I would like to start off by saying that I am an obese African-American woman with hyperpigmentation. The darkest area on my body is my neck. It is about 3-4 shades darker than the rest of my body. I also have a dark chin from plucking annoying chin hairs and darkening around my mouth, nose and a huge acne scar in between my eyes.
I purchased this soap mainly based off of the great reviews that it had. I also purchased it because I did an ample amount of research about skin lightening and Kojic acid always pops up. I received the soap on the 30th of September. I immediately used it that night. I highly recommended cutting the soap into halves or fourths because it is small. In order to get the most out of your soap do not use the entire bar at once as it will not last very long this way. I cut mine in half and I've been using the same piece for almost two weeks. I haven't even been using this soap for 2 weeks and people have already noticed a difference in my face.
The first thing I noticed since I've used my soap is that my acne scar has faded significantly, in my opinion. My sister and grandmother both noticed that my face is clearer. I haven't noticed a significant difference on my neck because it's much darker than my face, but I see that it is working somewhat. The darkness of my neck is probably a combination of my obesity and some other factor. However, I do believe that in my case using a mild skin listening cream could help speed things up. Also, the darkness around my mouth, nose and in the crease of my chin has also gotten lighter.
I personally do not believe that this soap will make you super light and blotchy like many skin lightening creams and products do, but will even out your skin tone.
Once my face clears up to my liking I will probably only use my soap every other day and eventually once or twice a week. I have only been using it once a day before I go to bed. I let it sit on my face for 1-2 minutes then wash it off. It does sting a little, but not too much. The soap has a strong orangey smell, but not too much for me. I love it! Some people suggests leaving it on your face or body for 10-15 minutes, but that's too long for me and I get fidgety. Some people use it on their entire body, but I haven't started that yet, simply because the bars are so small and my body is so big, haha. When my neck and face is to my liking I will order 6-9 bars, cut them in half and use them for a few months or so.
All-in-all I think this is a great product for anyone who wants so even out their skin tone. If you want to change shades past your natural shade this might not be the product for you.
I will post before and after pictures after I have used the soap for a month. This is all that I use to care for my skin besides a light sunscreen from Simple, to moisture use and protect my face and neck.