Harmful Effects of Anti-Tanning Creams

The color of our skin is determined by a number of factors. Genetic disposition as well as the prevalent climatic conditions have a hand in it. The amount of the melanin pigment is actually responsible for our appearance. However, the concept of beauty changes with time. A tanned skin is  the most coveted complexion of late. But getting too deeply tanned so that you appear almost dark is not desirable either.

The dark skinned people too admire the light and fair skin tone and hope to grow fairer by the day. The most easy way out is to resort to chemicals. There are as many skin creams to keep you fair as are the creams which help your skin to attain a darker hue. Let us now see if it is a good idea to achieve fairness by applying chemicals to your skin.

Most of such creams and lotions have a good amount of sunscreen in them. These help to prevent the tanning of the skin when exposed to the brilliant sunshine for long hours at a time. A few of the creams may also contain bleaching agents in addition to the sun block.

However, care must be taken to see that the bleaching agents do not increase by more than3-4 percent. Excessive amount of bleach has an adverse effect on the skin causing irritation, itching, blister formation which is painful as well.

Tanning of the skin can be reversed successfully by application of  hydroquinolone either by itself or in combination with tretinoin. Fairness creams which have a large market in the Middle East as well as other countries of the Orient often contain both these ingredients.

Higher concentrations of these chemicals are extremely dangerous and have been found to cause cancer as well as birth defects when experimented on mice. Some countries around the world have banned the use of these chemicals in skin creams.

Natural products containing herbal ingredients are not foolproof either. A lot of the so called natural products contain heavy metals like mercury which can accumulate deep underneath the skin causing metal poisoning symptoms leading to liver and kidney damage later on in life.

It is therefore important to remember that a healthy diet and regular exercise will help you achieve a radiantly glowing skin which is certainly worth much more than hankering to be white as a lily with the aid of harmful chemicals.