The "whitening secrets" you've heard of are useless! Check out these 3 tips, they can really whiten your skin, and they're safe!

As the saying goes, a white complexion hides a hundred flaws. Although people’s pursuit of skin color has become more and more diverse, “white” is still the beauty goal pursued by most people.

Whitening enthusiasts have a variety of whitening methods.

There are those who believe in food supplements, drinking lemon juice as water every day; there are those who believe in external supplements, using facial masks and essences all day long; and there are those who believe in prevention, wishing they could wrap themselves like a mummy every time they go out.

So, are these whitening methods useful? What should we do if we want to whiten our skin effectively?

01

Food supplements for whitening are useless

Lemon is definitely the number one whitening food in people’s minds.

Skin whitening enthusiasts think that lemons, which are so sour that they make people grimace, must contain a lot of vitamin C, right? Eating more lemons can increase the intake of VC, which must have a whitening effect.

But, it's a pity. The VC content in lemon is really not high. Every 100g of lemon contains about 25mg of VC, which is really not too much among fruits. After all, even its relative, the sweet orange, has about 50mg of VC per 100g.

Not to mention the jujube, a big source of VC, which contains nearly 250mg of VC per 100g. If you really want to supplement VC, jujube is the best choice!

If you just want to eat lemons, how much is enough?

To achieve the whitening effect, you probably need to supplement 3000mg of VC every day, which is equivalent to hundreds of lemons! Not much, just enough to make you so sour that you can't eat anything.

By the way, you don’t just need to eat it for one day, you need to stick to it for at least 6 weeks...

So are other fruits rich in VC useful? Again, you need to consume enough every day. For high VC players like winter dates, you need to eat several kilograms every day.

Although this way you get enough VC, the sugar intake exceeds the limit, and your wallet can’t take it!

Milk and soy milk, which look white, are also considered by some to have the function of whitening the skin. Obviously, they are useless.

Although it is said that you are what you eat, if eating white foods can make you white, wouldn’t you become darker if you drink Coke every day?

Whether drinking milk or soy milk, the main supplements are protein, water and minerals, etc., which have no effect on whitening. In fact, it is too far-fetched to want to affect our skin through the digestive system. Only by working directly on the skin can there be miraculous effects.

02

Whitening essence, it really works if used correctly

If you want to whiten your skin successfully, you must first understand how "darkness" occurs?

The culprit that makes us darker is melanin, which is produced by our melanocytes.

The entire melanin production process involves not only the raw material - tyrosine, but also the catalyst - tyrosinase. Therefore, if we want to remove melanin from the source, we need to start with the entire melanin production chain.

In addition, melanin needs to be transported into our skin to make us darker, so we can also directly cut off the transportation pathway of melanin so that the "little black spots" cannot reach the skin at all.

Therefore, there are actually three ideas for effective whitening:

①Reduce source synthesis, that is, directly inhibit the formation of melanin.

② Block the transfer in the middle. That is to say, although melanin is formed, we try to prevent it from entering our skin.

③ Accelerate metabolism and get rid of the melanin in our skin as soon as possible, giving us fair and tender skin.

Common ingredients in whitening products such as VC, niacinamide, salicylic acid, etc. all follow this path. For example, VC inhibits the production of melanin. As an antioxidant, it can inhibit the oxidation reaction of melanin production and whiten directly from the source. Niacinamide blocks the transmission of melanin while strengthening the metabolism of the skin, promoting the retirement of darkened skin cells.

However, everyone's skin has different tolerance to ingredients, so when choosing whitening products, you must make reasonable choices based on your skin type and needs.

For example, sensitive skin may suffer from skin redness and swelling if exposed to acids. Although niacinamide is a whitening ingredient suitable for all skin types, it still requires gradual tolerance before large-scale use. Before using whitening ingredients, you must do your homework and never damage the skin barrier for the sake of whitening.

03

Don’t forget sun protection

Sunscreen is definitely effective for whitening. After all, the production of melanin is largely to protect against the damage of ultraviolet rays.

Therefore, if you want to whiten your skin, you must wear sunscreen when going out.

In addition, some whitening ingredients also require special attention to sun protection after use, otherwise skin problems may occur.

All in all, whitening is not easy, but as long as you choose the right direction and stick to it, you will definitely see results.

Author: Sydney

Review | Xu Min, deputy chief physician of the Department of Dermatology, Zhu Xianyi Memorial Hospital, Tianjin Medical University