Sadia Saqib, Rafeea Tafweez, Nadia Haq, Mah Jabeen Muneera.
Effects of Commercially Available Whitening Creams on the Epidermal Thickness of Guinea Pig Skin.
J Coll Physicians Surg Pak Jan ;29(9):799-802.

Objective: To determine the effects of commonly used commercial skin lightening creams on the thickness of epidermis of guinea pig skin. Study Design: Animal experimental study. Place and Duration of Study: Department of Anatomy, King Edward Medical University, Lahore, from March to May 2015. Methodology: Forty-eight adult, colored guinea pigs were used in this study. The animals were randomly divided into four groups. Group I was control group (no cream application). The animals of group II, III and IV were treated with skin whitening creams A, B and C respectively once daily, 6 days/week for eight weeks duration. The observations of skin specimens were made after 4 and 8 weeks for epidermal thickness at histological level. Results: Microscopic examination showed variable degrees of epidermal thickening with the three creams applied for 4 weeks. The increase in thickness of epidermis ranged from 49.1 um in control group to maximum of 106.4 um in group ll. These effects were further intensified after 8 weeks application. Conclusion: The use of whitening creams caused skin damage by increasing the epidermal thickness of varying extent.

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