Let's face it, if you want to lighten you skin-tone or even out heavily pigmented areas, a natural skin lightener is your best choice. Most of the products on the market are irritating and can be damaging to your skin's health, as well as to your appearance. There are specific ingredients to avoid and others to look for. Here's the short list.

Hydroquinone is the most popular ingredient for lightening creams manufactured and sold in the United States. In other countries, the use of this ingredient has been banned in cosmetics, because of an increased cancer risk. It can also cause allergic reactions that result in the appearance of dark bumps all over your face or wherever you apply the cream.

People try these kinds of creams because they want to look better, not worse. If cosmetic companies cared about consumers' health, they would not include these hazardous compounds.

The base cream that is used to provide the lightening ingredient is also important. Most companies use petrolatum, because it is inexpensive and believed to be inert. In other words, they don't believe that it will cause adverse reactions.

The best natural skin lightener does not include petrolatum, because it clogs the pores and interferes in the processes that allow your skin to rid itself of toxins and produce new cells. A better idea is to include ingredients that stimulate the production of new cells. With a faster rate of turnover in the skin's outer cells, you will see results more quickly.

You see, the cause of pigmentation, tanning or other changes in tone is typically melanin. Melanin production increases when you are exposed to UV radiation from the sun. It provides protection from future burning and from free radical damage that can lead to cancer. Most of us call it a "tan".

For those people that spend a great deal of time outdoors, caution must be used when you attempt to lighten your tone, even if you choose an all natural skin lightener. As it begins to work, you will be more likely to burn and UV rays penetrate more deeply. The regular use of a broad spectrum sun-block, preferably with zinc oxide as the active ingredient, is recommended.

A natural skin lightener called EXTRAPONE Nut-Grass works by inhibiting melanin production. The ingredient that speeds up the process is called SYNERGY TK. SYNERGY TK has been shown in clinical studies to increase cellular production by over 100% in as little as three days. EXTRAPONE has been shown to inhibit melanin production by over 40%.

Bottom line, neither of these ingredients is designed to bleach the cells that you currently see on your face. They increase the production of new cells and inhibit the melanin that would cause those cells to have a darker tone. It's kind of like what happens when a person avoids sunlight for an extended period of time. The darker cells on the surface gradually slough off and are replaced by new, lighter ones. That's how a natural skin lightener works, in a nut-shell.

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