Difference between Skin Brightening, Lightening, and Whitening

Fair, glowing, clear, and flawless complexion is the dream of many but prolonged sun exposure, medications, medical conditions, improper skin care, pollution, and maybe stress make your skin dark, dull, pigmented with small bumps, and could even leave dark spots and uneven skin tone. To overcome this, people use cosmetic products, that are chemical based and harm their skin in the long run. There are a lot of products available in the market that claims to whiten, lighten or brighten the skin. But there’s a lot of confusion about what to choose and what not to so that you can treat the concern like skin brightening, skin lightening, or skin whitening. So, to teach you to opt for the products your skin will love and avoid products with nastier chemicals that damage your delicate skin, let's shed some light on the difference between these terms: -

1. Skin Whitening:

   Whitening the skin or whitening cream means that products are referred to lighten the darker skin tone by reducing the concentration of melanin in your skin. The product claims that it leads to skin whitening, which means that the product is passed through chemical procedures and processes. It will reduce the melanin in your skin by disturbing the natural balance in the skin. Usage of these products can lead to sensitivity of the skin that makes it prone to cellular damage. The results, in the long run, can be dangerous because we are compromising the natural function of the skin.
   Skin whitening products include hydroquinone and are steroidal, which are not safe to use for a long time. This can lead to the thinning of the skin, which makes the skin very sensitive to the external environment.

2. Skin Lightening:

   Skin lightening, should not be misunderstood as lightening or changing one’s skin color. It is a procedure that aims to lighten imperfections of skin and give it a clearer appearance. The process is to reduce and improves the appearance of pigmentation, dark spots, hyperpigmentation, acne scars, melasma, and discoloration of the skin. Some people even try to use skin lightening creams to prevent future pigmentation as they find it easier to prevent it before time.
   The ingredients use in skin lightening creams are Hydroquinone, Kojic acid, Tranexamic acid, Alpha Arbutin, etc. These ingredients are demelanizing agents that reduce the activity of melanocyte tyrosinase thereby treating melasma, PIE, UV-induced hyperpigmentation, and other post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation for clear and problem-free skin. One should always consult a dermatologist before using any skin lightening treatment.

3. Skin Brightening:

   Brightening the skin means that this process is gentler to skin that fades marks, dullness and targets the skin damage that occurred in a specific area to heal your skin, to even out the skin tone, and provide nourishment to it. Products claiming that they are meant to brighten the skin tone are infused with good and skin-loving active or plant-based ingredients that regenerate the damaged cells and focus to restore new skin cells by replacing the damaged skin cells. Brightening is more about restoring glow of the skin by making it nourished, problem free and healthy. Making skin brightening, a part of your daily skincare routine will show effective results.
   Skin brightening ingredients are Vitamin C, Alpha Hydroxy Acids, Beta Hydroxy Acids, Retinol, Hyaluronic acid, and Niacinamide. These ingredients maintain hydration, repair skin barriers, increase water content in the skin cells, eliminate the build-up of dead skin cells, and keep your skin protected from environmental damage so that you get a healthy, brighter, and younger-looking complexion.

So, be mindful of these differences, and make the right choice when it comes to taking care of your skin!

Just remember, sunscreen is a must, coming in direct contact with the UV rays of the sun can increase the melanin content in your skin which will increase dullness and reduce the glow and brightness of the skin. Also, it will lead to hyperpigmentation, melasma, and dark spots. Do not skip sunscreen, no matter what your skincare routine is!

Fixderma's recommendations:

Skin Lightening creams: Skarfix-TX, Skarfix-Plus, Epifager Range

Skin Brightening: Vitamin C serum, Age reverse serum, Reticuram serum and “C” Enhance-25 Serum

Sunscreen: Shadow sunscreen