Skin discoloration can affect anyone, no matter their skin tone. However, people of color tend to be more prone to hyperpigmentation – not only do dark patches appear more intense, but they can also take longer to fade (1).
Even worse, many of the skin-lightening products available on the market are designed for lighter skin – use them on black skin and they could make your hyperpigmentation even worse.
Now that we’ve got the bad news out of the way, let’s move on to the good: there are several lightening creams out there that are not only safe to be used on darker skin tones, but they’re incredibly effective. Some provide an instant whitening effect, while others take a little longer to work yet offer up multiple benefits that make them worth the wait.
Ready to get started? Read on to discover the 12 best skin lightening creams for black skin.
How each product is reviewed
Each and every product mentioned on our site has been tested by one of the team members of Pierre Michel Beauty. We do not receive any sponsorship from the brands and all comments are our own. From time to time, we also refer to online reviews and include information about how other people use the products.
Hot Take: Our team member reviewed the products in this list and found that the Meladerm Pigment Correction is the best solution in this category. It is highly effective thanks to its great blend of ingredients, including a few that are patented and unique to the company only. Read on as I share my detailed findings.
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Contents
- What is the Best Skin Lightening Cream for Black Skin?
- 1. Best Overall Cream: Meladerm by Civant Skin Care
- 2. Best Lightening & Toning Cream Without Hydroquinone: Scientis Cyspera Cysteamine Cream
- 3. Best Skin Lightening Cream with Natural Ingredients: Antipodes Manuka Honey Skin-Brightening Light Day Cream
- 4. Best Retinoid-Based Cream for Dark Skin Tones: Differin Adapalene Gel 0.1%
- 5. Best Hyperpigmentation Serum for Black People: SkinMedica Lytera 2.0 Pigment Correcting Serum
- 6. Best Whitening Full Body Lotion: ASDM Beverly Hills Natural Maximum Strength Skin Lightening Body Lotion
- 7. Best Bleaching Cream for Intimate Areas: Divine Derriere Intimate Brightening Gel with Peptide
- 8. Best Skin Lightening Cream for Black Skin with Acne Scars: Skinfix Correct+ Dark Spot Corrector
- 9. Best Alpha Hydroxy Acid/Beta Hydroxy Acid Skin Whitening Treatment: Drunk Elephant T.L.C Sukari Baby Facial
- 10. Best & Strongest Hydroquinone Cream for African American Skin: SkinPro Ultra Brightening Skin Lightener
- 11. Best K-Beauty Lightening Cream: SecretKey Snow White Cream
- FAQs
- In Conclusion: Best Skin Lightening Creams for Black Skin
What is the Best Skin Lightening Cream for Black Skin?
Out of the hundreds of lightening and whitening products on the market, we’ve managed to narrow the list down to just 12.
Each one works in its own unique way, meaning that, so long as the ingredients are compatible, you could even pick ‘n’ mix from our list to put together your own super-intense hyperpigmentation treatment that’s perfectly safe for black skin.
1. Best Overall Cream: Meladerm by Civant Skin Care
There are so many reasons why we love Meladerm, making it a no-brainer as our top pick for black skin.
This is a hydroquinone-free formula, which is always the safer route to go down when you have a darker skin tone. Instead, it’s infused with more than 10 advanced brightening ingredients that tackle everything from acne marks to sun spots to melasma.
There are a few skin lightening classics in this blend, such as kojic acid, vitamin C, and licorice root extract. These are common go-to’s that just about every dermatologist would recommend.
However, you’ll also notice a few patented ingredients in this formula that can’t be found elsewhere – Sepiwhite™ comes from an amino acid and helps to brighten all skin types and tones, while SymWhite® 377 comes from a pine-derived molecule and brings with it some highly potent lightening properties.
Add to this some extracts from mulberry, bearberry, and Indian gooseberry, and you have yourself a formula that’s capable of producing a visible improvement in dark spots in just a few days, with these effects continuing to escalate until those marks have completely disappeared.
2. Best Lightening & Toning Cream Without Hydroquinone: Scientis Cyspera Cysteamine Cream
Let’s start our list with an ingredient that’s a little out-there; cysteamine. It may not be one of the more common go-to ingredients for treating hyperpigmentation, but, in our opinion, it should be.
Cysteamine is a natural component of cells that also happens to function as a skin lightening agent.
It’s effective, safe to be used on dark skin, has antioxidant properties, and can be used to lighten overall skin tone as well as dark spots (2).
You’re probably ready to get your hands on some cysteamine now, which is where the Cyspera Cysteamine Cream comes in. It’s the only cysteamine skin whitening cream available, but, fortunately, it’s a good one.
It takes a few months for results to really become apparent, but the brighter skin that you’ll experience makes the wait worthwhile.
3. Best Skin Lightening Cream with Natural Ingredients: Antipodes Manuka Honey Skin-Brightening Light Day Cream
Prefer to go natural with your skincare? This is often a good choice, especially for those with sensitive skin, which is why we had to feature the Manuka Honey Skin-Brightening Light Day Cream from Antipodes in our top 3. This cream is composed entirely of natural ingredients, and each one contributes to transforming discolored skin.
From manuka honey and bee venom to kiwi, grape, and skullcap extracts, this is a one-of-a-kind blend that you won’t find elsewhere. It has been clinically proven to produce results in just eight weeks, which isn’t too long to wait.
What makes this product even better is that it doesn’t contain any nasty ingredients, even GMO plant extracts, and all of the packaging is 100% sustainable and recyclable.
4. Best Retinoid-Based Cream for Dark Skin Tones: Differin Adapalene Gel 0.1%
Retinoids (aka various forms of vitamin A) are a must when dealing with an uneven skin tone. Not only do they block excess melanin production, which then prevents dark spots from forming, but they also lighten existing age spots while encouraging the skin to faster shed any discolored dead skin cells from its surface.
Even better, retinoids boost natural collagen and elastin production, meaning an improved skin texture with fewer fine lines and wrinkles.
Retinoids are available in many forms, and therefore strengths. Adapalene is a form that you’ve probably not heard of because, although studies have proven this one to be perfectly safe for black skin (3), it used to only be available with a prescription. However, it can now be purchased over-the-counter, with your best option being the Differin Gel.
Not only can this product be used to lighten skin discoloration, but it’s also a great formula for treating and preventing acne breakouts.
5. Best Hyperpigmentation Serum for Black People: SkinMedica Lytera 2.0 Pigment Correcting Serum
Double up on the results that you experience from your lightening creams by adding a skin whitening serum into the mix too. Which one? Our top choice is the Lytera 2.0 Pigment Correcting Serum from SkinMedica. Why? Because not only has it been clinically proven to work well on African American skin, but it also contains a number of powerful skin lighteners.
In this serum, you’ll find tranexamic acid, phytic acid, phenylethyl resorcinol, niacinamide, and an exclusive marine extract blend – all of these ingredients are capable of effectively balancing out melanin production while lightening hyperpigmentation. If your skin reacts to retinol-infused products, this is a great alternative to try.
6. Best Whitening Full Body Lotion: ASDM Beverly Hills Natural Maximum Strength Skin Lightening Body Lotion
If dark spots on the face weren’t enough to deal with, hyperpigmentation can appear on the body too. If you’ve found a whitening cream that works well on your face, then there’s nothing wrong with using it on your body as well. However, facial skincare products are designed for delicate skin – the skin on your body is much more robust.
So, for best results, look for a cream designed for this area, such as the ASDM Beverly Hills Natural Maximum Strength Skin Lightening Body Lotion.
This lightweight cream contains a high concentration of some of the best skin lighteners out there, including 4% alpha and beta arbutin and 2% kojic acid, all of which have a lightening effect on dark spots. You’ll also find a few exfoliating alpha-hydroxy acids in this lotion, including glycolic acid and lactic acid.
These will exfoliate discolored and dull skin cells to leave you with glowing skin from head to toe.
7. Best Bleaching Cream for Intimate Areas: Divine Derriere Intimate Brightening Gel with Peptide
You should always be very careful with the products that you use around your intimate areas. The skin here is very delicate and highly susceptible to sensitivities. This is why, even though we love the body lotion featured above, we wouldn’t recommend it for intimate areas due to the fragrance in its formula. Instead, go with the Intimate Brightening Gel with Peptide from Divine Derriere.
With a thick gel-like texture, this product is all about keeping things as gentle and as natural as possible. It features cutting-edge plant-based ingredients, including a 10% active brightening complex that consists of kojic acid, b-white peptide, mulberry extract, licorice root extract, and more.
These ingredients have fast-acting lightening properties, so you can expect to see results in just four weeks.
8. Best Skin Lightening Cream for Black Skin with Acne Scars: Skinfix Correct+ Dark Spot Corrector
Let’s talk about acne scars. While those with oily skin are most susceptible to them, anyone can develop acne, and therefore the accompanying marks and scars. Of course, not only do these discolor your skin, but acne scars can also interfere with your skin’s texture.
This means that you need a product with both lightening and exfoliating ingredients, which is where the Correct+ Dark Spot Corrector from Skinfix comes in.
In addition to concentrated turmeric, which the brand claims have been clinically proven to be just as effective as 4% hydroquinone, this product also contains a cocktail of other brightening ingredients combined with exfoliating alpha-hydroxy acids, including glycolic acid, lactic acid, and fruit enzymes.
Use it once a day, to begin with, but bump this up to twice daily if your skin is tolerating it well.
9. Best Alpha Hydroxy Acid/Beta Hydroxy Acid Skin Whitening Treatment: Drunk Elephant T.L.C Sukari Baby Facial
We’ve covered a few products that contain alpha-hydroxy acids, but we haven’t yet mentioned one that combines these with beta-hydroxy acids, which is why the Drunk Elephant T.L.C Sukari Babyfacial has made it onto our list. This product focuses on resurfacing the skin to balance out an uneven skin tone while also improving texture.
Its efficacy comes from its potency – a 25% AHA blend combined with a 2% BHA concentration enables this product to multitask. It’ll clear away discoloration while also smoothing out rough skin and wrinkles and boosting elasticity. If you’re looking for a product that’ll offer both skin brightening and anti-aging results, this is it.
10. Best & Strongest Hydroquinone Cream for African American Skin: SkinPro Ultra Brightening Skin Lightener
We’ll be straight with you – if you have black skin, don’t immediately turn to hydroquinone skin bleaching creams. Hydroquinone may be an effective skin lightener, but it can also cause skin issues in darker skin tones, sometimes making hyperpigmentation appear worse.
That said, if all else fails and you’ve gotten the all-clear from your dermatologist, then go ahead and give hydroquinone a try. The maximum over-the-counter concentration available is 2%, which is what you’ll find in the SkinPro Ultra Brightening Skin Lightener.
While there are several other hydroquinone skin bleaching creams out there, we love this one because it also contains a number of soothing and hydrating ingredients, from sodium hyaluronate (aka hyaluronic acid) to apricot oil.
These help the skin to better tolerate hydroquinone, meaning fewer chances of side effects, making this one of the best skin bleaching creams out there.
11. Best K-Beauty Lightening Cream: SecretKey Snow White Cream
K-beauty often seems to be way ahead of the game, which is why we also had to check out some of the latest K-beauty product reviews for the best lightening cream. One of the most raved about is the SecretKey Snow White Cream, which contains a blend of ingredients that’s perfectly safe to be used on dark skin tones.
Unlike the other products we’ve featured on this list that take at least a few weeks to kick into action, this whitening cream offers instant, albeit temporary, results. How? Because its formula contains compounds that have light-reflecting properties, such as mica and pearl powder.
Apply these to your dark spots and they’ll bounce light away from your face in a way that gives you the illusion of brighter and lighter skin color.
FAQs
How Can I Lighten My Dark African Skin Naturally?
There are a number of natural ingredients out there that have lightening properties, including licorice root, citrus fruits, mulberry extract, shea butter, and bearberry extract. Read our article and learn how to lighten skin naturally in some other interesting ways.
Is It Possible to Bleach Dark Skin?
Yes, skin bleaching is possible on dark skin. However, even the best skin bleaching cream will make use of strong and harsh chemicals that might not be safe.
Are Skin Lightening Creams Safe for Black Skin?
Most skin lightening creams are safe when used as directed. However, it is essential to choose a product that is specifically formulated for black skin to avoid potential side effects. Always patch test the cream on a small area of skin before applying it to your face, and discontinue use if irritation occurs.
In Conclusion: Best Skin Lightening Creams for Black Skin
So, what’s the best skin lightening cream for black skin?
No matter your skin type or the type of hyperpigmentation you’re dealing with, these 12 skin brightening products will all help to even out those dark spots to leave you with a clearer and brighter complexion.
Whichever product/s you end up choosing, make sure that you use them consistently – your skin needs to be exposed to those lightening ingredients on a regular basis in order for that much-awaited transformation to take place.
Our top choice is the Meladerm Pigment Correction cream, which has amazing proven results for many users. It makes use of a powerful blend of effective ingredients and its own patented ones that make it a powerful skin-lightening cream for black skin (and in fact most skin types).
Grab yours today!
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- Seladi-Schulman, Jill. “Understanding How Hyperpigmentation Affects Black Skin.” Healthline, Healthline Media, 6 July 2021, www.healthline.com/health/skin/hyperpigmentation-on-black-skin. Accessed 2 May 2023. (↩]
- “Cysteamine Cream | DermNet.” Dermnetnz.org, 2022, dermnetnz.org/topics/cysteamine-cream. Accessed 2 May 2023. (↩]
- Jacyk, W K. “Adapalene in the treatment of African patients.” Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology : JEADV vol. 15 Suppl 3 (2001): 37-42. doi:10.1046/j.0926-9959.2001.00011.x (↩]
