Hi beauty,Last week I asked the question, why brown spots keep coming back…that we’re good at erasing pigment and not great at asking why it showed up.
This week I’ll tell you what I actually do about it on my own face.
I use AlphaRet every night. Have for years. The overnight cream, and the peel pads are the same base formula with salicylic acid added — which is why I only use those two or three times a week.
Here’s the part I want to be clear about, because it gets misunderstood constantly: this is not a bleaching product. Hydroquinone, the most common bleaching ingredient, works by shutting down pigment production. AlphaRet works by speeding up how fast your skin turns over, so pigmented cells shed sooner. Two completely different mechanisms.
As a skin nurse, I care about that distinction. It’s the difference between suppressing something and helping your skin do what it already does, faster.
Does it lighten brown spots? It can. That’s the whole point of faster turnover — pigmented cells shed sooner, so spots fade with time. What it won’t do is stop new pigment from forming, which is why a professional peel resets the skin and this holds the line in between.
My skin glows the next morning. Every single time. That’s the honest version.
If you’re curious about either one, they’re both here:
P.S. If you missed last week’s melanin guide, it’s still here.