[ondine]

Interesting post, scienceChick & welcome to the group. like most people here, i react viscerally whenever I hear about someone using mono. So many horror stories; so little scientific testing & documentation. LNL (whom you met above) & I both go to the sources: peer reviewed scientific journals & seek out original studies.

Since your skin was already Caucasian, would you say that the fears dark (>Fitzpatrick IV) skin typed individuals have re mono are justified? How, exactly, did you use the product & how long did it take you to achieve the results you wanted?

 

[ondine]

Nope; I use Likas/HQ4%/RA0.1%. I'd tried mono20% briefly & read the accounts of the risks as well as the lack of reliable research on it & stopped before I screwed up my skin.

 

[ondine]

Karenannev, please feel free to bring uo any conerns or questions you have. Anyone not interested in the subject can check out other threads. I'm reading all I can about it. I'm not prepared to just take this person's word for it. There is, in her own words, little factual info out there & I don't want to be the guinea pig who winds up disfigured. I'm researching mono in low % ages like 3-5%. Getting info is like pulling teeth. Nothing wrong with being curious. Better to NOT act spontaneously on your curiosity, though based upon wishful thinking. You'd be risking too much.

 

[ondine]

Whinge all you like! We all want to achieve our skin goals & the quest can be frustrating. If I find out anything valid & reliable about mono, I'll post it.

 

[ondine]

"...I mean what's the worse that could happen?"- Enticing

Enticing, that is not a question to ever leave open-ended & assume the answer is 'nothing'. What you're saying isn't supported by the factual info out there re mono (Go to Googlw Scholar & search monobenzone depigmentation). Researchers are uncertain as to how it works in the body. It is simply not understood. ALL the sources I've checked say the same thing.

In some people it doesn't even work & Drs don't know why that is. Another thing that mystifies them is that, for example, a person applies mono 20% to their left arm &, while this area depigments, they notice satellite depigmentation in the middle of their back. How or why this happens is unknown.

Another problem is that in some people mono triggers hyperpigmentation! When mono is tested on animals, it causes hyperpigmentation in most cases but does the reverse in most people. they know what it is, how to make it & what it is likely to do & not do BUT they haven't a clue as to the whys & hows of it. For me, that is a BIG problem because they are unaware of potential systemic effects. Since it has only been tested on humans with widespread vitiligo (an autoimmune disorder) Nothing is known about how it works in otherwise healthy people.

Mono is NOT 100% permanent in all people. Many need to maintain with biweekly applications. Even if all melanocyted in the skin have ceased to produce melanin, melanin also resides in the hair follicle & some people begin repigmenting through that melanin.

Some of the 'worst that can happen' is:

- permanent disfigurement through extreme thinning.
- severe irritation
- severe rashes
- eczema

THere are more risks that have been posted elsewhere. This is not a cosmetic bleach but a strong depigmenting agent which is not understood even by those compounding it. Until the above questions are resolved & more is understood about it, I'd urge curious people to watch the emerging research but not experiment on their own bodies.

 

[ondine]

Any time. What made me wonder is that she said that the forum was rife with misinformation BUT didn't point out & correct a single example. She claims to have spent 30G on laser resurfacing (on Caucasian skin) but then needed benoquin? Both of her threads included 'plugs' for a product. One was a link to a mono vendor & the other was for a book about mono that she's allegedly writing. She acknowledges that there is very little reliable info out there re mono BUT doesn't cite any peer reviewed research/studies that she has conducted in order to provide her with a valid basis for a book that tells us anything more than what is already known. Definitely dodgy.

 

[ondine]

The severe rashes that often leave behind scarring would be visible to the naked eye. Systemic effects, which are highly likely in light of satellite lightening (means mono is travelling through the body in an unknown manner) are not visible- until either blood/urine tests or kidney failure ensue. Scientists are not even sure how or why mono works. Ubtil more is factully known & documented about this agent. Why not choose effective safe alternatives?

I agree re sunblock & sun avoidance. I also agree that it is ultimately up to the individual to decide what they want to use. Whenevr I'm learning about a new agent, I take it to Google Scholar & check what the research, in peer reviewed journals, says. So far, mono is a no-no for anything but final depigmentation in patients with >50% vitiligo.

 

[ondine]

There is no need to feel chased off the forum. Please understand that we have been bombarded by every type & variety of shady scammer that you can concieve of. Since mono use in non-vitiligo affected people for cosmetic purposes has been studied even less than than it has in vitiligo patients, please understand people's reluctance to embrace it's usage. Certainly the erratic lightening would be more visible on darker skinned individuals, but visible effects are only a part of the greater problem which is its poorly understood mechanisms of function & the probability of systemic effects. I'm curious as to why satellite functioning occurs. Also, since there is so little research to support any assertions about Mono, aside form giving a synopsis of the existing data & from your personal anecdote which may or may not be appliable to a broad spectrum of people, what new data will you be presenting in your book? Are you aware of any new (peer reviewed) studies? Also, what do you say about the usage of mono in considerably lower concentrations such as 4%-10% with 0.1% tretinoin suspended in a hydrophilic base? There has been some discussion in various sources online of late concerning such formulations.

 

[ondine]

What you are experiencing is mono20% notorious satellite lightening. In a manner not scientifically understood, Mono travels through the system to affect areas where the product was not applied. Mono is a depigmenting agent: NOT a 'fade cream' or 'lightener'. If you continue to apply it, your skin will depigment completely leaving it in a condition akin to an Albino's skin. Science chick is Caucasian. Uneven lightening (or even complete depigmentation) will look very different on her skin and features than it will on yours. Mono hasn't even been tested as a lightening agent on African American skin NOT affected by vitiligo. Once the melanocytes die, the skin cannot produce melanin and you will remain either blotchy or completely white. Please think twice.

 

[ondine]

Askme help desk is not a reliable source for info. I've never seen so much spam in one place in my life!

Mono isn't being produced in the USA any more. The major concers, to the extent that the research reveals is largely one of :

viscosity: THe stuff is like a sort of chalky paste that is extremely hard to rub into the skin w/o rubbing aggressively & thus exacerbating irritation. THis is why people have taken to blending it into natural oils. Users say that this also reduces the irritation severe drying & peeling effects of the paste. It IS being produced in China, India, Thailand & even Ireland & Holland. The problem with using mono from these sources is the gross lack of oversight. Unless you're able to have each tube tested for purity, you can't be sure what it is that you're using.

Function: Neither scientists, Drs nor pharmacists understand how & why mono works within the body. They know it can kill melanocytes in humans & lead to 100% depigmentation but that in other mammals, it increases melanin production. They also know virtually nothing about the systemic effects (evidenced by satellite lightening. This stuff is travelling through the body in an unknown manner, Obviously, it is popping up in places where it wasn't applied & killing melanocytes from the inside. NOBODY KNOWS what else it is doing or where else it is going. Is it affecting ovarian function & can it lead to birth defects? the jury's still out on that. Is it carcinogenic in the long term? Who knows?

These are not 'scare tactics'. Please check the research & you can see for yourselves what IS known & what is not. Some people HAVE gotten satisfactory results depigmenting with it. Not everyone gets rashes & blotches & unevenness. Then again, not all smokers develop cancer! Not all alcoholics develop cirrhosis of the liver either. Even Science Chick acknowledges that little is known about mono.

 

[ondine]

Why nt ask science chick what she knows about Mequinol? at 3% with RA 0.1% it can likely do the trick for you but with more predictability & fewer risks. Solage features 2% MQ & 0.1% RA & many people (esp Caucasians) rave about it. Very popular with Fair skin lovers in Europe...I'm researching it myself & finding out all I can.

 

[ondine]

At least it IS available in FDA approved skin lightening preparations at 2%...which is more that anyone can say for Mono. Solage isn't the only cream like this one either. Just something else to think about.

 

[ondine]

Please read hrough the threads. there are many in hwich the scientific facts (results of research on this agent) have been either posted or linked directly. Mono is not a lightener but a depigmenting agent. It is solely reccommended for people with over 50% depigmentation from Vitiligo Universalis. Anyone else using it will get results that mimic Vitiligo: erratic spotting, satellite depigmentation (apply mono to one area & some other area depigments), scientists understand very little about just how this agent works in the body, some people initially get depigmentation then abruptly begin to hyperpigmenting. these results can be irreversible.