredient. It has a long track record of safety, is non-irritating, and importantly, does not interfere directly with the synthesis of melanin. Melanin is the pigment that is primarily responsible for our skin colour (see also What gives our skin its colour?)
Instead, Niacinamide reduces the amount of melanin being transferred to the epidermis (the topmost layer of our skin). By default, this means lighter skin.
(Q3) Strategy for skin lightening?
One of the immediate body responses to over-exposure to UV radiation is that our body produces more melanin. More melanin results in tanning and darkening of skin complexion. The purpose of the sunscreen ingredients is to prevent this cascade of events caused by UVR exposure. This day cream aims to do this by having sunscreen filters, Octinoxate, Titanium Dioxide, and Avobenzone.
Would I buy this product again?
I am not OK with the parabens, so that means I wouldn’t use this cream. If you are OK with parabens, then definitely this will give you skin lightening.
I would stress that after about 4 weeks, you may not see any difference in your complexion, despite continuous use of this product.
This would be consistent with studies that show the impact of Niacinamide in topical treatments plateaus after 4 weeks. This is by no means unique to only Niacinamide, but also applies to other skin lighteners (e.g.) retinoids.
For further information, please see Niacinamide as a skin lightener.
If you do plan use to use this product, please absolutely use a separate sunscreen product with at least an SPF 30 and that protects your skin against both UVA and UVB.
See also Top 5 sunscreen recommendations
****
COPYRIGHT
I wish to remind some of you that I am a non-affiliated skincare blogger. I invest my time, money, blood, sweat, and tears in creating content for my blog. My blog is read in multiple countries and according to my lawyer, each of those countries protects my content and rights under copyright law. If you would like to use my content, do the right thing, and write to me at email@happyskindays.com. Don’t be that person who steals content, because it’s arrogant, disrespectful, and ultimately, a crime.