Dark spots can be a real nuisance. They can appear as a result of aging, unbalanced hormones, the sun, and even acne.
No matter the reason, if it’s making you uncomfortable, you can find your favorite dark spot corrector at your local drugstore, and get rid of those dark spots easily.
Editor’s Pick: 2% Hydroquinone Dark Spot Corrector Remover for Face by Admire my Skin
Best Drugstore Dark Spot Corrector Reviews
If you’re sick and tired of wearing heavy foundations and concealers to cover up your dark spots, but you’re not ready to commit to expensive dermatologist procedures to get rid of them for good, a drugstore dark spot corrector can be a great product for you! Here are some of our favorites!
1. 2% Hydroquinone Dark Spot Corrector Remover for Face [Editor’s Pick]
If you struggle with dark spots, hyperpigmentation, melasma, and scarring, and are looking for a powerhouse product that’ll get rid of your problem areas for good, this dark spot corrector serum is the product for you!
Acid Peel
This product is an acid peel, which means that it literally resurfaces the top layers of your skin, sloughing away dead, dark cells and revealing a bright, glowing, brand-new face! It features 2% hydroquinone, which is the highest concentration allowed in an over-the-counter skin product.
Beneficial Ingredients
The active ingredient in this serum is hydroquinone, a powerful skin-brightening agent used in many medical-grade lightening treatments. In addition, it also contains resurfacing and smoothing agents like salicylic acid, azelaic acid, lactic acid, and vitamin C, all of which do an incredible job at smoothing, softening, and brightening your skin!
This bestselling product promises to yield results within 4 weeks, so you’re sure to see a noticeable improvement in your skin tone and texture!
Powerful & Effective
Because this product is so powerful, it might take your skin a while to adjust. Dermatologists recommend starting out by using this product once a day, making sure to wear SPF on your face, and then progress to using it twice a day after your skin adjusts. After about 4 weeks, you’ll start seeing all of the dark spots and hyperpigmentation on your face fade away!
Overall
So many people who have bought this product call it a miracle or a life-saver. It has worked its magic on thousands of people’s melasma, hyperpigmentation, dark spots, and acne scars. Most customers have even noticed results after 2 or 3 weeks of consistent use! No matter how dark or obtrusive your hyperpigmentation is, this powerful serum will take care of it!
2. InstaNatural – Advanced Antioxidant Serum for Lightening Dark Spots
Not only does this powerful serum promise to help fade your dark spots and hyperpigmentation, but it also works to reduce wrinkles, firm the texture of the skin, protect against UV damage, and hydrate dry areas on your face and body! If you’re looking for a product that works to improve every aspect of your skin, this is the serum for you!
Skin-Friendly Ingredients
This serum features powerful ingredients like vitamin C, hyaluronic acid, alpha arbutin, licorice extract, and niacinamide. All of these ingredients are naturally-derived and work incredibly hard to improve every single aspect of your skin, from tone to texture to firmness! Within weeks, you’ll notice your skin looking and feeling tighter, brighter, firmer, and softer!
Free of Unhealthy Additives
In addition to its bevy of good-for-you ingredients, you can also rest assured that this serum is free of dangerous chemicals like parabens, mineral oils, formaldehyde, synthetic dyes, and petrolatum. Plus, it’s cruelty-free, meaning that it’s never been tested on animals, making it ethical in addition to healthy and effective.
Easy to Use
Easy to UseJust like most skin serums, this serum is very easy to incorporate into your existing skincare routine. After cleansing and toning your skin, massage a small amount of this serum all over your face and neck, allow it to completely absorb into your skin, and follow up with your favorite moisturizer and eye cream. You can use it once or twice a day, depending on the sensitivity of your skin!
Overall
This product has earned rave reviews from natural beauty enthusiasts who struggle with dark spots and hyperpigmentation. It’s gentle, yet effective, making quick work of any scarring, melasma, or other forms of hyperpigmentation you might have. Plus, it hydrates and smooths your skin along the way. It’s the total skincare package!
3. TruSkin Naturals Vitamin C Serum for Face with Hyaluronic Acid & Vitamin E [Best Value]
This serum is full of antioxidants and skin-healthy ingredients that promote collagen production, fade dark spots, smooth wrinkles, firm sagging skin, and improve the overall tone, texture, and brightness of your skin! This serum feels silky, smooth, and will instantly become one of your favorite parts of your everyday skincare routine!
Beneficial Ingredients
The TruSkin Vitamin C serum has so many beneficial ingredients, including botanical hyaluronic acid, vitamin C, vitamin E, aloe vera, witch hazel extract, and jojoba oil, all of which nourish, hydrate, and brighten your skin. You’ll notice diminishment in all of the visible signs of aging on your skin!
This serum is also free of synthetic colors, preservatives, fragrances, and additives, making it as and skin-friendly as possible. The formula is plant-based, cruelty-free, and completely made in the USA, so it’s ethical in addition to being good for your health and your skin!
Patch-Test for Best Use
Like most powerful brightening and lightening serums, this serum should be patch-tested on your inner wrist before you start using it on your face. Because the ingredients are so powerful and concentrated, there’s a small possibility that it could cause breakouts or allergic reactions. Be sure to apply a few drops to your inner wrist and check for a reaction before applying to your face.
Overall
This product has gotten rave reviews from women of all ages, races, skin types, and skin tones. Customers have noticed that their skin is brighter, softer, smoother, suppler, and free of dark spots, wrinkles, dark circles, and undereye bags after just a few weeks of using this serum!
4. Murad Rapid Age Spot and Pigment Lightening Serum
If you’re looking for a clinical-strength skincare product that promises to deliver the same powerful results as a dermatologist’s treatment, look no further than the Murad Rapid Age Spot and Pigment Lightening Serum! Not only does this powerful serum help reverse the effects of sun and age damage, but it also helps protect your skin against future damage!
Powerful Active Ingredients
This serum has a 2% concentration of hydroquinone, the highest legal amount for any over-the-counter skin care product. Plus, it features hexapeptide-2 and glycolic acid, which are powerful anti-aging, brightening, and resurfacing agents that work hand-in-hand with hydroquinone to improve the overall tone and texture of your face!
Works for All Skin Types
Because Murad was founded by a dermatologist with years of experience in clinical skin care, this product is obviously free of ingredients that could do serious harm to your skin or your health, including parabens, sulfates, phthalates, and gluten. Additionally, Murad products are cruelty-free and are tested to work effectively on all skin types, from oily to normal to dry.
Fits Seamlessly into Your Skincare Routine
This serum is very easy to use, and is most effective when incorporated with other products from the Murad skincare line, like their cleanser, toner, moisturizer, and sunscreen. After cleansing and toning, apply a generous amount of the dark spot corrector serum all over your face, neck, and chest. In just a few weeks, you’ll begin to see results!
Overall
This product has earned great reviews from people who suffer from sun damage-related dark spots, age spots, or melasma. If you notice hyperpigmentation on your face, neck, or chest after a bad sunburn or prolonged sun exposure, this powerful resurfacing and brightening serum will do an excellent job of making your skin look clearer, brighter, and younger!
5. Anti Aging Skin Care Set by Eve Hansen – Best Natural Anti Wrinkle Serum Set, Spot Corrector
This all-natural set of skincare serums promise to correct any skin problem that you could possibly experience, including dark spots, wrinkles, sagging, dullness, large pores, and eye bag puffiness. When used in conjunction with each other, each of the three serums will work hard to make your skin look brighter, smoother, firmer, softer, and younger!
Easy Routine
This set includes three serums: the hyaluronic serum, vitamin C serum, and retinol serum. All three of them are supposed to be used in a specific order to achieve the best results. First, you cleanse and tone as usual. Then, you apply the vitamin C serum. Next, apply the hyaluronic serum. Afterwards, apply the retinol serum, but only in the evening. Finally, apply your regular eye cream and moisturizer!
Natural and Healthy Ingredients
These serums are full of good-for-you ingredients, like hyaluronic acid, aloe, green tea, jojoba oil, retinol, and vitamins C and E, all of which are derived naturally and organically for the cleanest, purest, and most effective results. Together, they restore, hydrate, smooth, tighten, brighten, and soften your skin!
Cruelty-Free and Vegan
In addition to being full of healthy ingredients that will revolutionize the quality of your skin, you can also rest assured that these serums are free of harmful ingredients like parabens, sulfates, and phthalates. Plus, they’re completely cruelty-free, vegan, organic, and made in the USA.
Overall
Especially if you have mature skin, these products will be an absolute lifesaver for your face! They do an excellent job at softening, hydrating, and smoothing your skin. Your wrinkles will diminish, your dark spots will brighten, and your pores will shrink. Like many other satisfied customers, you’ll notice a difference within a couple of weeks!
6. Skin Lightening Serum with Kojic Acid – Skin Whitening & Brightening Beauty Care Cream
This powerful lightening and brightening serum works hard to fade all of your dark spots, hyperpigmentation, acne scarring, discoloration, and melasma, without resorting to harsh chemicals. If you’re looking for a serum that’s gentle, but still effective, this might be the perfect product for you!
Full-Body Effectiveness
This serum is especially unique because it can be used all over your body, not just on your face. It can be used to fade scarring on areas like your back, legs, arms, knees, and elbows, but also on more sensitive areas, like your inner thighs, underarms, and even the genital and nipple areas. It’s incredibly versatile!
Gentle, Yet Powerful
Some people react badly to hydroquinone, so if you know that that chemical is too harsh for your skin, this serum is a great choice for you, since it’s hydroquinone-free! It’s also free of perfumes and parabens, making it one of the gentlest and safest brightening serums on the market.
Easy Application
This serum is incredibly easy to use. Because it’s so gentle, it can be applied morning and night right from the get-go, without worrying about how your skin is going to react. Just cleanse and tone your skin as normal, then apply a generous amount to whatever area you’re trying to brighten. It’s also recommended that you wear a strong SPF during the daytime while using this product.
Overall
Many beauty and skincare enthusiasts love this brightening serum for lightening their sunspots and acne spots without drying out their skin or causing obnoxious redness. After only a couple of weeks, so many customers have noticed a visible difference in the tone and texture of their skin!
7. LilyAna Naturals Retinol Cream Moisturizer
This moisturizer is an absolute powerhouse, working hard to hydrate your skin, while also diminishing wrinkles, fading sunspots, brightening acne scars, and making stretch marks disappear. It absorbs quickly into your skin without leaving an oily residue, making it a perfect product for people of all genders, ages, skin types, and skin tones!
Clean, Green Ingredients
This organic moisturizer is gentle yet powerful, chock-full of ingredients like hyaluronic acid, vitamin E, green tea, shea butter, and jojoba oil. These natural ingredients are still extremely effective but are much gentler on sensitive skin. If you’re trying to avoid harsh chemicals, this moisturizer is perfect for you!
Versatile
This moisturizer can be used anywhere on your body without causing sensitivity, irritation, milia, or breakouts. It’s gentle enough to be used around your sensitive undereye area to prevent dark circles and bags, but also on your neck and hands to firm and tone the skin there. Plus, it’s designed to be safe for acne-prone skin, meaning that it won’t cause breakouts.
Easy to Use
This moisturizer can be used both morning and night, making it an extremely versatile addition to your daily skincare routine. After cleansing your skin, just apply a moderate amount all over your face, under eyes, neck, and chest. During the daytime, be sure to follow up with an SPF, to protect your sensitive skin from sun damage.
Overall
Customers with sensitive skin love this moisturizer for diminishing wrinkles, fading dark spots, and hydrating their skin all at once. It’s become a staple in so many women’s daily skincare routines. Within just a few weeks, most customers begin to see astonishing results, a testament to this product’s effectiveness!
8. Tea Tree Clear Skin Serum, Age-Defying Formula for Acne-Prone Skin
This serum utilizes powerful natural ingredients to heal blemishes, fade acne scars, reduce dark spots, diminish hyperpigmentation, and smooth out fine lines. Your skin will look and feel brighter, healthier, softer, smoother, and much less irritated. If you struggle with frequent breakouts, this serum is the one for you!
Powerful Ingredients, Powerful Effects
This serum is full of naturally-derived ingredients like vitamin C, vitamin A, hyaluronic acid, retinol, niacinamide, salicylic acid, and tea tree oil, all of which work hard to deliver a powerful combination of incredible skincare benefits. Together, these ingredients can yield anti-aging, blemish-busting, and dark spot-diminishing results!
Safe and Effective
In addition to being full of amazing ingredients that will transform your skin, this serum is also cruelty-free, organic, and formulated in an FDA-approved lab in the United States. If you also use the TruSkin Vitamin C serum, you can use it on alternate days with this Tea Tree Clear Skin Serum to see even more amazing results!
Low-Maintenance Application
This product is so powerful and effective that it doesn’t even need to be applied every single day. Two to three times a week, after cleansing and toning as usual, apply a small amount evenly to the entire surface of our face. Once the serum absorbs completely into your skin, follow up with your regular moisturizer and eye cream for incredible results!
Overall
This product has absolutely transformed so many people’s skin, taking them from oily, blemish-prone skin full of scars to clear, smooth, bright, and unblemished skin. If you suffer from acne and have had bad experiences with harsh chemical acne treatments, this serum has the potential to change your skin forever!
9. Retinol Moisturizer Cream for Face – with Retinol, Hyaluronic Acid, Vitamin E and Green Tea
This powerful retinol moisturizer does an excellent job of deeply hydrating your skin while also diminishing dark spots, smoothing wrinkles, and fighting acne! It comes in a generous 1.7-ounce bottle with a fancy pump dispenser, creating a luxurious spa-like experience combined with a great value.
Powerful Mixture of Ingredients
The four main ingredients in this moisturizer are retinol, hyaluronic acid, green tea, and vitamin E. It has a 2.5% concentration of retinol complex, which brightens your skin and promotes faster cell turnover. The hyaluronic acid improves the plumpness and hydration of your skin. The green tea fights inflammation, eliminates acne, and helps balance out oily skin. Finally, the vitamin E hydrates and reduces visible signs of aging.
Cruelty-Free
On top of being chock-full of amazing, nourishing ingredients, this moisturizer is free of fragrances, dyes, and parabens, making it a positive choice for both your skin and your general health. Plus, it’s cruelty-free, meaning that it’s not tested on animals.
Easy to Incorporate into Your Skincare Routine
This moisturizer will fit in seamlessly into your existing skincare routine. After cleansing, toning, and applying your favorite serum, apply a generous amount of this retinol moisturizer all over your face, neck, and chest. It can be used both morning and night, but if you use it in the morning, be sure to wear SPF on top of it to protect your skin!
Overall
Customers everywhere love this moisturizer for transforming their skin. After just a few weeks of sustained use, customers have noticed visible improvements in their skin tone, texture, the appearance of wrinkles and fine lines, breakouts, and dark spots! Even customers with sensitive skin have noticed excellent results!
10. NEW Improved Vitamin C Serum that Helps Fade Age Spots
This incredible serum promises to fade dark spots, reduce wrinkles, and improve firmness, texture, tone, and brightness. If you’re frustrated with constant breakouts, dullness, fine lines, undereye bags, and sagging, and are looking for a powerhouse product that will solve all of your skincare woes in one fell swoop, this serum is the product for you!
Brightening Ingredients
This serum is full of great ingredients, like vitamin C and hyaluronic acid, which are well-known in the skincare community for their powerful brightening, smoothing, and hydrating properties. This formula is of the exact same caliber as the serums used at dermatologists’ offices, high-end spas, and aestheticians’ practices, so you know you’re getting high quality!
Quality Ingredients and Packaging
This serum is trusted by doctors and dermatologists, organic, cruelty-free, paraben-free, alcohol-free, and made in the United States. It has a generous shelf life of one year and is packaged in an airtight container that prevents the growth of bacteria and other pathogens that could irritate your skin.
Undoubtedly Effective
This skincare brand has committed itself to create powerful, effective products with ingredients that really make a difference for people who are really trying to reverse the visible signs of aging on their skin. If you’ve been burned in the past by ineffective serums, moisturizers, toners, and creams, this product could be the one you’ve been waiting for!
Overall
Although this serum is primarily for anti-aging, customers of all ages are incredibly satisfied with the results they get from this serum. After just a few weeks, you can see a diminishment in wrinkles and dark spots. I love this product, it is making my skin found that their skin was noticeably brighter, smoother, softer, and younger-looking!
11. Sunday Riley CEO Rapid Flash Brightening Serum
This brightening serum has become a cult favorite for its powerful ability to vanish dark spots, acne scars, hyperpigmentation, melasma, and signs of sun exposure. If you’re looking to really invest in a product that promises to revolutionize the quality of your skin, this is the serum for you!
Potent Formula
This potent serum has 15% vitamin C, a powerful brightening ingredient that works hard to reduce the appearance of dark spots, hyperpigmentation, acne scarring, discoloration, and dullness. Plus, it’s full of antioxidants that protect and illuminate your skin, diminishing redness, sensitivity, and large pores!
The Ingredients
In addition to its potent, powerful formula that works hard to revolutionize the tone, texture, and overall quality of your skin, this serum is free of dangerous additives like parabens, sulfates, and phthalates. Sunday Riley products are cruelty-free, and never tested on animals!
Easy to Use
After cleansing and toning your skin, as usual, apply one to two pumps of this powerful little serum to your face, spreading it all over the skin of your face and extending it down your neck. Then, follow up with your favorite moisturizers and eye creams!
Overall
This product has earned great reviews from customers of all ages, genders, skin types, and skin tones. Within just a couple of weeks, you will notice a visible difference in the overall tone of your skin. Its a great product for those who like to look fresher, younger, dewier, and brighter, even without makeup!
What Causes Dark Spots on My Face?
Dark spots can have a number of causes. If you experience frequent breakouts and are in the habit of picking or rubbing at your blemishes, that could cause deep injury that creates scarring, even after the blemish fades.
Dark spots can also be the result of prolonged sun exposure without proper protection or just a natural process of aging. Finally, dark spots might be a hormonal issue. Melasma is a very common pigmentary disorder that often occurs during or after pregnancy, caused by drastic changes in your hormonal chemistry.
Which Ingredients Are Best for Dark Spot Removal?
Ingredients like glycolic acid, licorice extract, vitamin E, vitamin C, niacinamide, kojic acid, green tea, retinol, and ginger root extract are all highly recommended by doctors and dermatologists for dark spot removal.
All of these ingredients contain compounds that exfoliate, resurface, and brighten your skin, breaking up spots of hyperpigmentation and revealing clear, bright, glowing skin underneath.
Related:
What Is the Best Product to Remove Dark Spots on My Face?
The best products to remove dark spots are serums and moisturizers. Serums generally have a very liquidy texture and are full of potent ingredients that break up hyperpigmentation in your skin and help protect against the formation of new, hyperpigmented spots.
Moisturizers are gentler, combining the potent effects of a serum with long-term hydration. These products soak into your skin during the day or overnight, working long-term to improve the overall tone of your skin!
Do Dark Spot Correctors Work on Acne Scars?
Yes! Drugstore Dark spot correctors work on all sorts of hyperpigmentation, including acne scars, sunspots, age spots, melasma, and stretch marks. If you’re specifically looking to fix acne scarring, look for a serum or moisturizer with ingredients like vitamin C, salicylic acid, retinol, and tea tree oil, all of which combine powerful bacteria-fighting capabilities with brightening capabilities, leaving you with clear, glowing skin!
Does Retinol Lighten Dark Spots?
Retinol is a powerful compound that has an incredible array of skincare benefits, including wrinkle prevention, brightening effects, and acne-fighting powers. It helps reverse signs of aging, promotes faster cell turnover, plumps your skin, shrinks your pores, and transforms your face into the best, most glowy version of itself.
When combined with vitamin C, retinol is known to be incredibly effective at removing dark spots. If you struggle with hyperpigmentation, a retinol treatment, such as a serum or moisturizer, is a great product to try.
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