I will be applying this test
Q1) Are harmful chemicals present?
Yes. The product has Butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), Parabens and Methylisothiazolinone.
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).
Methylisothiazolinone: I am going with the EU, which bans MI from leave-on cosmetic products based on actual clinical data that it is a contact allergen that can at the very minimum, cause allergic contact dermatitis. (See also: Methylisothiazolinone)
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?
Yes, these are Niacinamide (15th ingredient), Liquorice (17th) and Mulberry (18th). Regulation requires that ingredients are put in descending order of concentration – so water which is invariably the largest ingredient can be 50% or more of a product. Ingredients with concentration less than 1% can be listed in any order.
Its safe to assume that given how low the skin lightening ingredients appear, that there is not much of them in this product.
Q3) Strategy for skin lightening
Prominent photos of a mulberry and liquorice – make you think this product is relying on those two ingredients for skin lightening. But what is likely is that its relying on the cheaper ingredient, Niacinamide which is an excellent skin lightener.
The problem with this product is the quantity of skin lighteners is too little to make a difference to typical Indian complexions.
Closing
VLCC is an extremely popular brand. This does not surprise me. It’s a massively cheap, mass market brand.
That doesn’t mean it makes decent products. In fact I would argue they make products that have excellent marketing but are hollow on the inside.
This whitening cream is a prime example of this.
I will not be using it.