Carotone is a skin brightening and anti-aging cream that comes in a distinct orange bottle. The brand claims that their cream provides “advanced skincare rejuvenation” and it’s one of the more affordable anti-aging products on the market, retailing for under $10.

But does Carotone Cream contain ingredients proven in research studies to reduce wrinkles? Does it contain any unhealthy ingredients? Why does the FDA have a warning about an ingredient in Carotone Cream? And is Carotone Cream better or worse than popular skin brightening products like Sulwhasoo?

In this article we’ll answer all of these questions and more, as we analyze the ingredients in Carotone Cream to give our take on whether or not it’s likely to be effective for anti-aging, and whether or not it's healthy overall.

We'll also share our concerns about the brand's manufacturer, document an FDA warning related to one of the active ingredients, and compare Carotone Cream to other popular skin brightening and anti-aging products to pick our winners (and losers).

Key takeaways:

• We can't identify any active ingredients for skin brightening
• Contains many inactive ingredients we consider unhealthy
• We do not currently recommend Carotone Cream

Ingredient Analysis

The ingredients in Carotone Cream are shown below:

There are some ingredients in this formulation shown in research studies to improve skin quality.

Collagen may be an effective anti-aging ingredient because it’s a core structural protein in skin, although the majority of clinical trials we’ve reviewed on topical collagen (like this one) use a hydrolyzed version which may be more readily-absorbed into skin.

Ascorbic acid, better known as vitamin C, was shown in a clinical trial published in the Dermatologic Surgery journal to reduce wrinkles and improve skin hydration.

Mineral oil is clinically shown to improve skin softness and skin barrier function as we documented in our review of another cosmetic product containing this ingredient called Jergens Natural Glow.

Petrolatum may be effective for skin barrier repair according to a 2016 clinical trial, and is the active ingredient in Vaseline.

While there are some potentially effective ingredients in Carotone Cream, there are also some ingredients that may be questionable from a health perspective, as well as some that we don’t even understand.

UVA and UVB are types of ultraviolet radiation emitted from the sun. We have never seen these ingredients on a cosmetic product label, nor is it biologically possible for a wavelength of light to be a cosmetic ingredient.

Propylparaben is a synthetic preservative ingredient that has estrogenic effects, and a 2021 medical review on the safety of this ingredient concluded the following:

“We conclude that inadequate evidence has been provided for the safe use of [propylparaben] in food, cosmetics, and consumer products.”

Methylparaben is a synthetic preservative from the same class of chemicals (parabens) with similarly questionable health effects in our opinion.

Fragrance can be harmful to human health according to a medical review published in the Air Quality, Atmosphere & Health journal.

BHT is another synthetic preservative, and it breaks down in the body into a chemical compound clinically shown to be a “tumor promoter,” as we documented in our Cetaphil vs CeraVe comparison article.

Overall, we consider Carotone Cream to be potentially effective for anti-aging, but we can’t locate any active ingredients in this product that we consider effective for skin brightening.

We do not currently recommend Carotone Cream due to the questionable inactive ingredients highlighted above.

Unclear Manufacturer – Safety Issues

We recommend that consumers be cautious when purchasing from cosmetics brands without a clear manufacturer.

There are a number of different “Carotone Cream” products on the market, and many of them have different ingredients. 

Based on our review of many cosmetics products that we’ve analyzed on Illuminate Health, we’ve noted a higher quality of formulation when there is a clear manufacturer behind the product.

The version of Carotone Cream we reviewed in the ingredient analysis section comes from a website called “Order Beauty Supply” which ranks high in Google for the brand term.

However, there is another version sold on a website called “Kismet Beauty Brands” that contains hydroquinone (as shown below), which is not approved for over-the-counter- products:

The FDA describes in an official notice that skin lightening products containing hydroquinone are “potentially harmful” and that these products are “unapproved drugs and are not generally recognized as safe and effective.”

We would advise consumers to avoid any Carotone Cream containing hydroquinone.

Are Skin Whitening Creams Toxic?

A dermatologist and YouTube creator named “Dr Dray” reviewed some concerning research on a toxin found in some skin bleaching and skin whitening products:

Carotone Cream vs. Popular Anti-Aging Products

Here's how Carotone Cream compares to other popular anti-aging cosmetics, in terms of potential effectiveness and healthiness, in our opinion:

RoC Vitamin C Serum

Contains many unhealthy inactive ingredients, including Yellow 6, which is clinically shown to be contaminated with cancer-causing chemicals in some cases.

However, none of its ingredients are the subject of an FDA warning, so it's still a safer choice in our view.

Winner: RoC Vitamin C Serum

Sulwhasoo

Sulwhasoo is a K-beauty brand that features Panax ginseng in many of their formulations.

While the brand uses some fragrance ingredients we consider unhealthy, we do not have any of the same concerns regarding the manufacturer and ingredients like "UVB" that do not make sense.

Sulwhasoo is the safer choice.

Winner: Sulwhasoo

Incellderm

One of the highest-quality anti-aging brands we've reviewed to date; Incellderm uses research-backed active ingredients and is free from any unhealthy ingredients.

Winner: Incellderm

Our Clean Skincare Pick

MindBodyGreen Best Skin+ is our top anti-aging skin supplement.

It contains orange extract which is clinically shown to increase skin moisturization, skin elasticity and skin radiance.

This supplement also contains astaxanthin which is clinically shown to cause "wrinkle formation reduction."

This supplement is free of ingredients that we consider to be unhealthy.

Carotone Cream Pros and Cons

Pros:

• May have anti-aging effect
• May repair skin barrier
• Very affordable

Cons:

• Contains fragrance
• Unclear manufacturer
• Some ingredients listed are not cosmetic ingredients
• Skin whitening cream may be high in toxins
• Less healthy than competitors
• Some companies selling this product are using unapproved drug ingredients

Conclusion

We do not currently recommend Carotone Cream.

While the product may be effective for anti-aging, its manufacturer is unclear, and the risk of purchasing a harmful or counterfeit product is higher with an unclear manufacturer in our opinion.

That’s because when there’s no clear manufacturer, many companies sell products with the same name, and in this case one of the “Carotone Creams” currently on the market has an unapproved drug ingredient that the FDA claims is dangerous.

Skin whitening creams may be high in mercury, which suggests that consumers planning to purchase a skin whitening cream should ask the manufacturer whether or not the product has been tested for mercury, and ask for proof.

We consider anti-aging brands RoC Vitamin C Serum, Sulwhasoo and Incellderm to be safer and more effective options than Carotone Cream.