Using Hydroquinone 4% To Lighten Skin
Is Using Hydroquinone Safe or Dangerous?
Using Hydroquinone 4% or HQ4 to gradually lighten skin had always been a hot topic – there are those who say it’s totally unsafe, and there are those who swear by their HQ. I think the best way to make a decision is to be informed. I’m going to lay out the facts about HQ and hopefully it will make you make an informed decision about whether or not to use Hydroquinone.
Sammy Sosa Before and After Skin Bleaching.
Hydroquinone Facts:
Fact 1: Hydroquinone 4% is SAFE to use and is Non-Cancerous
HQ 4% might cause redness or irritation, but only if you are allergic to it. There will always be someone who is allergic to HQ, just like there will always be someone allergic to aspirin, or nut products or even the sweat that their own body produces (me). Taken from Dr. Susan Taylor in her book Brown Skin.
The application of Hydroquinone on skin is in standard product concentrations is NOT harmful to humans. The use of hydroquinone in murine (mice) led to an actual decrease in murine hepatocellular carcinomas (cancerous liver tumors) but an increase in hepatic adenomas (benign liver tumors), suggesting protective effects of hydroquinone. The report also states that murine renal (kidney) tumors caused by use of hydroquinone do not appear relevant to humans after decades of widespread use, and murine leukemia has not been reproducible and would not be expected from small topical doses in humans as well. Taken from Dr.Jacob Levitt M.D, 2006 Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology,
There are over 100 scientific articles confirming topical Hydroquinone is safe for humans and no independent studies have proven otherwise. Taken from Dr. David J. Goldberg, clinical professor of dermatology at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine.
Fact 2: Most reported cases of so-called Hydroquinone horror stories are usually caused by human error.
The safest dose of hydroquinone is at 4% applied topically. Some users, in a desperate attempt to make themselves fairer, use dosages of up to 20% hydroquinone. This would of course cause a skin reaction.
There are people who would actually experience skin darkening when using HQ. This could be due sun exposure on areas exposed to HQ. If you are going to lighten your skin 4-5 shades lighter with HQ, you would need to protect your skin with at least an SPF50 at all times, and minimize sun exposure. This is a fact. If you don’t think you can avoid the sun and use sun protection religiously, don’t use HQ.
In some places, unscrupulous sellers would add mercury and steroids to HQ, without putting in on the label (if there is one). When victims suffer from a toxic reaction to these poisons, they would of course blame HQ. It is extremely important to get Hydroquinone from reputable sources only.
Anyway, I am neither an advocate or opponent of skin whitening. Some people like to tan, some people like to get lighter. It’s a personal choice. But whatever your preference is – safety should be your no.1 concern.
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