Skin issue: why is my tone darker?

[Shivendra]

Hi, I've been doing skincare for about a year now, but my face looks much darker than my natural skin tone. I've been using Minimalist serums – vitamin C twice a week, salicylic acid once a week, and niacinamide once a week – and I always finish with Minimalist sunscreen, even though I stay home most of the time and only go out when needed. I stopped the serums because they seemed to make my skin darker, so I gave them a break to see what was happening. It's been three months and the pigmentation is still the same; the serums definitely made it darker. For the past three months I've only been using a moisturizer and sunscreen. I'm in my late 20s and really want to improve this.

Products I've used:

Minimalist – Vitamin C (twice a week, stopped)
Minimalist – Niacinamide (twice a week, stopped)
Minimalist – Salicylic acid (twice a week, stopped)
Moisturizer – daily (still)
Sunscreen – daily (still)
Oat extract face wash – daily

Now I've switched the face wash to Mamaearth vitamin C, started using an Everyuth orange peel‑off mask once a week, and an Everyuth apricot face scrub once a week. Moisturizer and sunscreen remain the same.

Please help!

[Chirag]

Try the Alpha Arbutin serum from Minimalist. You'll see a difference and it's gentle on the skin.

[Lokesh]

It seems your melanin production is still high even with sunscreen. Consider switching to a different sunscreen – the current one might not be effective for you. You can also add Kojic acid together with Alpha Arbutin to curb melanin. Start with twice a week at night only, and after a month you could increase to three times.

[Aarav]

You could give the Minimalist Alpha Arbutin serum a try later. In the meantime, take a few days off, just do a gentle cleanse, moisturise and apply sunscreen. If there's still no improvement, it's best to see a dermatologist.