Hydroquinone cream is used as a skin bleaching agent to lighten freckles, skin discoloration and other problems associated with skin trauma, pregnancy, use of birth control and hormonal imbalance. The agent works by inhibiting an enzyme reaction the the skin cells. It can also be used as a prescription ointment for other conditions as determined by skin specialists. The main use of the agent is to reduce or control melanin production. As much as most people use hydroquinone to fade their skin color, hydroquinone is basically used in mainstream cosmetic products to minimize the appearance of hyper-pigmentation (an excess of pigment).

How It Works

Hydroquinone basically works by decreasing the production of the melanin pigment, which in turn increases the breakdown of melanosomes in the pigment cells of the skin. This is achieved through the inhibition of tyrosinase, an enzyme that is used in the production of melanin. Due to the major ‘depigmentation’ effect of hydroquinone creams, it can be used to treat a number of conditions, some of which I mentioned above.

I wrote a little bit about this last time because I have a friend in the industry. But from more conversations and some interesting stories, I felt compelled to write about another reason why people have nose surgery. Again, there are good reasons for rhinoplasty surgery (‘nose jobs’), and being able to breathe comfortably through your nose is definitely one of them. It’s something we all take for granted, but minor things like narrowed airways from birth or from damaging your nose can be incredibly uncomfortable or frustrating. In these cases it can be very satisfying to be a rhinoplasty surgeon, because you are really helping people out just as a doctor is supposed to. Like many people though I’m really not that comfortable with the idea of surgery for pure vanity reasons. Neither is my surgeon friend!

I get it – I really do. There is far more to cosmetic surgery than I ever really thought about. No, I’m not suddenly training to be a surgeon – I don’t think anyone would trust my shaky hands to work on them.

What I get is the motivation to have certain types of cosmetic procedure. OK, I understand the motivation behind all of these surgeries is ego and vanity. But sometimes these procedures are more necessary than others.

As an example, I broke my nose when I was younger. It hurt, it healed, it looked almost as good as before. It did heal slightly crooked but it’s not something that worried me back then, and I don’t really notice or very much care day to day now. Sometimes though, these things don’t heal well and you really do need the skills of an expert surgeon to put them right. Sure, you could leave them as they are but you’ll spend the rest of your life fighting that urge to be self conscious about it.

So, I get that a friend of friend does this for a living and finds it very satisfying – he’s a Wellington nose job surgeon down under in NZ (OK, he’s a cosmetic surgeon but noses make up the majority of his work apparently!). He finds it most satisfying he says when he’s doing those very cases where he improves something that really troubles someone. That means mostly injuries, but sometimes just nature being a little unkind and giving someone an especially large nose for example. He doesn’t enjoy quite so much the jobs where he’s doing what people want even though there is no real need for it, they’re just tweaking their appearance out of pure vanity as if they were buying a new item of clothing.

If you really need the work done though, I do get it a bit better now. But how do you find someone if you really do need it? Asking for a referral is apparently the best way – from other doctors or from happy customers. You can also check somewhere like the Society Of Plastic Surgeons. All respectable plastic/cosmetic surgeons will have memberships of professional bodies and/or be attached to hospitals or other private medical institutions. So it is important to check. Don’t skimp on the research says the doc.

For any woman who has been to a ‘serious’ gym, you’ll already know how make dominated they can be.

I’ve been to a few, and whilst most of the big beefy guys don’t mind a woman who knows what she is doing, some are a bit less tolerant. It’s as if this is their male space and you’re not really allowed in it. I’m sure the grunts get louder and the weights get bigger 🙂

I’m not built up in any way, not like some incredible female bodybuilders (general views range from sheer beauty to odd derogatory words). I just like to tone up my muscles and have a bit of definition and extra strength.

I don’t go in for all the supplements and things that a lot of athletes like to use. I just eat healthy for that.

When you spend too much time in the sun, without the proper protection for your skin, there are good chances that you will suffer from sunburn.

Sunburn causes the skin to sting and become very sensitive and turn red and ugly. There are fortunately a number of natural ways to treat sun burnt skin using remedies that are always available in most homes.

When sunburn is on your face, a very effective remedy can come from the application of a paste made from milk, the white of an egg, some drops of olive oil and barley powder to give it a base. You can also use butter milk and tomato juice in a proportion of six to one to make a remedy that helps the skin to heal quickly.

If you do not like to apply pastes and other liquids on your face, refrigerate cabbage or lettuce leaves and apply them on the skin that is sun burnt. You will find that this really is very soothing and not too difficult to put on.

Style is what you make of it I guess. And one thing that seems to dip in and out of style is skin color.

One moment we were all out in the sun trying to get ourselves a tan, and the next we all want to be paler and whiten our skins so we look like we’ve never been anywhere near the sun.

Which explains the explosion in the sale of skin whitening products in the last few years. Go back 20 years and you’d be hard pressed to find even one on the beauty shelves. Now they are everywhere.

And you can get products to whiten whatever parts of your body you like. You can whiten underarms, and your face.

But it’s not just about lightening skin color of course to keep you in style. These products also have a use when it comes to reducing the appearance of blemishes or birth marks too for example. I understand they can even help with conditions like vitiligo – not by changing the affected skin, but by lightening the surrounding skin to blend so the areas of vitiligo don’t stand out so much. So they are pretty useful products, so long as you choose carefully and avoid the ones that use some of the heavier chemicals. You can get pretty much all-natural based products (read the reviews here).

Personally I’ve not used one of these products yet. I’m not averse to the idea of using them, just haven’t felt the need to.