Complications of fairness creams

Complications of fairness creams

around the world tremendous amount of fairness creams are produced under different trade names. With the current trend many people tend to use these products irrespective of their sex. But the fairness effect does not come alone. fairness creams do have other complications.
Before we talk about the Complications of fairness creams lets look at the common ingredients of fairness creams.

Hydroquinone
Kojic acid
retinoic acid
Plant extracts
Steroids
mercury salts
Bismuth subnitrate
Hydrogen peroxide
Magnesium peroxide
Zinc peroxide.
Vitamin B3 (niacinamide)
Mixture of US FDA- and EU-approved UV-A and UV-B sunscreens.
Ayurvedic herbs

From this long list chemicals more often associated with complications are Hydroquinone, retinoic acid, Steroids and mercury salts.
Now lets take one by one,

Hydroquinone,




Hydroquinone is a competitive inhibitor of the chemical pathway which proces melanin. This is very effective in whitening but it can give rise to various local and systemic allergies. In some online sources it said the the allergic complications can extend to a life threatening anaphylaxis. Normal fairness creams contain Hydroquinone less than 1%. But there are whitening lotions which are serving theaputic needs which contain hydroquinone 4%. Not only that Hydroquinone sensitize the skin to UV rays and can cause sun burns and photo sensitivity. This is a serious complication of Hydroquinone.


Retinoic acid





This is a vitamin A derivative which promotes cell differentiation. Topical application of this is relatively safe. But Retinoic acid is teratogenic in humans at very low doses. So exposure to Retinoic acid in first 3-5 weeks of pregnancy can cause various complicated fetal malformations.