TOP 5 most effective Lightening Soaps

Hi Beauty Lovers,

So I’ve been getting alot of request from readers about Lightening Soaps and their efficacy.

***A little disclaimer, like all articles on myHairmyBeautyNigeria.com, we are all about INFORMING our readers, NOT advocating Bleaching or Toning ***

The soaps mentioned are GREAT at exfoliating and getting rid of dead skin cells; revealing a smoother, brighter tone. At most, these soaps will Brighten you but do not contain harmful chemicals to “bleach” or “lighten” even though the name implies this. These soaps with continous use will reduce the appearance of uneven skin tone, dark spots, age spots and freckles until they all are eventually eliminated.

If you want to change up your current regimen to reveal a youthful, brighter, complexion, then you might want to try some of these soaps, but be sure to use these soaps for a period of 3 months or so to get its full benefits.

**All Soaps have been tried and tested by writers on myHairmyBeautyNigeria.com**

 

1. KOJIE SAN Skin Lightening Soap

– I first stumbled upon this soap 4 years ago, while researching skin lightening soaps and ordered it because it was highly recommended. The soap contains Pure Kojic Acid, Sweet Orange, VCO, Glycerine, Vegetable Extracts, Vitamin C. Kojie San has an all-natural kojic acid formula that helps lighten dark spots due to acne, age spots, freckles, sun-damaged skin, and other skin pigmentation. Kojic Acid was discovered in Japan. It is a by-product of Koji, or Malted Rice, for use in the manufacture of rice wine. In cosmetics, Kojic Acid is popularly known for its excellent whitening effects and anti oxidant properties.

This soap is great at exfoliating, it leaves your skin feeling super clean, it smells great! However it finishes really fasts and leaves an orange stain in your bathroom, so be careful. In terms of lightening dark marks, I’d definitely say that this soap, after 3 months of using it, helped in fading some superficial dark marks and tan from spending too much time in the sun. On Asian skin, this soap works wonders and can “lighten” one up to 2 shades or more, as well as treat pimples; but on black skin it helps fade discoloration. To maximize the effect on the soap, it is best to lather up the soap, apply on the body and leave it on for 5 minutes, then rinse off.

So overall, I’d rate it a 4/5, be sure to properly moisturize after using this soap as it can leave the skin feeling VERY DRY. I ordered my soap online, but I’ve found Kojie San in cosmetic stores in Ilupeju and Surulere, as well as Allure Cosmetics on Opebi Road. Price for the soap varies according to vendor. But please make sure it has the Kojie San seal.

Depending on how sensitive your skin is, I would not recommend using this on your face, because some people have complained of the soap “burning them”, which is often a result of overusing it. The skin on my face is super sensitive and Acne prone, so I ONLY use this soap on my BODY.

 

 

 

2. FAIR and WHITE Savon AHA-2 Soap

– I’ve heard so much about this soap and decided to give it a try. This is the first product in the Fair & White Line I’m using, and being a Alpha Hydroxy Acid (AHA) Fan, I figured why not? The soap contains the following ingredients: Sodium palmate and Sodium palm kernelate and Aqua (Water) and Glycerin and Sodium chloride and Tetrasodium EDTA and Tetrasodium Etidronate, Tetrasodium EDTA, Methylparaben, CL77891 , Propylparaben, Sodium Dehydroacetate, Hydroxyisohexyl-3-Cyclohexene, Hexyl Cinnamal, Citronellol, Eugenol, Geranoil, CL11680, CL12490 (YIKES! That’s alot of Chemicals)

I used this soap for 2 months, I absolutely LOVED the Lather, very rich, the Fragrance was ok, nothing disturbing, and after bathing, I felt like my Skin was very CLEAN. Again, I didn’t use this soap on my face because of its ingredients, and my face is super sensitive. In terms of “Lightening”, I didn’t notice anything significant, my skin was however more even and definitely brighter. While the soap was great and a bar will last you a long time, I have to give this soap a 3/5 because I am not a fan of a lot of the ingredients it contains which can be irritating for certain skin types.

 

 

 

 

3. ASANTEE Papaya Herbal Soap

A friend of mine actually recommended this soap to me when I told her about a research I was doing on Lightening Soaps. This was about a year and half ago, and till date I always have a bar of this soap lying around somewhere. ASANTEE Papaya Soap contains: Q10, AHA Collagen, Papaya, Honey and Vitamin C, I’m sure there’s more to this ingredient but these are the active ingredients the company is marketing.

If you’re looking for Lightening soaps, Papaya Soaps are a good option because of the Papain Enzymes that are known to exfoliate dead skin cells. This soap smells great (a MUST for any soap I use) and it lathers really well. Unlike the Kojie San soap, it does not melt as fast, but it also does not last as long as the Fair and White AHA-2 Soap. The soap thoroughly cleanses, and leaves your skin feeling clean. In terms of Lightening, I’d say this soap definitely made my skin more even, it is my go to everyday soap when I’m not experimenting with body washes. Overall, I’d give this soap a 4/5.

Like I previously stated in my reviews, I DID NOT use this soap on my face because of how sensitive the skin on my face is, but if you have a normal non-reactive skin, you can try using it on your face. ASANTEE Papaya Herbal Soap can be purchased at any Ebeano Supermarket Outlet.

 

 

 

 

4. MAXIPEEL Exfoliant Soap

Any Variation of the above picture will do because they all contain the active lightening ingredients of  Niacinamide, Glycolic Acid, and Salicylic Acid, which work together to exfoliate and lighten the skin. Niacinamide is a popular natural skin lightener, while its lightening effects are very visible on white and asian skin, however the effect is not as strong on black skin.

According to their website, this soap is one of the most popular and effective whitening soaps in the Philippines, and comes with other products such as cream, serum, and peeling lotion. The soap is created as the first part of the entire process, and it is supposed to peel the skin (hence the name), however this was NOT the case for my skin. I found the soap to be very mild, scent was okay, somewhat floral and the soap did not easily melt. Maxipeel was great at exfoliating my skin, and when compared to the previously mentioned soaps, was actually mild. Overall, I’d give this soap a 3/5.

One of the promises of Maxipeel is its ability to fight Acne because of the ingredient Salicylic Acid, so I did try to use this soap on my face. While it did not sting or irritate my face, I found it to be too Dry, so I stopped using it after 2 weeks on my face. If you’re looking for a lightening soap that also tackles breakouts, Maxipeel is great option!

Maxipeel can be found at Ebeano Supermarket, as well as other cosmetic stores in Lagos.

 

 

5. K BROTHERS Papaya Soap

Another great papaya soap is K Brothers, just like the ASANTEE Soap mentioned above, K Brothers contains Papaya, Vitamin C and Coconut Oil for moisturizing the skin. K Brothers is bigger in size compared to the Asantee soap, and has the fun shape of a Papaya (Paw-Paw) Fruit. Now a little warning, I’ve read online reviews about this soap and people complained about it stinging or burning their skin, this was not the case for me.

I don’t recommend using bar soap on the face, but only on the body. My skin is pretty tough so I did not experience any kind of shedding, tingling and burning sensation. The soap lathers well, smells great, but after a while the soap started breaking into pieces. After using it for 3 months, I found that it thoroughly cleansed and exfoliated my body. I did not experience any breakout from it either. In terms of it’s lightening promises, I think this is more evident in Lighter skin shades than mine, at most like all the other lightening soaps, it brightened my skin and gave me a glow.

I’d rate this soap a 3.5/5. K BROTHERS papaya soap can be found at Ebeano Supermarkets in Lagos. Be careful, because of the popularity of this soap, there are apparently FAKE versions of it in the market.

 

So there you have it, 5 of my favourite Skin Lightening Soaps, if you have any questions, you can email me with myHairmyBeauty@yahoo.com. Feel FREE to leave a comment discussing some of your favourite Lightening soaps that were NOT on this list!