Finally, an Alternative to Hydroquinone for Skin Whitening

Want to reduce wrinkles but don't want to use hydroquinone to do it? Well, there are some natural solutions to removing wrinkles, making those age spots disappear and making your skin even. All this said, your best results will still come from beauty products containing hydroquinone. This can be an issue for you if you live outside the United States; it is illegal everywhere else. . And even if you can get hydroquinone, there are studies that suggest that it could cause cancer..

So, what are your options?

Alpha Arbutin is a natural derivative of hydroquinone. In other words, it does the same thing as prescription strength hydroquinone and should there be used with the same care. Both bleaching agents work because they inhibit melanin from producing pigment. Other natural bleaching agents that do the same thing include bearberry and blueberry extract. Both are natural alternatives to hydroquinone because they essentially are watered down versions of the chemical.

Alpha Arbutin is not known as well as its other "arbutin" cousin, beta arbutin. But in recent tests, researchers have found that the ingredients found in this "weed" is the most natural way to treat skin to make skin tone "even", for reducing age spots and for overall skin bleaching. In fact, Alpha Arbutin beat out all other natural methods such as glycolic acid and salicylic acid. And as far as other natural skin whitening herbal ingredients, A-A out performed them all. In study after study, Alpha arbutin was found to be over 20x more effective than any other bleaching ingredient other than hydroquinone.

What does this mean to you, the consumer?

While Alpha Arbutin is not as effective as hydroquinone, it is less risky and with fewer side effects. Plus, it outperforms other bleaching agents for everything from treating freckles to sun and age spots as well as melasma. The jury is still out in terms of whether this alternative to hydroquinone can cause cancer.

The downside to alpha arbutin is that it is very expensive to manufacture and therefore the expense is transferred to you, the consumer. Expect to pay as much as $100 although there are some whitening beauty products online that contain smaller traces of this bleaching ingredient for much less.