[guesswhoiam]

its not ONLY about sulfur! sulfur is only one single element of the over 100 elements out there, so of course it takes more than just sulfur to get lighter and healthier skin!!

diverse natural antioxidant materials and plenty of patience are imperative when u go au-naturale!

msm, turmeric, vits bacek, pineapple, & thai breadfruit all work best for me!

the beauty of it, is one's lightness endeavors become mere secondary to the healthy skin, body, mind, environment, and overall lifestyle embraced in the process.

and the same logic applies to what u put on ur skin.

in fact, now usually when i touch certain things synthetic (like bp, hq, or corticosteroids), or eat 'white' foods high in starch, sugars, or fats, are the only time i readily get some dark pigmentation back!

even topically, i avoid both hq and even kojic like the plague, bc in my experience they r unstable and oxidize so readily, plus ineffective long-term.

sure, no one food will make u lighter or healthier; but its undeniable, u are what u eat! seriously, i can almost guarantee if u eat nothing but mostly potaters for a year, u'll end up lookin like one!

many other promising natural ingredients to look into for supplemental or topical use: mitracarpus, uva ursi, licorice, ginger, citrus, black/wild rice, pomegranate, chamomile, green tea, aloe, alpha-liphoic acid, ellagic acid, ferulic acid...

fruits, fruits, fruits!
soy
non-fat dairy
multiwholegrains
and of course, sulfur-rich foods like eggs, organ meats, cauliflower, onions, garlic, cabbage, brussels sprouts


...i'm sure i've forgotten some, so ppl plssss chime in!!

also, plsssss see here:

cosmeticsbusiness.com
/story.asp?storyCode=2871

 

[LightenNLift]

thanks dude! There is a book called Eat your way to lighter skin that is good.



Skin | care | talk

 

[guesswhoiam]

oh, hey buddy!

yes indeed, this post hopefully serves as a much needed quick supplement to her book as thienna focused almost exclusively on eating sulfur.

 

[Lajdnie]

Eating well can lead to brighter, healthier and "lighter" skin, and it can compliment the lightening process overall, but realistically it cannot lighten drastically.

 

[LightenNLift]

not if u lived somewhere like fiji where they have organic food, unprocessed vegetables/meats/grains/etc. and far away from industrial chemicals and polutions of the modern world.

Skin | care | talk

 

[guesswhoiam]

luckily main st chinatown got so much fresh imported fruits nowadayz

 

[LightenNLift]

really? but dont forget the toxins and environmental pollution seeping in to the laid out fresh fruits

Skin | care | talk

 

[guesswhoiam]

oh yea thats why i somtimes break down and get canned fruit instead

 

[SweetTee]

Eating healthy does tend to make the skin glow, and a combination of eating good and using the right products would be an awesome DUO!!

 

[Freddy]

oh yea thats why i somtimes break down and get canned fruit instead

I doubt that's any better.

I dunno if I buy this though.

If you can lightening your skin with certain foods then you must be able to darken your skin with other types of food. What's the physiological answer to this? If they say that what you eat doesn't really affect acne, how can it affect skin color when even some strong topicals have problems lightening the skin.

Also, glowing skin isn't skin lightening.

 

[Freddy]

If you eat potates for a year, you might have the shape of one, but I doubt you'll be white like the innards of one.

 

[SweetTee]

If you eat potates for a year, you might have the shape of one, but I doubt you'll be white like the innards of one.

Point well taken.

I was thinking along the lines of the minerals and nutrients within the foods, but now I see. I agree w/ you however I still feel that proper foods make the body and everything dealing with the body equal.

 

[LightenNLift]

Proper foods enriched with necessary nutrients, vitamins and minerals is essential for your immune system to function, but there is only so much that your body will use and the rest will be excreted through urine and fecal matter. You can BRIGHTEN your appearence by eating healthy but you CANT lighten skin by eating healthy because the body will take all the nutrients for the immune system and the MELANOCYTES which gives your skin color, therefore, you will have a rich color from eating healthy and a rich supply of red blood cells which also give you a nice reddish hue. It is from improper eating and not having enough vitamins that people get pale/lighter.



Skin | care | talk

 

[ondine]

There seems to be a subtle implication that lighter skin is healthier skin. Ever see the skin on many cancer patients, tuberculosis sufferers & people afflicted with other illnesses? Often it goes chalk white like paper. A desire to remove a permatan, even out & or lighten overall colour is something I 'get'. Please do not forget that dark skin is not indicative of ill health. Dark OR light skin that is unhealthy-looking (doughy or wrinkled, thin, loose, uneven, blocked pored, acne etc) is evident of general health issues. Very dark skin can glow as can very fair skin. Both can also become dull & lifeless-looking. I eat very much in the way advocated in this thread. I grow organic berries & vegetables in my back yard & eat only whole grain breads & pastas. This is a great idea for all people & staves off many ailments. It does make my skin glow-BUT not lighten. Melanin in the skin is not a 'toxin' or a sign of 'imbalanced hormones' (except in melasma) or 'sickness'. It is genetically given & environmentally sensitive (like to sunlight).

 

[guesswhoiam]

^ sorry honey, but my first sentence reads "lighter and healthier skin".

it is about bringing two personal desires together, not demeaning other states:

the beauty of it, is one's lightness endeavors become mere secondary to the healthy skin, body, mind, environment, and overall lifestyle embraced in the process.

i dont mention dark skin at all. why do u bring it up??

this entire category on skincaretalk.com is dedicated to Skin Lightening.

yet there is not an analogous category on skincaretalk.com for Tanning.

what does that imply?


(to me, skin darkening is linked with exposure to UV radiation which causes cancer and photo-aging, both which are not healthy. so having skin that is not darkened is a sign of healthiness. sure many people are dark-skinned genetically however my post did not even mention the state of dark skin so now your indication that i seem to imply dark skin is unhealthy, is your own psyche, not anything i said. yes, darkened skin is less healthier in my opinion in a way, i am entitled to that opinion as it is scientifically arguable both ways)

and yes, one can lighten their skin by eating the right compounds. u are what you eat.

 

[LightenNLift]

Thanks for bring up that point bud, I'm so flabbergasted that they dont have a tanning category on SCT since it is so popular but then again skin "CARE" Talk means the health and benefits to the longevity of youthful looking skin and tanning is destructive to the health of the skin and cause premature aging.



Skin | care | talk

 

[guesswhoiam]

I doubt that's any better.

I dunno if I buy this though.

If you can lightening your skin with certain foods then you must be able to darken your skin with other types of food. What's the physiological answer to this?

yes. i agree targeting the skin organ from the outside is more effective, but one should not overlook the supplementary value of a healthy diet for the body inside... for example, if less excess tyrosine is available, less melanin is made. but unfortunately tyrosine is available in every cell, so tyrosinase inhibition at the inter and intracellular level becomes a greater objective and are affected to some extent as simply as eating pineapple or breadfruit, if ur not applying their actives on the outside. for example, see:

Innovation and Technology Fund

 

[ondine]

I brought it up NOT because of what you said, but because many people here (esp younger ones in the past) have misinterpreted statements like the accurate one you made to mean something else entirely. I am not arguing with you. There have been websites & resources used by members where claims that there is a direct link between dark skin & ill health can be established. Funky Mommy and Dr. Thienna Ho (in her book & in an interview) have said as much. I just wanted to make it clear that this is not what is being implied here. if you scroll through some of the older threads, there were a flurry of posts & threads (many from people of South Asian origin) implying that dark skin is a result of dietary habits & imbalanced hormones. I just have a sensitive radar for something that can be misread by someone vulnerable.

 

[ninasky]

oh yea thats why i somtimes break down and get canned fruit instead

canned fruit? somehow im not convinced about this one...

 

[guesswhoiam]

canned fruit? somehow im not convinced about this one...

Innovation and Technology Fund

"1. Successful identification of the tyrosinase inhibitors from two plant materials: Artocarpus heterophyllus and pineapple.
2. Identification of two additional herbal extracts from traditional Chinese herbal medicines of the genus Morus as potential tyrosinase inhibitory agents. The herbs to be used in this research include Artocarpus hypargyreus, Artocarpus lingnanensis, Ficus triangularis, Ficus simplicissima, Ficus carica , and Morus australis.
3. Preparation of standardized concentrated Artocarpus heterophyllus and pineapple extracts for cosmetic application.
4. Successful evaluation of the effects of 8 compounds including norartocarpanone, artocarpesin and 2,4,4â€2122-trihydroxychalone, other strong tyrosinase inhibitors to be purified, and Artocarpus heterophyllus and pineapple extracts on melanin synthesis and cell viability in cell culture. Filing patents for the active ingredients and plant extracts. "