Hydroquinone is one of the most popular skin bleaching agents. It is widely used for removing skin spots, melasma, scar colors, etc. Hydroquinone is a bleaching agent. Hydroquinone reduces the production of melanin (skin color pigment) and increases its breakdown. Hydroquinone formulations (creams) are available both as over-the-counter and prescription products. Prescription products are higher in strength.

Hydroquinone stops further production of melanin (the skin color pigment) and it breaks down the existing excess melanin, on the spot to be treated. Melanin is the pigment that gives color to skin. Once melanin is reduced the excess color goes away.


Hydroquinone is mainly used to remove hyper-pigmentation caused by melasma/cholasma, age spots, and acne scars etc. It is well tolerated by most people, but in some cases it may cause allergic and contact dermatitis. Hydroquinone is approved in the USA for bleaching, but not in Europe and some other countries because of concerns regarding fetal development and other reasons.

How Does Hydroquinone Work?

Hydroquinone reduces the pigmentation on spots caused by melasma/cholasma, age spots, acne scars and freckles by topical application. It generally gives results in a month of use. If it does not change the skin color after more than three months, your doctor will advise you to discontinue it.

In the next part of this article we will find out more about how Hydroquinone should be used and how it bleaches the skin spots.

This article is only for informative purposes. This article is not intended to be a medical advise and it is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Please consult your doctor for your medical concerns. Please follow any tip given in this article only after consulting your doctor. The author is not liable for any outcome or damage resulting from information obtained from this article.