I will be applying this test:
Q1) Are there harmful chemicals contained in this product?
Some of the harmful chemicals I look for include BHT (Butylated hydroxytoluene) and parabens. This contains BHT, methyl- and propyl- paraben.
BHT – is a preservative and it’s the policy of this blog to avoid products containing BHT. David Suzuki’s excellent explanation 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). Other manufacturers manage to avoid parabens, so I don’t see why any manufacturer needs to use them (See also Chemicals to Avoid – Parabens).
If you are completely fine with using whitening cream with harmful chemicals, then I respect your prerogative to do so. Please continue reading.
Q2) Are skin lighteners present? (Q3) What is the product’s strategy for skin lightening?
The product has only one skin lightener, Niacinamide.
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 production 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.
Niacinamide achieves this by downregulating the transfer of melanosomes from melanocytes to keratinocytes by 35% – 68%. The epidermis contains mainly keratinocytes.
Despite the excellence of Niacinamide as a SLI, it has to be present in sufficient quantity.
In this product, Niacinamide is the 12th ingredient. Its quantity is most certainly less than 1%. I don’t this is sufficient to provide meaningful skin lightening.
The presence of sunscreen filters…
Like other skin lightening products, this product also has sunscreen filters.
Sunscreen filters are a good thing to have in a skin whitening product. This is because 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. The sunscreen filters present are: Avobenzone, Octocrylene, Octinoxate and Titanium Dioxide.
I note that this sunscreen filter combination is not photostable – it will breakdown….how useful is it to have here? Your guess is as good as mine.
Closing remarks
I don’t like this product because it contains harmful chemicals (parabens and BHT).
Even if I were OK with this, it appears to have an insufficient amount of Niacinamide to be an effective skin whitener.
If you do plan use to use this product, please absolutely use a separate sunscreen product. You cannot rely on the protection offered by this product – it is simply insufficient AND photounstable…
****
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.