[Review] Hydroquinone (for hyper pigmentation, freckles, sunspots, uneven tone)

Beauty Tips For Body Care
I was a bit scared of starting HQ because there's a lot of fear mongering surrounding this ingredient. But I am so so glad I did.I am a phototype 2, have freckles and I overexposed my skin to the sun in my teens, for sure. With time, the freckles started looking a lot more like sun spots than cute freckles. It's not like I had really defined, well structured patches of pigment... it was more like my whole face looked uneven, a bit patchy and definitely dull.I've been using hydroquinone at a 2% concentration for almost three months now and started seeing amazing results at around week 5. What happened first –before the sun spots /freckles / HP started fading– was that my complexion brightened significantly. I obviously don't tan or anything, but it was as if every bit of excess melanin left my skin, getting it back to its baseline colour. If you are pursuing ant-aging, believe me when I tell you that an even skin tone does far more for you than obsessing over little fine lines here and there.At around week 8, every single spot started fading significantly. I was so excited with the results that I decided to try a 4% concentration but it irritated me. So I went back to 2% and the progress continued to be beautiful and steady.I am now about to finish week 12 and I could not be happier with the results. I still have a couple of little marks, but they are far less noticeable and I'm sure that periodic exfoliation + other, milder actives will take care of them with time (azeleic acid, for instance).Now, an important thing to know about using hydroquinone is that there are some issues that can arise which sound scary, but all of them are associated with long term use. So using a low concentration for a period no longer than three months is perfectly safe, but using it for years is a really really bad idea. Just do stick to the three months and track your progress. And wear sunscreen religiously! If you follow those two, simple instructions, HQ is a wonderful way to kickstart any fight against HP, sunspots or sun damage in general with a bang.From both my research and experience, I found out HQ pairs really well with tretinoin and AHAs, but I would also advice keeping your routine to a minimum to avoid unnecessary irritation or unwanted interactions with other ingredients.
Girls Blog 2015
Submitted by bloom2013