Adding uva ursi to lotion to make skin-lightening cream?

[Serena]

I've been buying an expensive cream from the health food store to try to lighten the sun spots I get. (I live in the desert and have a very fair complexion. The sun is brutal.). The cream has had a few recipe changes and does not work as well as it used to. (And the price has doubled since I started buying it.). The skin lightening ingredient in it is now licorice root. It doesn't do much at all, so I thought I'd try uva ursi.

I happened to be near an herb store today and bought some uva ursi, which is also known as bearberry.

I was thinking of making some very strong tea with the uva ursi leaves, and adding some of the tea to some fragrance-free lotion I use. I know the lotion does not cause skin reactions.

I will test the uva ursi tea on my skin first, to see if I get reactions. I cannot use fragrances at all, in anything, ever.


Anyone else altering lotions and creams to make a skin-lightening cream? Anything else you've tried and liked?

 

[atiz]

This is really interesting, I have never heard of uva ursi, but curious how it works for you!

 

[mishmish]

I've used uva ursi for urinary tract infections but didn't know of the topical use for skin lightening. I'll be interested to hear of your results!

 

[Zany_in_CO]

Hiya mishmish! You're in luck! I did quite a bit of research on the topical use of Bearberry Extract (Uva Ursi) for skin lightening and I'm here to tell ya, it works! With no side effects. The hard part is finding the Bearberry powder. Unfortunately, the supplier I got it from no longer carries it. Go to
SKIN ACTIVES and search for arbutin -- which is derived from bearberry.

See PDF attached.