What are Whitening Cosmetics?

Recently I have heard of whitening cosmetics, which contains mulberrin. Is it harmless?

I have always wondered if those people who whiten their teeth all the time are doing any damage to their teeth?

It seems to be a pretty safe procedure as my dentist has done it for a long time. My son has beautiful, white teeth, but uses teeth whitening products all the time.

The first products he used where given to him by his dentist, and he had a mold made of his mouth. He would squirt the whitening solution in the mold and wear it for a few minutes every day.

Now he uses the white strips he buys at the store. His teeth are still just as white, but will all these whitening products cause him problems with his teeth later on?

I recently read an article where a man had cosmetic eye whitening surgery. He was tired of having red eyes and people always commenting on how tired he looked all the time.

I don't know how this would be much different than laser surgery for your eyes, but I don't think I would want to mess with my eyes that way.

I can see why there is some controversy over this type of surgery. The cost was also around $4000 per eye, and because it is a cosmetic surgery, it is not covered by insurance.

Before reading this article, I had never given any thought to having surgery done to have white eyes. If my eyes are red or bloodshot, it is usually because I have not got enough sleep or something is in my eye.

My eyesight is too precious to me to think about having a cosmetic surgery just to have white eyes.

@golf07 - I have only had experience with one whitening product, and did not have a problem with dry skin.

I have been using some Elizabeth Arden whitening capsules. Instead of putting something on your skin, you take these capsules that have vitamin C in them. These capsules are supposed to control the melanin in your skin.

I have been taking them to lighten up the freckles on my face. The capsules would be quite a bit different than soap or creme cosmetics, but my face has felt much softer since taking these capsules.

I bought an herbal whitening soap to help even up my skin tone. I have patchy skin that never seems to look very even or toned.

I also have a darker complexion and felt like these spots were even more noticeable with this color of complexion.

When I started looking for a whitening soap, I was surprised at the number of whitening products there are available.

I don't know if they are all this way, but the whitening soap I was using was very drying to my skin. It did make a difference in my skin tone, and I even had to change my foundation color, but my skin has never this dry before.

I make sure and follow up with a good moisturizer, but am beginning to wonder if the results are worth it.

I am wonder if all of these skin whitening products have a drying effect like this?

@turquoise-- It may not be as widespread as it is in Asia, but many people in the US use whitening cosmetics too.

I also use them. I have face masks and face moisturizers with whitening effects. I use them because I have a lot of acne scars and blemishes which darken under the sun. Whitening products make them fade and eventually disappear so I use it several times a week along with a daily sun-proof lotion.

I just want a more even skin tone because I don't like to wear concealer and foundation every day. I prefer to be natural but my scars and blemishes make me feel bad. I think high quality whitening skin cosmetics are safe and they work.

My sister got mouth burns from a teeth whitening product she bought online. She used the product before going to bed and woke up with horrible pain in her mouth the next day. The doctor said that she had burns in her mouth and asked what the ingredients were in the whitening product.

It turns out there was way too much hydrogen peroxide in the whitening creme which can cause burns and also permanent stains on teeth. The hydrogen peroxide content is not supposed to be more than 10% but some products which are sold online carry more than that.

After this experience, neither my sister nor I use any teeth whitening products on our own. We go to our dentist to have it done. It costs us more but at least we know that whatever is being done is safe.

I'm interested in the race and self-image aspect of skin whitening cosmetics because I witnessed this first hand when I was in Asia. I lived in Asia for several years, I've been to China, India and Indonesia. In all of these countries, I saw a huge market for whitening cosmetics and men and women were really self-conscious about their skin color and wanted to be fairer.

In fact, I remember not being able to find a bar of soap without whitening properties in India and Indonesia, that's how prevalent it was.

This trend really worries me because South and Southeast Asians naturally have darker skin due to genetics and the region they've lived in for centuries. I don't know when this trend for fair skin started, but I think it has become a serious issue for social well-being and self-image.