UPDATE: Hydroquinone Q&A
About a month ago, I started my hydroquinone treatment. As you know, I got rid of my acne thanks to regular use of retinoids, but unfortunately, I'm left with too many scars that retin-a/differin sadly couldn't get rid of. They are so stubborn and I blame myself for this because I never stopped picking at my acne.
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Procelain Skin Whitening Serum (Hydroquinone, Kojic Acid, Glycolic Acid, Vitamin C, Licorice Mulberry Extract) for Melasma and Hyperpigmentation |
So, I started using a topical hydroquinone 4% cream despite the risks that I heard of, in order to lighten my scars and overall skin tone. I decided to try this product not because I was recommended to do so but because I've seen how it worked on my mother's face. Mom has a naturally darker skin tone than mine and last year, I started noticing how her skin got fairer. I asked her about her secret and she said that she's using that cream which was recommended by her dermatologist for her melasma hyperpigmentation.
I did some research and I found out that it can be also used for acne scars and other hyperpigmentation conditions.
Well, using hydroquinone requires persistence. I use it twice a day. I wash my face in the morning and I apply a thin layer of it, wait for a few minutes then I apply my sunscreen and makeup. It's extremely important to use sunscreen and reapply throughout the day. You definitely cannot get rid of hyperpigmentation without sun protection.
At night, I wash my skin again and I apply a thin layer of hydroquinone, combined with my retinoid (for the moment, I switched to differin because it's more gentle and effective than Retin-A) . The role of the retinoid is not only to prevent acne from coming back again, but it also helps in the dehyperpigmentation process, since it's an exfoliant and it speeds up the skin cell turnover, hence making hydroquinone even more effective.
So far, I've seen an improvement (well not a major improvement as I expected) and I'm going to stick with it just like I did with retinoids to clear up my acne. That's something I learned with experience. Acne (and acne scars as well) are not easy to get rid of. There is no product out there that can treat it overnight. For me, over-the-counter creams work fine. When I started using Tretinoin (Retin-A), I never thought it would work and almost never felt it was working before 2 months. Hence, I decided to keep on using the Hydroquinone+Retinoid combination for at least 3 months before I decide whether it works or not.
So, there will be an update of this post within the upcoming months. stay tuned ;)