This skin lightening thing is an Asian thing I think lol I hear it all the time, especially here in the Philippines and in India and Pakistan. It's probably a similar scenario in nearby places like Malaysia and Indonesia and Bangladesh.
Anyhow, a lot of turmeric soaps have been marketed as lightening.. Same with rice soaps and papaya soaps but I have no idea if they actually work because I doubt anyone has actually done scientific testing.
For those who claim they do, I'm betting the soaps maybe help along whatever other skincare products are used for lightening. Or if nothing else is used, maybe it works coz it's one thing that's sure to be used repeatedly.
One thing I'll say is, from what people have told me, changing to handmade soap from commercial syndets or hybrids, do tend to cause people to see changes in their skin tone, pores, etc. The problem is pointing out what specifically causes that change. Is it an oil? Is it an additive? Is it the nature of handmade soap, or is it a placebo thing?
A lot of maybes there lol
