Hydroquinone: The Controversial Skin-lightening Cosmetic Constituent

In a world filled with a lot of cosmetics, there are usually some that are particularly favored by the people. One of which is the skin-lightening creams/lotions products. Many of such cream have the active ingredient as hydroquinone.

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What is Hydroquinone?

Hydroquinone is a white crystalline chemical, a type of phenol, with the chemical formula C₆H₆O₂ used mostly as an antioxidant, and stabilizer and has application in medicine as a skin pigmentation removal ingredient from hyperpigmented areas of skin. It is an ingredient found in many skin-whitening creams used to lighten the skin tone.

How Does Hydroquinone Aid Depigmentation?

Hydroquinone operates by lessening the production and enhancing the breakdown of melanosomes (melanin pigment granules) in the skin's pigment cells (melanocytes). It does this by inhibiting the activity of tyrosinase, the enzyme needed to make melanin. The melanin is the dark-brown to black pigment found in the iris of the eye, hair, and skin of people and animals. It is also responsible for tanning of skin exposed to sunlight.

Source: Before and after skin bleaching pictures of Samuel Kelvin Peralta Sosa, Haitian-Dominican former professional baseball right fielder

Use of Hydroquinone in Cosmetics

Many over the counter skin-lightening creams contain about 2% hydroquinone.The prescription form of it contains up to 4% of hydroquinone.

Applying a cream containing hydroquinone helps reduce darkened skin due to age spots, hormonal changes such as in chloasma, sun damage (melasma), acne, freckles and generally other skin conditions where skin tone is uneven.

^{Free Google Image showing hands affected by hypopigmentation (uneven loss of skin color).}


The effects of hydroquinone in skin lightening become visible after about 4 weeks of application and may tend to reverse once stopped. But there have been few cases where effects are permanent that is why it is recommended to consult a dermatologist before use of any of the product.

A more permanent skin lightening agent is one containing p-hydroxy benzoquinone found in many skin bleaching product and enhancing cosmetics.

Is Hydroquinone Safe?

Hydroquinone use as a skin-lightening agent had come under a lot of controversies. There have been instances of it linked to skin cancer due to research findings published by the UK Science Jornal that linked the hydroquinone use to cancer in mice.

But in 1982, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the USA approved regulation stating that hydroquinone is a GRASE (Generally Recognized As Safe and Effective). The agency further a 1.5% to a maximum of 2% of hydroquinone in skincare products. This ruling, however, was revoked in 2006 by the FDA, and the GRASE status was removed over concerns that the compound could cause cancer and other serious side effects.

Hydroquinone use in a cosmetic product is currently banned in the West African country Ghana, Australia (generally all EU countries), the United States and Japan.

The FDA further explains their position over this decision and referred for hydroquinone to be further studied by the National Toxicology Program (NTP).

A dermatologist, Jacob Levitt, published his findings in a journal and believes the "proposed ban appears to be unnecessarily extreme".According to his findings, the hydroquinone is protective to the mice and reduced the incidence of liver tumors and amount of malignant tumors in the mice. Dr. Jacob Levitt MD further explains

renal tumors are sex, species, and age specific
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Therefore since humans and mice are not the same, that the results cannot apply.

Some Side effects in Hydroquinone Use

• Sun Sensitivity: There is a possible side effect of the use of hydroquinone as skin becomes more sensitive to damaging sun rays especially when used without broad-spectrum sunscreen.

If you are of South Asian/Indian, Middle Eastern, Hispanic, or African descent, you may want to avoid using hydroquinone without the supervision of a physician. Though very rare (1 in 100,000 cases), according to the American Journal of Clinical Dermatology, use of hydroquinone in concentrations of 2% or greater can cause a condition known as exogenous ochronosis. This is a reflexive darkening of the skin — exactly the converse of what you want when using hydroquinone! It is worsened by sun exposure. As such, those with darker skin may wish to take extra precautions in avoiding products with excessive sun exposure when using hydroquinone products.
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• Skin Irritation and reddening: Some users may likely experience stinging, mild irritation and skin reddening (irritant contact dermatitis). It is recommended to stop use if you experience either of this.

Caution

It is always better to err on the side of caution, only use product prescribed by your dermatologist and always check the percentage of the content that it is not above 2%. If not written, there is a high probability that it is above that. It is only a doctor that could ascertain if a particular product is good for you. Also, do not use hydroquinone during pregnancy.

Although the research is inconclusive, there is still concern that hydroquinone may cause cancer which explains why many countries have banned its use.

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^Disclaimer:

^{The purpose of this blog is to share recommendations and tips that are accurate to the best of my knowledge. It is not intended as and does not substitute for medical advice. Posts are not intended to diagnose, treat, or cure disease as the author is not a medical professional.}

^{Ref: 1,2,3,4}

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Regards,

@greenrun ....still running :)