Our Special formulated Bleaching / Anti-aging cream

Our patients call this product “The magic silver jar”.

It is a skin rejuvenation cream that corrects skin discoloration, improves skin texture, and reduces fine lines and wrinkles. This cream contains double prescription products, hydroquinone – the most effective bleaching cream- and Retin-A the leading anti-aging product.

Why is our “Magic Silver Jar” cream so popular?

• It contains all the leading corrective creams in one jar.
• It is extremely effective.
• It can be used on any kind of skin color.
• It comes is different dosages so that the strength of the cream can be customized for individual needs.
• It is an all in “one” jar.
• It is easy to apply.
• It is made in a professional way so that the cream does not change color, texture and the effect easily i.e. it does have a long shelf life.
• It is extremely inexpensive for having two prescription products in one.
• It can be combined with other procedures or products to enhance the effect. The easiest, most common combination is with chemical peesl, Photo-facial, lasers, microdermabrasion, skin vitamin perfusion and oxygen therapy.
• It can also be used alone simply just with your own moisturizer and sun block.
• It is inexpensive and you can continue using you own cleanser and sunblock if you desire.

How is the discoloration produced in the skin?

Melanocytes are pigment-producing cells located in the bottom layer of the skin, hair and eyes that determine their color. The pigment that melanocytes produce is called melanin. The activity and not the number of the melanocytes determine the color of the skin.

What stimulates the Melanocytes and Melanin production?

• Sun exposure.
• Genetic, runs in the family.
• Your natural skin color such as olive skin or darker skins have higher tendency for permanent skin discoloration.
• Hormones especially pregnancy and birth control pills.
• Any type of Inflammation of the skin such as infection , burn , physical stimulation of the skin and others can cause discoloration of the skin called post inflammatory hyper pigmentation.
• Certain Medications.
• Certain cosmetics or nutrition increases the risk of sun induced discoloration.

What is Hydroquinone cream?

The most popular effective bleaching cream is Hydroquinone. It works by inhibiting the enzyme tyrosinase, which is needed to make melanin. This process disables melanocytes to function properly which slow down skin discoloration.

How can we enhance the effect of hydroquinone creams?

Products containing exfoliants enhance the effect of hydroquinone by gradually removing pigmentation at the surface of the skin. Further more after exfoliation of the skin the cream is going to penetrate the skin easier and faster.

What can be added to the Hydroquinone?

Many different defoliants are options to be added to the hydroquinone such as glycolic acid. In our special formulated cream along other products Retin-A is added to our hydroquinone. You can benefit from anti-aging effect of the Retin-A and at the same time it helps the penetration of the bleaching cream. Exfoliating effect of Retin-A helps the dead skin and superficial melanin to slug off the skin faster.

How fast does the bleaching cream take effect?

There are a lot of factors involved. These include:

• Type of skin, age of the patient.
• Depth and type of discoloration.
• The strength of the cream and other product compounds with hydroquinone
  In general after a few weeks the change in the skin color is noticeable. The best effect is expected after 10 to 12 weeks.

Is the effect of bleaching cream permanent?

No. We don’t want to destroy the melanocytes which can cause permanent skin color loss. This process happened after CO2 laser or deep chemical peel in the past which penetrated the skin deeply with permanent hypo-pigmentation. (Color loss).

How Retin-A works as anti-aging?

With aging skin turn-over slows down and skin collagen and elastin in the skin diminishes. This leads to fine lines and wrinkles of the skin. Retin-A increases skin turn over by stimulation of fibroblasts to produce normal distribution of collagen, elastin and glycosaminoglycans. Also regulates keratinocytes to resume a normal 6-weeks cycle of maturation and exfoliation. As a result of these changes fine lines and wrinkles of the skin are reduced.

Can Hydroquinone/ Retin-A cream be used forever?

Retin-A is safe to be used forever as an anti-aging skin stimulating product.

Hydroquinone should be used periodically. After a few months when the maximum effect of bleaching cream is achieved I recommend that my patients change to Retin-A cream only to maintain the corrective effect of our cream. Protection of the skin with proper moisturizing and nutrition, Vitamin C, Topical anti-oxidant and avoidance of smoking and stress helps longer lasting corrective effect of our cream.

Hydroquinone safety:

There has been some concerns regarding hydroquinone safety. In laboratory rats treated with hydroquinone, there is an increased risk of tumor development but it is not proven to be carcinogenic in humans.

Overuse of high strength hydroquinone for a prolonged time increase the risk of a condition called exogenous ochronosis. This disorder is characterized by progressive sooty darkening of the skin area exposed to hydroquinone. Exogenous ochronosis has generally been observed in black patients in South Africa who have used high concentrations of hydroquinone for many years. The incidence in United States is extremely rare.

Saying all the above concerns, hydroquinone is still one of the most recommended creams by dermatologists. To avoid the above risks I highly recommend having your treatment under Dr. Shafa’s supervision. Keep in mind this cream is to correct the skins brownish discoloration. It can be used intermittently but not for maintenance.

Contraindication for Hydroquinone/ Retin-A cream:

• Known allergic reaction to any of the products.
• Pregnancy and Breastfeeding.