I don't use it to lighten my skin because I believe that no soap sits on the skin long enough to penetrate that deeply & affect melanin production. What it does for me is to clean superbly & remove all surface oils (like sunblock etc). It exfoliates well too so my creams absorb better. I'm sure there are other soaps out there that work just as well, but so many soaps leave a residue on the skin.