[Hentrinity]

I'm Asian..I realised for a long time now, that when I was born, my skin was pale white, but im not sure how....i turned out to be dark in about 5 years or so. Right now I'm 17 years old, and I'm feeling different from my family, cuz they are all white...it makes me feel bad about myself.

I ask my parents how I turned out to be dark, and they said something along the lines of "When I was little, I went to the son alot", and another time they said "It could be medicine usage"...becoz when I was small I took alot of medicine.

Right now, I dun think it is any of these reasons, and I want my skin to turn white again...
I took my library card of my Yr 7 photo..and my Yr 12 photo, and I noticed a huge difference, Im turning more and more darker by the year. I really want to end this, and have fair skin...I dun like this

I need to figure out what it is, and how to cure it

Plz Help

Thx in advance

 

[ninasky]

Hi hentrinity, welcome to the forum.

There are many good people in the forum who are sure to give you some good advice. My opinion is that it could be an increase in melanin production, many things can factor into this like drugs you take and being out in the sun like you have mentioned.

When I was born, I was really light skinned aswell now Im as dark as anything. There are different skin shades in my family and I guess I am from the 'dark side'

Its natural to feel bad becuase others look different and that you dont fit in, but you need to be more strong within yourself and not want to change becuase of how others make you feel - it should only be because you want to.

Maybe what Im trying to say is, dont feel bad about yourself.

That aside, there are many options you can look to, but one important thing is to protect your skin from the uv rays. You are quite young and I think you should give it a while before putting any harsh chemicals on your skin.

You could try soaps to begin with, such as papaya or l-gluthathione soap as they are meant to herald good results and are not costly.

Keep your chin up.

 

[Lexi2009]

Where in Asia are you from? I have many Thai friends who are born white and are white until around puberty then turn dark. Skin changes from hormones and also if you live in a tropical or sub-tropical climate even SEEING the sun daily can release a trigger to produce more melanin (MSH-melanocyte stimulating hormone). As a general rule your natural skin colour can only be as dark as your darkest parent but any amount lighter. This is based on genetics in that it takes a dominant gene to produce darker skin so if your parents are both whiter it would be a rare occurence for you to be naturally darker. Chances are you got sun at some point and may be taking a lot of time to fade. How much darker are you and do you have any dark grandparents?

 

[ondine]

Hi Hentrinity.

Ninasky's advice is much the same as what I'd say. I was surprised to see your post this morning! Last night, I was talking to my mother. She has a strangely 'guilty' look on her face that I couldn't read. She told me something I never knew before. It always seemed strange to me that, with my auburn har & caucasian features that my skin would be so much darker than my 2 siblings. She revealed that I was born virtually white (she showed me an old photo) but that my legs were bent. The pediatrician said that there were 2 choices: either put my legs in braces to straighten them or PUT ME OUT IN THE SUN EVERY DAY FOR SEVERAL UNTIL THEY STRAIGHTENED. Following the dr.'s advice, my mother thought that braces would be a hardship for a baby so instead she put be in the sun. After a few days of this, I apparently broke out in a terrible rash; there were no 'baby' sunblocks in those days. Then, she said, virtually overnight, my skin tured almost completely black(she showed me another photo where I looked like a Sudanese Dinka baby)!!! Over the years, I lightened considerably BUT never back to my natural colour. I was in shock! This wasn't her fault; after all, she was just following medical advice & doing what she thought was for the best. My legs DID straighten out too. Perhaps somethng similar happened to you?

It sort of explains a lot. My skin ligghtened naturally as I grew up despite summers out playing in the sun every day. When I began lightening in Jan, I was nowhere near being a 'dark' black person at all. N wonder my skin is reacting so easily to the lightening creams. I bet yours will too. Read around in the forum & see some of the options people are successfully using. It will help you select an option.

 

[GoddessOfEarth]

Yes, it could be your diet. You may want to lay off of beefs, steak, soda, sugary drinks, etc. Drink LOTS of water You say you took a lot of medications when you were younger. Some medicines can sit in your liver. I believe I read.......the more detoxified your liver is, the lighter you become. Drink LOTS of WATER and take Glutathione or N-A-C. Well a GNC guy told me N-A-C is better. You have to drink tons of water. I know how hard that can be, sometimes.

Skin color is only 'partly' to do with your birth parents. Unless you know your ENTIRE family tree (which is impossible) the only 100% of characteristics you can claim from your birth parents is your DNA. Some white people have had darker babies. Some black people have had babies born with blue eyes.

You should google the foods you eat the most (If you're serious about this.) and see how they affect the liver. All those medicines you took over the years have, possibly, built up inside of you. You should contact an Endocronologist about detoxifying your body and have an exam to find a solution that best fits your height and weight. Since it's not a tan, it sounds like it goes beyond skin lightening.


GoddessOfEarth

 

[Hentrinity]

Well, I wuz born in Australia, and im not sure if it is a diet bcos my brothers and sisters usually eat the same type of food...I drink about 3 600ml bottles of water a day, so 1.8L and I might try whitening cream

Thx for helping

 

[Lexi2009]

Well, I wuz born in Australia, and im not sure if it is a diet bcos my brothers and sisters usually eat the same type of food...I drink about 3 600ml bottles of water a day, so 1.8L and I might try whitening cream

Thx for helping

Hentrinity--here is a link, it shows how the genetics of skin colour work, take a look at the Punnet Sqaure (it is the graph that shows genetic outcome possibilities) Variation within created kinds YOU CAN TAKE OR LEAVE THE REST AS IT IS A CREATIONIST WEBSITE, I JUST GOOGLES THE PUNNET SQUARE FOR YOU.

The thing is, while you may have skin that appears darker than your family it is doubtful if not impossible for you to be significantly darker than anyone in your family, it is most likely something environmental. I would look at your sun exposure, your diet and any vitamins and other supplements you take. Also look at an area that is not sun-exposed, if it is whiter or lighter than the rest of you then sun exposure is to blame. Also, if you spend significantly more time outdoors than other members of your family you can be stimulating melanin-MSH, or melanocyte stimulating hormone, is triggered often even if people SEE a lot of sunlight. This would make your body get a tan even in the absence of direct sun/skin stimulation.

Think of all possibilities before embarking on bleaching! Good luck no matter what you choose though (I wish I were darker so go figure!).

 

[GoddessOfEarth]

It's rare 'NOT' impossible.

 

[Lexi2009]

It's rare 'NOT' impossible.

Usually the expression of darker skin is down to environment not really genetics. Genetically it is technically impossible because to have light skin you need TWO recessive genes to express this, even one D gene will express the dominant feature, which is dark. So if you are light and your partner is light then you have 4 recessive genes (each has a recessive from their parents making each one capable of only passing that gene) making it hard to pass on a dominant gene. There are rare mutations but it is extremely rare. Most of the time if a child is significantly darker than the darkest parent it means the mother had an affair to conceive or the baby can have been switched out at birth (which happens more often than people know!). But someone can be darker due to dietary differences and other differences like sun exposure, MSH (melanocyte stimulating hormone) sensitivity etc.

 

[FaceOfVanity]

I think its interesting when people talk about skin lightening. To see what one culture may look upon as dark, another may praise as light. Was going to go off on a tangent i'll bring it back.

To answer your question Hen, I think you should use Papaya soap, kojic acid papaya soap, or glutathione soap ("experts" say to let the soap sit on the skin for at least 3 minutes). You can use any of those soaps in combination with arbutin lotion, or kojic acid lotion. I would not advise you use mono, or HQ, as with the mentioned above products you can get back to your naturally light complexion. Also Shiseido has a line of whitening products that may be of interest to you.

You should see minimal results in a month, and be amazed by 3-6. Don't forget to use sunscreen!

Good luck and happy lightening!

 

[ondine]

The Shiseido like is grossly overpriced for minuscule amts, though. You wind up paying more for the brand name, packaging & advertizing costs than for the products. I agree that the soaps etc. are a good starting point too. If you can achieve your results that way, why not go for it?

 

[proscons]

Hentrinity you are not alone! I to was born with very pale and healty white skin but now after years of sun exposure I have developed a medium brown complexion. I also want my fair skin back and plan on using a skin whitening cream in October. The reason for the date is becausethere will be less sun out and in result the effectiveness of the cream i choose to use will be greater.
This forum is filled with skin care fanatics and just like myself you will learn a lot from just skimming through forum threads. I also advise you to be aware of fake accounts that try and promote there own skin care companies.
Good luckk!

 

[GoddessOfEarth]

Yes, Lexi2009, as I stated 'RARE'.

Shiseido, lol! They still sell that I see. I haven't tried it. I don't remeber the reviews of it. I remember seeing sites with slogans of MAIN INGREDIENT OF SHISEIDO. They were selling the, so called, 'main ingredient' at a fraction of the cost. I don't remember where, but googling may find some sites, if they're still around.

 

[Freddy]

So you're not the same color as you were when you were born? That's called exposure to the sun and something else called LIFE.

It happens, when I want to the Dominican Republic I got certified as a SCUBA diver. The instructor showed me part of his leg under his suit and it was ALOT lighter than the rest of the body.

Unless you live in the basement your whole life and don't come out, you're never going to be the same color. You will always get slightly darker, unless you are Anne Hathaway pale, which you obviously aren't.

I only considered lightening on a spot because of a car accident I had. I wouldn't do it to "fit in." Create your own identity and be a leader rather than being a follower. I won't get into a discussion about this as I know I'll get bashed but those are my two humble cents.

 

[Lexi2009]

So you're not the same color as you were when you were born? That's called exposure to the sun and something else called LIFE.

It happens, when I want to the Dominican Republic I got certified as a SCUBA diver. The instructor showed me part of his leg under his suit and it was ALOT lighter than the rest of the body.

Unless you live in the basement your whole life and don't come out, you're never going to be the same color. You will always get slightly darker, unless you are Anne Hathaway pale, which you obviously aren't.

I only considered lightening on a spot because of a car accident I had. I wouldn't do it to "fit in." Create your own identity and be a leader rather than being a follower. I won't get into a discussion about this as I know I'll get bashed but those are my two humble cents.

Well said! My ex is a Puerto Rican "trigueno" (mix of black, white and indian that brown look which you cannot tell what colour someone is) and he was whiter than me in areas not exposed to the sun. Any colour can be beautiful!

 

[ondine]

Thank you for speaking your mind, Freddy. I admire your ability to be frank w/o becoming insulting or rude.