Many skin lightening creams, gels and lotions often contain both glycolic acid and hydroquinone. The combination of ingredients allows the skin lightening products to be more effective and the results to be more pronounced.
Hydroquinone – Is a chemical that is used to inhibit the production of melanin in the skin. Melanin is a pigment that is used to give the skin its color. Hydroquinone is effective at bleaching the skin and it is used to treat melasma, acne scars, age spots and other skin discolorations.
Glycolic Acid – is a Alpha Hydroxy Acid (AHA) which is very good at exfoliating the skin and moisturizing it. Glycolic acid is an active ingredient in many different facial treatments and it glycolic acid peels are often used to get rid of old skin and have the face looking young and fresh.
Many skin lightening products often add Glycolic Acid because it can allow the skin lightening ingredient to be absorbed into the skin more deeply. This will amplify and speed up the results, while at the same time the skins tone and texture will be improved greatly.
If you are looking for a skin lightening cream that is effective, make sure it contains both hydroquinone and glycolic acid. The combination of these two products will speed up the skin lightening process, while at the same time giving the skin a nice tone.
It should be noted that these creams are only to be used at night. The reason behind this is that hydroquinone does not interact well with sunlight. As a result of this the product will not be effective if exposed to the suns rays.