Top 10 Skin Lightening Creams That Are Also Skin-Safe | SkinMentor

Skin lightening, also referred to as skin whitening & complexion improvement, is when a chemical substance or formula is used to lighten the skin and / or even out the color by deliberately reducing the melanin (a pigment that gives human skin, hair, and eyes their color) in the human skin. While numerous chemicals & formulas in skin lightening creams have proven effective, right there several have been deemed toxic and dangerous for the skin and were even banned in many countries — including the U.S. 

What are the danger and risks of skin lightening creams? For starters, skin irritation, burning, thinning of the skin, natural immune system depression, confetti-like depigmentation disease, and the endangerment of the unwanted fetus’s development and the risks of child’s health in pregnant women. Luckily, there are also skin bleaching creams that are deemed safe for everyone. You can even find a professional dermatologist-recommended skin lightening cream easily that’s not prescription-based.

What are the Best Skin Care Products in 2022?

However, it’s crucial to differentiate the good from the proven potentially harmful skin-lightening products. Not sure where to begin for skincare products? No problem. Here at the SkinMentor, we’ve reviewed hundreds of beauty and skin products with a scientific lens to ensure that you’re creating a skincare regimen that’s safe and effective for your skin. There are, nine of the best skin whitening creams review to help you safely fade discoloration.

Best Skin Brightening Creams: The Review List 

Carrot & Stick Brightening Spot Treatment, Price: $30

Deep Science Targeted Dark Spot Serum, Price: $60

Formulyst Dark Spot Solutions, Price: $79

Meladerm Skin Lightening/Whitening Cream, Price: $49.99

Skinceuticals Advanced Pigment Corrector, Price: $92

Clinique Even Better Clinical Skin Tone Correcting Moisturizer Broad Spectrum SPF 20, Price: $54

Dr. Barbara Sturm Brightening Face Cream, Price: $230

Neostrata Pigment Controller, Price: $74

Shiseido White Lucent Brightening Gel Cream, Price: $70

NEOCUTIS Nouvelle+ Retinol Correction Cream, Price: $150

Drunk Elephant A-Passioni Retinol Cream, Price: $74

How to Choose the Best Whitening Creams?

Back in 2021, Business Insider reported that big companies like Unilever, Johnson & Johnson, and L’Oreal are pulling out their skin-lightening products from Carrefour shelves and removing terms like “whitening.” This action could very well be a result that there’s a massive movement across the skin & beauty industry – at least, the OTC (over-the-counter products) one. Given the global reach to the consumers of these companies, these efforts are for setting essential precedents to fight racism and discrimination across the beauty industry. Even so, the world's skin-lightening products market is still expected to reach 8011.17 million by 2026.

SkinMentor's list of the best skin whitening creams (or best skin brightening creams) in market is not related to cultural, commercial or social influences. Instead, these are super products for those who are looking for a safe and economical alternative to prescription creams with potentially dangerous ingredients in them (think hydroquinone, mercury, glutathione, cysteamine, etc.) in order to address discoloration issues caused by excessive sun exposures, hormonal changes in body, and natural aging process. Our research based list of the best skin whitening creams in market (or best skin brightening creams) is not related to cultural, commercial or social influences.

Spot Treatment Versus Dedicated All Over Cream

What’s your goal for your skin care? Are you looking to just lighten a few sunspots that have popped up with growing age? In that case, a simple skin bleaching spot treatment will do. However, if you fear more visible signs of discoloration due to excessive sunlight exposure or hormonal shifts in the body, you’ll wish to reach for an overall skin brightening and lightening cream. 

Related: Best Skin Whitening Creams For Face & Body 2022: Review

Best Skin Lightening Cream Ingredients

Safe skin lightening creams do exist across the globe. Look for skin products formulated with the following ingredients. 

• Retinol
  For brown spots that give the skin an unnatural tone, retinoids slough off visible brown spots that give the skin an uneven tone during curbing the production of melanin, a darker pigment. However, retinol doesn’t comes without side effects such as skin peeling and dryness. If you find a skin-lightening cream in market that’s also formulated with additional nourishing and hydrating ingredients like hyaluronic acid in it, niacinamide, and ceramides, you can counterbalance irritation and side effects.

• Vitamin C
  While vitamin C is a safe & natural skin-lightening (and brightening) ingredient, it’s also used as an anti-aging powerhouse that provides potent antioxidant protection for skin, builds collagen, and helps soften the fine lines and wrinkles.

• Kojic Acid
  While this ingredient can cause contact dermatitis if you get high doses (1-2%), it’s still considered to be a natural skin lightener (also graded as a by-product of malted rice) that stops the production of an enzyme considered to be necessary for melanin production.

• Niacinamide
  AKA, pro-vitamin B3, niacinamide fights acne on the skin, balances oil, calms inflammation caused by dust, boosts ceramides, fights free radicals, and (of course) lightens the skin.

• Azelaic Acid
  

  Azelaic acid has the same pH level as your skin contains (5.5). Along with skin lightening, it’s excellent for calming chronic redness caused by itching (especially for chronic skin conditions like rosacea) and evening out the skin tone for natural look.

• Alpha-Arbutin
  Derived from the bearberry plants, when used in a 1-2% concentration, alpha-arbutin ingredient can be one of the most worthwhile natural skin lighteners. It works similarly to kojic acid mentioned above by inhibiting tyrosinase enzymes.

• Glycolic Acid
  While you may know glycolic acid as a powerful exfoliant for the skin, you may not know that it’s also an efficient skin lightener. It works to impede & helpful for melanin production because of the increased cell turnover rate in it. It can even boost the results of other qualitative natural skin lighteners, like kojic acid, for example.

• Licorice Extract
  This power-packed essential extract contains a bevy of actives, some of which hamper tyrosinase activity, while other extract have their own signature lightning abilities.

• Glutathione
  There’s still not much useful research on how well glutathione robust antioxidant works on its own, so it’s best when used with a product having a blend of natural skin lighteners — just like kojic acid, for example.

• Paper Mulberry
  This natural skin lightener & brightener is a bit more new to the beauty industry. Still, some researchers find that it may be become even more effective as compared to dangerous hydroquinone — accordingly bonus points for protecting against free radical damage.

• Linoleic Acid
  Linoleic acid works similarly to glycolic acid which speeds up cell turnover rate in the skin, but it may also curtail production of melanin directly. You may not know, but linoleic acid extracted from natural plant oils such as evening primrose, rosehip plant, and grapeseed oils.

Consider How Long It Takes to See Results on Skin

While OTC skin brightening products don’t contains the dangers of skin-lightening creams generally that a doctor prescribes, they take longer to respond because they’re not as strong. Prescription based skin-lightening creams begin to work in days, but these products usually takes about a month to notice an appreciable change or reduction in pigment.

Products which are formulated with natural and evidence-based quality ingredients such as those mentioned below are still effective (and safer) as compared to others. Still, it takes around a couple of months or more to start to see visible results. 

If you have severe skin pigmentation issues and are not noticing results from an OTC products, speak to a dermatologist about your skin treatment options. Laser resurfacing, skin peels, and microdermabrasion may help treat discoloration if you don’t want to try the prescription cream route. 

Remember, no matter which type of brightening cream or treatment option you choose for you, consistency is vital to achieving optimal results in this matter. 

How to Apply a Skin Lightening Cream Accurately?

Potent prescription-strength skin lightening creams are generally applied at night and only in the skin areas where there’s discoloration is noticed. The same can be said for skin spot treatments — even over-the-counter formulas available. 

But SkinMentor's list of the best skin whitening creams also includes quality moisturizers to take the guesswork out of the application process for testers. As a general rule, sunscreen by day (the ultimate skin discoloration cure and anti-aging product) and skin lightening cream or corrector by night. 

1. Thoroughly cleanse your skin and remove all traces of makeup in there. 
2. Apply your suitable serum. If you’re using multiple treatments at a time, apply lightest to heaviest.
3. Wait 2-3 minutes for your serum to fully absorb in the skin.
4. Since moisturizers and creams penetrate in the skin more efficiently when they are applied to damp skin, mist your face with floral water or a soothing toner first. 
5. Using clean fingertips, start by dabbing on a minor amount of skin lightening cream on your forehead, chin, cheeks, and neck. Next, use an upward and circular motion with fingers and palm to massage the cream until absorbed into your skin.

If you’re using a skin lightening cream that’s not a moisturizer or is a prescription based, follow the instructions on the package given and make sure you understand the application instructions correctly administered by your doctor. As with any new product introduced to your shelve, conduct a patch test first before full application — even if it’s over-the-counter product — especially if you have sensitive skin. 

Related: Best Face Moisturizers

The Best Skin Lightening Creams [Recommendation]

We’re not going to tell you who or why you must use a skin-lightening cream. However, if you want to overcome melasma (aka mask after pregnancy) or those unwanted sunspots you got from one repeatedly unprotected beach vacations in Mexico sea, here are some of the best skin-safe lightening creams available you can try.