Does Brevoxyl Peroxide in Acne Products Darken Skin? – MABH RBQ

Sonia’s Query..

Hi Lancy,
I’m Sonia from Singapore. I heard alot about your home remedies and wished to contact you as I need urgent help regarding my skin.

I’m 19 years old. I had a few pimples here and there and I was very concerned about them. I quickly went online and ordered the regimen and acne curing products from one website. It worked for me. My pimples became lesser and lesser however free too. Weeks I noticed that my skin had become darker. I have fair skin. However now I’m two to three tones darker. The regimen I order has an ingredient called ‘Brevoxyl Peroxide’. Is it the reason for skin darkening?

I need your help urgently. I really wish to know how I can get my original fair skin back. I have some acne spots here and there as well. I will be so grateful to you if you can help me.

Thank you so much!

Reply to the Query:

Hi Sonia,
I completely understand your situation. Its great to know that the acne curing product you bought helped you to be acne free but the sad part is that your skin has gone three tones darker with regular usage of the product, as you said. I have gone through your query and surfed about it on net. Below are the details I gathered. Hope it will help you.

What is Brevoxyl Peroxide?:

Brevoxyl Peroxide has been widely used in acne scar removal products and acne reducing products. I hope you have heard about salicylic acid; Brevoxyl Peroxide is one kind, which helps in fading out the dark scars and helps in removing stubborn ugly bumps. It is a strong bleaching agent (I have no clue whether it is harsh or not!) which can fasten the fading process of your acne scars. Due to this property, you have got a pimple free skin with the regular usage of the product you have bought.

Does Brevoxyl Peroxide Darken Skin?:

No! Brevoxyl Peroxide doesn’t actually darken your skin however it may indirectly cause skin darkening. As I mentioned, it is a strong bleaching ingredient used in acne curing products. Once you start using a product that contains Brevoxyl Peroxide, you will notice good results on your skin. With regular usage, you will get a clearer skin tone but the problem is the ‘SUN’. Yes, sun is the black sheep here.

Your skin becomes more sensitive after using any ‘bleach’ product and thus it reacts very much to the harmful sun rays. This was the sole cause of your skin darkening. From this, it becomes clear that Brevoxyl Peroxide doesn’t darken your skin but it makes your skin over sensitive resulting in skin damage and darkness (Only if you expose it to sun or doesn’t maintain it properly)

How to Prevent Skin Darkening While Undergoing Acne Treatment?:

You MUST stay away from the sun when you are undergoing any acne treatment. That is the one and only way. No other excuses! Body heat due to sun may also result in skin darkening so wear a scarf or a cap whenever you are out in sun. A high SPF sunscreen lotion is a must too! Wear your sunscreen once every 2-3 hours if you are exposing your skin continuously to the sunlight. But it is better to avoid the hot sun completely when you are in your acne scare removal treatment to prevent skin darkening due to over sensitivity of the skin.

How to Get Back Your Original Complexion?:

You have mentioned that your skin has got dark with usage of the acne product you bought. Hence, stop the usage for a week to ten days. Do not use any harsh chemical based product on your skin during this period. Wash your face with a mild face wash and wear a healthy skin calming moisturizer. Apply chilled yogurt and sandalwood paste to your skin. They help in calming down your skin and reducing the extra sensitivity to sun. Apply a mixture of olive oil and honey may also help with the quick skin healing process.

Spray rose water on your facial skin 3-4 times in a day. Maintain your face soft and calm like a baby and it will return back to the original color :) If still you are not satisfied with the results, you can use any natural skin lightening product to gain back your complexion. I suggest you to read this post on how to get back your lost skin complexion.

Hope this information will be useful to you Sonia! So don’t forget your sunscreen next time when you are undergoing any kind of acne scar treatment where there is a presence of bleaching ingredients :) Better stay away from the sun to completely avoid skin darkening!

Do you have any ideas for Sonia to get back her original complexion? Any home remedies or product suggestions? Kindly drop in the comment section below and help her. If you want to drop a query to us, then go to the Ready Beauty Query section of MABH. Take care!