Dangerous Acne Scar Treatments
The purpose of this article is to discuss some of the common acne scars treatments that have potential dangers or warnings issued about them.
Some ingredients aimed to lighten the discoloration of acne scars have had warnings issued.
I would like to precede this page by saying that the ingredients mentioned here are not necessarily “guilty” of what is being warned about in studies. However, for ME, if there is so much as a “chance” of what the studies indicate being true, I’ll pass on using products that contain them.
Kojic Acid - This is a naturally occurring substance in fungi or mushrooms. It is common in Japan, and it is used in preserving the colors of seafood, as well as on fruit, when preserving the color. When used in skin care treatments, it is usually as a “bleaching” or “whitening” agent. It reduces the production of melanin in the skin. It is fairly unstable, as it reacts with air very quickly, or when exposed to sunlight. The part about kojic acid that scares me is the cancer causing (carcinogenic link) that was found. In a breed of cancer susceptible mice that were fed kojic acid for 26 weeks, they developed cancerous tumors on their livers. Poor things. Now, this study was done on mice, and of course it can’t be assumed that this would occur on humans. Also, the users of kojic acid in their products have vigorously defended their products. The bottom line for ME, however, is why risk it? There are other ingredients that can help with the discoloration of my acne scars, without any risks.
Hydroquinone - Hydroquinone is a topical agent that inhibits the production of melanin in the skin (dark pigment). For this reason, it has been included in some treatments of acne scars, as far as making the discolorations lighter. Hydroquinone does NOT destroy previously existing pigmentations, but rather prohibits the development of new ones. For this reason, you have to wait a while for the existing melanin to migrate out of the skin. To speed this up, it is often combined with acids that help exfoliate the skin. This causes irritation and can often make acne scars look worse. The bad part, is that it has links to causing cancer. Very high doses in animals indicated the potential to cause cancer. Also, hydroquinone causes ochronosis, a bluish black discoloration of tissue. Again, the studies of cancer were in animals, and at very high doses. However, i’m going to pass on using any product that contains it. Too many good ingredients with no dangers are out there.
