Whitening Supplements [IDS Lyco-White / Gluta Pancea]

I’m naturally tanned (as you can probably tell by now) which is a total opposite from my mum. Over the years, I’ve tried quite a number of whitening skincare products. Some of them actually do work, but I soon realised that they introduced different skin tones between my face and body. *gasp*

I’ve tried whitening body lotion too, but it doesn’t work as well. You might wonder why didn’t I use those whitening skincare products that were meant for face, on my body too?

Duh. You think I’m Jamie Chua or Datok meh? 🤷🏻‍♀️

I wish I could print earn money that fast too. Not forgetting the amount of effort needed to applying on all over (bigger surface areasssss get it?). 💰🌲

So I turned to supplements. 💊

The rationale was instead of applying products merely on the surface of my skin,  supplements work inside-out rather than vice-versa (if it works lah)? Moreover, it’s definitely faster and less clumsy in application as compared to external products.

I did my research by comparing the top recommended brands online and in this day and age, who could forget the “digital word-of-mouth”. I then shortlisted the candidates to these 2 brands – IDS Lyco-White (local Singapore brand) and Gluta Pancea (product of Thailand).

IDS Lyco-White

I had actually narrowed down to the top three brands – Heliocare, Crystal Tomato and this – Lyco-white from IDS.  I didn’t choose Heliocare despite the more trustable reviews,  largely because they spilt the sunblock and whitening functions into 2 different supplements, but also under sunblock supplements there’s 2 kinds to choose from and same for their whitening pills. Given the confusing choices, it was very difficult for me to choose from not knowing which combination is best for me. 😩

Great way to confuse a potential customer, huh…

Too little choices also complain. Too many choices also whine. (Typical customer 😅)

So I’m left with Crystal Tomato and Lyco-White…

The reason why I didn’t choose Crystal Tomato was because different clinics/sellers were selling the exact same product at hugely different prices – the range of the price difference was totally wild. Was there really such a big margin for the product that many sellers try to go way below the retail price just to move stock?

Anyway, I ended up getting Lyco-White from IDS.

Firstly, the pricing was super transparent (I don’t need to worry if I kenna carrot). Secondly, IDS claims that it’s a sunblock and whitening supplement. Yay! Does that means more convenience and cost-savings? Just purchase 1 product can le (by right).

But sadly, this wasn’t the case for me. 😢

After taking religiously the recommended dosage of 3 pills every morning for slightly over a month, I must say it did prevent me from getting sunburns and (even) tanner than I’m already is. However, on the whitening front, I don’t see any effect of whitening at all (almost completing my 3rd bottle now).

Gluta Pancea

After testing out and finding that Lyco-White only works from preventing me from getting tanner but not making me fairer, I started to look out for other options and chanced upon Gluta Pancea which  is claimed to be a very popular whitening supplement in Thailand.

Apparently, many models and local celebrities swear by it. And it’s said to that effects are actually visible within 7 days! That’s… one week!?

But y’all know lah, this kind of reviews just take it as a pinch of salt. 💁🏻

I decided to give it a shot because it’s the cheapest whitening supplement that’s most legit looking (at least). I carried almost zero to no hope when trying it out especially when I took double dosage initially during the first week but saw no visible effect.

So I cut down the dosage to the recommended 1 pill dosage, instead.

Lo and behold….. it works pretty well when I take 1 pill daily instead of 2 (1 in the morning and 1 before sleep).

Say whut?!!! Fine, that’s actually even better. I can save more money this way. 👏🏻

I didn’t get fair enough until I can blend into a white wall like (some reviews) claim, but I do see that my complexion becomes much better, clearer and more radiant as compared to before.

There’s a Chinese proverb that says says “一白遮三丑”: loosely translated it means having a clear and fair skin covers most flaws. In today’s context, all skin tones are beautiful in their own way as long it’s healthy and radiant. ✨

I can’t say for sure if the products will work as well if taken individually, because I’m currently taking both every morning along with Fish Oil from Blackmores (been taking it for years!). 🐟

IDS Lyco-White definitely works well in terms of being an oral sunblock but not for whitening. I must add that their pill is damn hard to swallow, and I’m a person who can just swallow most pills without any water (be it big or small, medicine or supplements!) since young… even when I’m sick!

….but Lyco-white really takes the punch!

I got IDS Lyco-White directly from IDS clinic instead because it’s cheaper compared to their website (even after promo code!).

Gluta Pancea pills on another hand, I have no problem be it taking with water or not. I can’t say it’s super easy, but it’s just like normal pills. 💦

Some of you might notice the different numbers printed on the Gluta Pancea boxes. I got 03, 02 and 10 differently on each individual boxes. The reason for the different numbers is actually the batch number, but the contents inside are actually the same (from what I was told lah).

Many of you asked me on my Instagram where to find/buy this in Bangkok (since Gluta Pancea is from Thailand). To be honest, I’ve no idea! I’ve tried asking my friends to look around when they were there but failed so I just bought it from the local distributors.

I heard that it’s only 300baht (~ S$13) in Bangkok?! (Please don’t quote me on this). But I chose to get it in Singapore from authorised distributors eventually because I didn’t want to wait.

Disclaimer: What might work for me, might not be for you and vice-versa. I doing my best to provide accurate information, but please do understand that I’m no expert nor professional in this… and that you should totally talk to your doctor to give you proper advice.