One of my customers asked me recently what I thought of the ingredient hydroquinone. She also wanted to know I am offering any products with this ingredient. Hydroquinone is a skin lightener that is often used to get rid of age spots and discoloration. As annoying as those issues are, I still wouldn’t recommend products with hydroquinone.

According to the cosmetics database, hydroquinone is listed as a 9 (almost at the top of the red zone which equals pure poison). So, unless you are literally dying to be beautiful, I wouldn’t touch the stuff! This skin bleaching ingredient belongs at a toxic waste site. Hydroquinone is restricted in cosmetics use because it is considered hazardous to your health. Canada has banned this ingredient, while the USA still allows it in certain concentrations.

The skin has millions of tiny holes that allow what you put on your skin to enter the blood stream. So, if you love yourself, don’t even consider using a product containing this ingredient.

There are more natural ways to get rid of age spots. I would recommend rubbing the spots with a wash cloth and then adding raw organic apple cider vinegar with a q-tip. I have also heard that raw potato juice is a great remedy for bleaching skin discoloration, but I haven’t actually tried it personally. There are tutorials on youtube if you are interested, so you might want to check it out.

There is also a completely natural skin bleaching gel that works better than anything else I have tried. You can buy it HERE.
(It does NOT contain hydroquinone).

I think it is better to be safe than sorry when it comes to toxic chemicals in skin care products. So, stay away from hydroquinone! It just isn’t worth the risk…

Photo by Matthew T Rader on Unsplash