Even facial Skin Tone

[Jada]

Can someone reccomend how to achieve an even skin tone without having to spend a small fortune please name products thanks.

[SEMO]

I never had bad acne but I did have some acne scars from places I was prone to breakout repeatedly. Here's what I did to even up my skin tone (to the point where one guy thought I had on makeup when I didn't):

1. Lots of water. I drink a lot of water. More than 8 glasses a day.
2. Using a really high SPF on my face; I once ran out of facial moisturizer and instead of buying some more I just mixed some regular body lotion with some sunscreen that I already had (which has a spf of 50). Normal facial moisturizers have an spf of 15. Since doing that I've noticed my skin tone even up very quickly. This is b/c I think the sun makes an unprotected, uneven skin tone worse.
3. Palmer's cocoa butter; it really works on my skin to fade scars and prevent new ones. I've been rubbing this into my skin 2-3x/day recently and I notice a difference.

ETA:
I don't know if acne is a problem for you but I found that Aveno clear complexion facial bar ($2-3 at Walmart) prevents my skin from breaking out. I get almost zero acne now, and the rare bump or two is gone in two days or less usually.

Hope this helps. Everything I did was cheap, worked well, and it only took a few weeks to see dramatic results.

[blackbarbie]

I am in the process of evening my skin tone up and I have to say that I am so pleased with my little regimen that I don't know what to do!!!

I suffer from marks whenever I get a pimple. I don't have a problem with persistent acne, (in fact, my skin is smooth as butter; with some dark spots!!!) but whenever I would get a pimple, as soon as it goes away (even if didn't bother it) it would ALWAYS leave a dark spot. I have tried everything on the market that contained hydroquinone (even up to as much as 4%) and it would work temporarily.

I have been doing the oil cleanse with a 50/50 Olive oil and Castor Oil mix, along with Desert Essence Tea Tree Oil Cleanser mixed in. I also use a mixture of 50/50 ACV and water as a toner. Then I follow this up by this bleaching cream that is made from natural ingredients www.conchanacar.com (http://www.conchanacar.com)

I know this seems like a lot, but I have to say that in a matter of a couple of weeks, my skin remains smooth, no new breakouts, and I can see the skin tone evening out.

I can't begin to express how happy i am b/c i have suffered from "black spots" since high school and just as I would get one or two faded away, another one or two would pop up. I am so glad to be finally getting this under control.

BB

[lexi08]

I am in the process of evening my skin tone up and I have to say that I am so pleased with my little regimen that I don't know what to do!!!

I suffer from marks whenever I get a pimple. I don't have a problem with persistent acne, (in fact, my skin is smooth as butter; with some dark spots!!!) but whenever I would get a pimple, as soon as it goes away (even if didn't bother it) it would ALWAYS leave a dark spot. I have tried everything on the market that contained hydroquinone (even up to as much as 4%) and it would work temporarily.

I have been doing the oil cleanse with a 50/50 Olive oil and Castor Oil mix, along with Desert Essence Tea Tree Oil Cleanser mixed in. I also use a mixture of 50/50 ACV and water as a toner. Then I follow this up by this bleaching cream that is made from natural ingredients www.conchanacar.com (http://www.conchanacar.com)

I know this seems like a lot, but I have to say that in a matter of a couple of weeks, my skin remains smooth, no new breakouts, and I can see the skin tone evening out.

I can't begin to express how happy i am b/c i have suffered from "black spots" since high school and just as I would get one or two faded away, another one or two would pop up. I am so glad to be finally getting this under control.

BB

Were you able to find this bleaching cream locally or did you have to order online?

[miss_cherokee]

I am in the process of evening my skin tone up and I have to say that I am so pleased with my little regimen that I don't know what to do!!!

I suffer from marks whenever I get a pimple. I don't have a problem with persistent acne, (in fact, my skin is smooth as butter; with some dark spots!!!) but whenever I would get a pimple, as soon as it goes away (even if didn't bother it) it would ALWAYS leave a dark spot. I have tried everything on the market that contained hydroquinone (even up to as much as 4%) and it would work temporarily.

I have been doing the oil cleanse with a 50/50 Olive oil and Castor Oil mix, along with Desert Essence Tea Tree Oil Cleanser mixed in. I also use a mixture of 50/50 ACV and water as a toner. Then I follow this up by this bleaching cream that is made from natural ingredients www.conchanacar.com (http://www.conchanacar.com)

I know this seems like a lot, but I have to say that in a matter of a couple of weeks, my skin remains smooth, no new breakouts, and I can see the skin tone evening out.

I can't begin to express how happy i am b/c i have suffered from "black spots" since high school and just as I would get one or two faded away, another one or two would pop up. I am so glad to be finally getting this under control.

BB
I have the ACV/water toner. I don't use anything except for AHA products & AcneFree:yep:

[Artemis]

I am currently using Skin Effects Brightening Complex by Dr. Jefferey Dover (cvs.com $20); it has hydroquinone, kojic acid, and some other hydroxy acids. I apply it to my dark spots 2x/day. It's helping a LOT, but I also read in my natural health/supplements book that Vitamin A can help regenerate the skin, so I am going to try that too. I already take a gang of vits for my overall health and hair, but this will be a [fairly] brief experiment so I'm not worried a/b it. The book says to take 25,000 IUs daily for 3 mos, then dial down to 15,000 IUs daily for maintenance.

[Artemis]

Oh, I also forgot to mention that I use moisturizers that contain SPF 30 or higher every morning so that spots don't reappear.

[Jada]

Thank you everyone, those are some great tips...one more question what kind of sunscreen are you guys using? (names please) lol.

[SEMO]

Thank you everyone, those are some great tips...one more question what kind of sunscreen are you guys using? (names please) lol.

I use Banana Boat maximum sunblock uva & uvb lotion SPF50, mixed (in my hands every morning) with Equate brand baby lotion (50/50 of each). I mix the sunscreen with the baby lotion to prevent my skin from being dry and I found that using straight sunscreen leaves my face looking greasy and takes longer to absorb into my skin.

[blackbarbie]

Were you able to find this bleaching cream locally or did you have to order online?

I didn't have to order in online; I found it in a Dollar General store in a section where they had Hispanic products. But their website says you can find it in WalMart (and it has a few more locations where you can find it as well

BB

[blackbarbie]

I use Banana Boat maximum sunblock uva & uvb lotion SPF50, mixed (in my hands every morning) with Equate brand baby lotion (50/50 of each). I mix the sunscreen with the baby lotion to prevent my skin from being dry and I found that using straight sunscreen leaves my face looking greasy and takes longer to absorb into my skin.

I know it's a no-no, but I am currently NOT using sunscreen; I still haven't found a sunscreen that doesn't leave me looking like a grease monkey. I am open to ideas though!

BB

[*5+5]

Neutrogena Visibly Even & the moisturizer it's SPF 15

[SEMO]

I know it's a no-no, but I am currently NOT using sunscreen; I still haven't found a sunscreen that doesn't leave me looking like a grease monkey. I am open to ideas though!

BB

The Oil of Olay (or the Equate version :look:) moisturizer was non-greasy for me. But I lost the bottle I had and didn't want to go to the store for any so I started substituting. But now I haven't gone back to it yet :spinning:.

ETA:
It only has an spf of 15 though. But that's enough coverage for most purposes, and much better than nothing :yep:.

[Lilith's Lioness]

I'm using prescription hydroquinone 4%, and that seems to be working well in combination with other things. Solange fade cream is a good one that's available OTC (but I had to order it online). For SPF--Ambi's moisturizer with sunscreen has a high SPF and doesn't make my face to shiney. I like Aveeno's too, and Neutrogena now has a facial SPF 50 which is recommended by my dermatologist, but I thought it felt weird I'm glad I got it at Rite Aid and could return it. I actually like my dermatologist's sunscreen too, but it's a bit more pricey than I'm willing to pay for some face cream. I put her skin care line (Rx for Brown Skin) on my Christmas list so I'll put in a review after the holidays. So far the best results I've had have been after microdermabrasion, which is costly, but if you pay it as a package deal, it's much more affordable.

[tt8]

I'm using prescription hydroquinone 4%, and that seems to be working well in combination with other things. Solange fade cream is a good one that's available OTC (but I had to order it online). For SPF--Ambi's moisturizer with sunscreen has a high SPF and doesn't make my face to shiney. I like Aveeno's too, and Neutrogena now has a facial SPF 50 which is recommended by my dermatologist, but I thought it felt weird I'm glad I got it at Rite Aid and could return it. I actually like my dermatologist's sunscreen too, but it's a bit more pricey than I'm willing to pay for some face cream. I put her skin care line (Rx for Brown Skin) on my Christmas list so I'll put in a review after the holidays. So far the best results I've had have been after microdermabrasion, which is costly, but if you pay it as a package deal, it's much more affordable.

I know the line you are talking about. Where is she located, because I am trying to find a black dermatologist here in LA

[Artemis]

I was using Coppertone for faces SPF 45, but I wanted some moisture for the cold weather, so now I use Ambi Even & Clear moisturizer (SPF 30, I think). It can be a little greasy (well, slick, not really greasy), but I make sure to do my facial cleasing routine literally as soon as I get up, and wait for the moisturizer to soak in a bit before doing my makeup. It's been working so far.