Bleaching facial creams with steroids can make your skin badly damaged

Indonesian women still consider snow-white skin as the ideal beauty standard. So, it's no wonder that there are various instant ways to have dreamy white skin as fast as turning your palms. One of them is by using a face cream that is sold freely in stores on line . But unfortunately, many of these skin whitening products actually contain dangerous ingredients.

The Food and Drug Administration (BPOM) almost every year seizes many illegal cosmetic products containing dangerous ingredients. Of the many secured cosmetic products, most of them are skin whitening creams that contain steroids.

What is a steroid cream?

Steroids, also known as corticosteroids, are actually drugs to treat inflammatory reactions in the body. Steroid drugs work by constricting capillaries and suppressing an overworked immune system. Steroid drugs are available in many types, ranging from oral, topical (topical), injectable, to inhaled drugs.

Doctors often prescribe specific steroid creams only to treat skin problems, such as numularis dermatitis, atopic dermatitis, allergic and irritant contact dermatitis, psoriasis, bullous disease, and so on.

Topical steroids (topical drugs) can directly target problem areas and are considered to have less side effects than oral steroids.

Illegal bleaching cream with steroids is circulating in Indonesia

It should be understood first that pure steroid creams intended as legal skin drugs are circulating in Indonesia because they have a BPOM license. Another story with bleaching facial creams with steroids.

Steroid cream SHOULD NOT added in facial skin care creams whose purpose is aesthetics, aka beauty. Unfortunately, lately there have been many people who abuse the use of this steroid.

They claim that steroid creams can whiten skin. In fact, the changes in skin color that occur are a manifestation of the side effects of steroids used carelessly outside of medicinal purposes.

The effect of fading the skin to a lighter or whiter color than the rest of the skin around it is called hypopigmentation. This occurs because the skin that is exposed to steroids is deficient in the pigment melanin (a natural skin coloring agent).

What are the side effects?

Steroid creams should not be used as face care creams (skincare) because there will be a lot of side effects that can be caused by using them carelessly.

The side effects that are easiest to see and occur most often include:

The face is sensitive, gets red easily when exposed to the sun even in very short or very minimal exposure.
Purplish red streaks appear on the face, caused by the widening of the blood vessels in the upper skin.
Hypertrichosis, which is the appearance of fine hairs on the face, fine hair that was thin before it becomes clearer, the hairs of the mustache above the lips become clearer, the hairline on the forehead is also progressing / descending.

Usually the above side effects appear if you use creams that contain high doses of steroids and are used long-term.

Not everyone will automatically experience these side effects. The skin may look better, less red, and show no signs of allergies. But one thing is certain, the side effects of bleaching creams with steroids will actually harm your health, especially on the internal organs. It can take several years to see the bad effects on your health.

So, I emphasize again. Facial creams with steroids should not be available, because this is a misnomer. Steroids should not used for facial care creams. Use of facial whitening creams that contain steroids clearly unsafe.

Can we know the characteristics of facial whitening cream products that contain steroids?

Unfortunately, you can't. You can't tell which cream has a steroid and which isn't just by looking at the outside.

To be able to know for sure, it must be with laboratory tests. So you should always be careful when buying skin care creams, especially for facial skin.

Always try to consult first with a dermatologist and genitalia specialist. Don't just be tempted by instant and cheap results, then immediately use it regardless of what the cream is in and whether there are side effects or not.

Remember, never take the risk of haggling with your facial treatments. Steroid drugs actually have many benefits for dealing with various diseases, as long as they are used appropriately at the dosage that is needed.

What if the skin is already damaged?

Immediately go to a specialist in skin and genitalia (Sp.KK). Some of the side effects of bersteroid creams are permanent even after the use of the cream has been stopped. However, your skin can still be repaired with a number of medical measures that need to pay quite a bit.

Well, instead of having to spend a lot of money and feel the side effects, you better avoid all forms of using whitening creams that contain steroids.

Also, avoid buying whitening creams through the store on line . Apart from the fact that you don't know exactly what the ingredients in it are, creams that are sold online are not necessarily guaranteed to be safe.

Make sure you always consult a dermatologist and genitalia specialist when you want to use a whitening cream. For facial care, a skin and genital specialist will prescribe medicines that are tailored to your skin condition.