Today, I am trying the
Hero Cosmetics Lightning Wand
dark spot brightening serum.
In a previous video
I tested the Hero Cosmetics micro dark patch,
and I didn't really see that many results.
And it's likely because
my scars are more red and not dark.
I'm hopeful that this wand will work
because on the product website
as well as in some of the reviews,
people with a similar skin tone to mine
have seen results.
The instructions say to use it twice daily.
Some people have seen a difference in just one day,
but to give it enough time,
I'm going to use it for three days.
Good morning, everybody!
It is my first time trying
the brightening wand today.
The first thing you're supposed to do
is cleanse your face.
So I'm going to do that.
Oh, it's already coming out, cool.
It feels nice and cold,
and you can see that it's shiny.
Here.
My strategy is going to be
applying it to a few spots
just so I'm sure
I am not mixing up scarring
and, like, pigment change.
OK.
So, I think I'm fully covered.
It doesn't have a smell at all.
It honestly just feels nice and cooling,
so I'm very happy with it.
After trying it for the first day,
I'm not seeing a huge difference.
Dermatologist Mona Mislankar says that
the ingredients in the serum are helpful
in brightening dark spots.
Mislankar: The main ingredients in this serum
that are going to provide brightening of the skin
are tranexamic acid, vitamin C,
and the licorice root.
They all work on an enzyme called tyrosinase
and basically help inhibit melanin production,
which is the brown that you're going to see
in acne scarring.
Additionally, tranexamic acid
is one of my favorite ingredients
because it also stops pigment
from going to the skin cells,
and it's an anti-inflammatory.
Good morning. It's day four.
I just woke up.
Cheers.
Ahh.
So, I was looking at my face this morning,
and I maybe see a little bit of a difference.
I don't know.
I feel like some of them
look a little bit brighter, not as dark.
But I'm going to talk to
dermatologist Mona Mislankar again
to go through my before and afters
and see what she thinks.
To be honest, I didn't notice a huge difference
in your before and afters.
And I think the main reason why
is when I look at your skin,
I think in most of those pictures,
I see some deeper kind of rolling scars,
and then I actually saw more so
post-inflammatory erythema,
which is the pink and red scars.
So I think that this serum is mainly targeted
for the brown and the melanin.
You know, tranexamic acid
is going to help a little bit
with the vascular component.
The niacinamide that is in the serum
will help you with the redness.
But I think something with a retinol or retinoid
is going to help you more for texture,
and perhaps something like
azelaic acid or niacinamide
for more that pink-red scarring.
Now, in some of the before and afters,
especially the ones that were closer to the temple,
I did notice a little bit of reduction of the melanin.
So, overall, like I said,
I think there's great ingredients in it.
I just think that maybe it's not
a one-size-fits-all for everybody.
And remember, sunscreen is always
going to be the most important.
A lot of these ingredients provide
anti-inflammatory benefits,
so I think the more fresh an acne lesion is,
they're going to provide benefits at that point.