HOW TO LIGHTEN SKIN NATURALLY

1.Avoid too much sunlight exposure. When you expose you skin to UVA and UVB radiations from the sun, it triggers production of melanin a substance that darkens your skin. The best way is to wear sunscreen every time you get to the sun. Putting on a hat and long sleeved clothing and sunglasses is recommended while walking on the sun.

2. Exfoliate your skin to remove the dead layer of cells. Try to wash your face regularly during the day to remove dirt, bacteria and oil form your skin. 3.Apply moisturizer after the exfoliation. Organic beeswax is the best . Virgin coconut oil, olive oil are also naturally awesome moisturizers. These also helps in treatment and prevention of skin blemishes such as freckles, spots and wrinkles.

4. Have a healthy diet. Take sufficient amount of water as well eating a balanced diet which include food substances like Grape seed oil and fish oil due to their antioxidant property. Omega 3 in Fish oil is also essential for hair, skin and nails glowing.Fruits should be mandatory since they supply the body with vitamins such as A, C & E. They help in formation of collagen and elastin fiber hence making the skin appear soft and smooth. Water is an essential element in the body since it helps in flushing out toxins. Taking sufficient amount keeps your body hydrated and hence a soft beautiful fair skin.

5. Avoid smoking and abuse of drugs. These habits cause not only aging of the skin but also drying and formation of wrinkles. Even if you apply the most effective skin lightening cream and you don’t stop smoking, there are chances that results will not show up effectively. Therefore quit smoking is the best move on how to lighten skin.

HARMFUL HYDROQUINONE IN WHITENING CREAM

Hydroquinone is usually prescribed by a physician and can only be found in special pharmacies . This agent is applied to small areas individually but cannot be used to be applied to the whole body at once and in some cases, some areas will lighten more than others. It is also important to note that permanent lightening of the skin is a medical procedure that is reserved for patients with a need for that procedure. The problem that comes with this administration of hydroquinone, is that, it gets rid of melanin which is important. This procedure should be strictly be done by a doctor as many of the products offered over the counter may be unsafe or even toxic and can damage the skin in the long run. WHAT IS MELANIN ? Melanin is a complex polymer derived from the amino acid tyrosine. Melanin is responsible for determining skin and hair colour and is present in the skin to varying degrees. Dermatologists do not offer skin lightening solutions for cosmetic reasons as it increases the risk of cancer. Always share your skin problems you may be having with a dermatologist as they can inform you of any safe options that are available to lighten the skin and also offer counselling. There are huge consequences, if hydroquinone is used in higher doses than 2% or over three months of usage, there is a probability that prolonged use may lead to pretty negative results or even the paradoxical ones, there has been reports of development of exogenous ochronosis, that is the darkening of the skin permanently that is equally resistant to medications of all sorts. Overuse of this skin lighteners can cause the pigmentation to build up in the extremities like the fingers, toes and ears causing them to look mismatched.

HARMFUL EFFECTS OF MERCURY IN WHITENING CREAM

A typical store in an Asian or Middle Eastern country will contain a whole section dedicated to fairness creams — creams that promise to lighten and brighten the skin tone. But the millions of people using it are unaware of the dangers they face by slathering on the chemical gunk onto their face.

Research suggests that these creams contain the toxic metal mercury, and they affect not only the users but even those around them. At a meeting organized Wednesday at the 248th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS), scientists spoke about the high risk groups affected by these creams and a method of faster identification of these toxic creams. "In the U.S., the limit on mercury in products is 1 part per million," said Dr. Gordon Vrdoljak, of the California Department of Public Health in a statement. "In some of these creams, we've been finding levels as high as 210,000 parts per million — really substantial amounts of mercury. If people are using the product quite regularly, their hands will exude it, it will get in their food, on their countertops, on the sheets their kids sleep on." Although mercury as an active ingredient does lighten skin tone and reduce dark spots, it comes with a host of associated side effects. Research conducted on mice showed that a top fairness brand affected the kidneys, liver, and brain of female mice. Other reports have suggested that the metal can cause lower cognitive functioning, kidney damage, headaches, fatigue, hand tremors, depression, and other symptoms in users. The U.S. government recognizes this and hence has set a threshold value for the amount of mercury used in products or has banned it altogether. But these creams still find their way into several households. These are brought in as exports by people traveling to the U.S. from countries in Asia, Central America, the Middle East, and Africa, where there is a huge market for fairness creams. They then distribute the creams to friends and family, or sell them in ethnic grocery stores, where they are difficult to track, says Vrdoljak. Earlier identifying mercury content in products was also a cumbersome process, says Vrdoljak. But a new screening method called total reflection X-ray fluorescence can identify toxic products quickly and as efficiently the previous methods. And with this method the team can quickly identify sources of mercury poisoning and help those affected much faster than before. "Testing one product using the old technique could take days," he said. "Using the new instrument, I can run through 20 or 30 samples in a day quite easily. By identifying those products that contain mercury, we can direct people to remove them and clean up their households." Typically when cream-users start experiencing symptoms like hand-shaking and headaches, they visit their doctors and are recommended urine tests. The urine analysis identifies high levels of mercury present in the body. In such cases, Vrdoljak and his team are contacted and they do a thorough analysis of all the products in the patient’s home to root out the products that contain mercury. Their work has led to the banning of two products last year. But often the brand cannot be identified, as the creams come in unmarked containers. "In the U.S., it's hard to gauge how much of these products are being used," Vrdoljak said. "But at least with this new technique, we can identify them much faster and help more people than before." REFERENCE: Vrdoljak G, et al. 248th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society. 2014.

HOW TO USE ESSENTIAL OILS? / CARA MENGGUNAKAN ESSENTIAL OILS

Essential oils can be incorporated easily into our daily lives. They can be used in soaps, candles, massage oil, creams and lotions. In these instances, essential oils are used for its healing benefits. Essential oils rejuvenate tired souls... The next time you're tired , try put a few drops of lemon essential oil or lavender essential in carrier oil ,such as sweet almond, grapeseed oil or virgin coconut oil and give yourself a massage on the forehead and neck area, or if you're lucky , ask your loved ones to do it for you .... emmmm....

WHAT ARE ESSENTIAL OILS ?

I LOVE essential oils, eversince i was a little girl , i have always been fascinated by essential oils. Especially since my dear dad, loves to put "attar" on himself... "tons of it". hehehee But , what are they really ? My standard reference for essential oil is the "Book of Sufi Healing" by Shaykh Hakim Moinuddin Chishti,an American , who converted into Islam in Afghanistan in the 70's and became a Tabib - a natural healer based on the traditional healing system of Ibn Sinna ( Avicenna). A copy of the book should still be available at Amazon.com. "The science of aromatherapy is based upon the preeminence of the sense of smell. Each flower of nature has its own ruh, or essence. A pure, natural floral oil may be used for its antiseptic effect on a wound. The Sufis have classified flowers according to their effect upon the soul in its evolution toward God." an excerpt from the book. Thus, essential oil is the essence of the flower/plant and that is why it will stimulate the senses deep within us, reaching our souls when we smell it... and that is why essential oils have been used for healing for hundreds of years. In the 10th century, Arabic physician Avicenna left us valuable written documents describing 800 plants and their effects on the human body. He is also credited with the development of the distillation process for essential oils. n the 12th century, the "Fragrances of Arabia" - in other words, essential oils - became famous in Europe. In the 16th century, there were comprehensive plant catalogs and anyone who could read had access to recipes for oils, perfumed waters and other methods of treating plants. The fragrances are stored in different parts of the plant. The most precious and captivating are the petal oils such as rose, jasmine and Ylang Ylang. You also find them in the leaves as is the case with sage or thyme, in the roots as with vetiver, in the seeds as with angelica, in the wood such as sandalwood, in the bark as with cinnamon, in the resin as with myrrh, or in the outer skin of the fruit as with lemon and orange. The Malays have been using essential oils as part of natural healing too, but most of this knowledge is passed on to the next generation through word of mouth. The Malays are synonym with "mandi bunga", meaning floral bath. Normally , 7 types of fragrant flowers and limes are used and in some instances, 40 different types of flowers were used. "Mandi bunga" has been used to eliminate negative energy and to enhance and strengthened the positive energy.

The most common way of extracting them is through distillation with steam. This process doesn't only deliver the best, purest products, it also achieves its goal in relatively easy and inexpensive fashion. In some cases, distillation does not achieve its desired success. This happens when the high temperature of the steam destroys sensitive odorants or the amount of the oil contained in the distilled materials is relatively small. Petals are often not suitable for steam distillation. In order to produce the odorants, other processes are used that involve the use of volatile solvents (such as hexane or, more recently, carbon dioxide) or fat to extract the essential oils, or they can be absorbed into fat. The precise method depends on which plant is involved. Extraction with solvents is generally employed for mimosa or vanilla, while jasmine and tuberose are produced by means of enfleurage.

HARMFUL CHEMICALS IN PERSONAL CARE PRODUCTS

Most chemicals are added to cosmetic product in the form of preservatives and fragrances to increase the shelf life of the product and to have a good odour and appearance to the users. Preservatives, the usual term for biocides used in cosmetics, are chemical compounds added to prevent the growth of microorganisms. They are intended to be added to clean products to prevent contamination by consumers while in use. They are not intended to make up for poor production hygiene or the use of contaminated raw materials and should not be used to treat contaminated products. The most common preservative used is paraben (i.e. methylparaben, ethylparaben, propylparaben, butylparaben) and formaldehyde releaser (i.e. quaternium - 15, Dimethylol dimethyl hydantoin, imidazolidinyl urea, diazolidinyl urea). Parabens are the most common preservatives in the cosmetic especially on cream-based products. Cream basically consists of emulsions of water and oil, where water containing cosmetics are more prone to microbial contamination. Paraben is antimicrobial mixture which prevent the microbial activity in cosmetic creams. A mixture of paraben with other classes of preservatives offer powerful antimicrobial activity against an extremely broad spectrum of microorganism. Safety of the cosmetics has become the major concern. Group of fragrances, preservatives, synthetic antioxidants, carriers, ultraviolet absorbers, humectants, emollients, emulsifiers, acrylates, hair dyes, and nail polish components are the most common ingredients in cosmetics. These additive chemicals are sometimes hazardous and prohibited due to the health risk it possess. Adverse reaction to beauty products are common reason a consumer was referred to hospital. Most chemicals are added to cosmetic product in the form of preservatives and fragrances. Some of the preservatives and fragrance are toxic and prohibited from the usage as ingredients because it can cause cancer, mutation, reproductive toxicity, and endocrine disruption. Heavy metals are also incorporated to beauty product for many purposes. The toxicity of heavy metals is well documented. At low concentration, some of these elements can cause damage to the internal body organ of animals and humans. Metal poisoning was reported to cause various mammalian cancers, respiratory diseases, failures in organ function and intellectual retardation. So, as consumers we must make an intelligent choice by buying products that are safe, natural and organic, because health is WEALTH.

REFERENCE : Hazardous Ingredients in Cosmetics and Personal Care Products and Health Concern: A Review Siti Zulaikha R., Sharifah Norkhadijah S. I.*, Praveena S. M. Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Selangor,Malaysia.Public Health Research 2015, 5(1): 7-15