Tight, dry skin after 4% hydroquinone for the past 1yr alternating with a non HQ skin lightening cream for 3 months in-between?

Thank you for your question and an explanation of your entire regime. There are a number of things wrong with this which is probably why you have what appears to be "tight, dry skin," since hydroquinone alone will not usually give you these symptoms. First, your "mild cleanser" may be wrong. What you need is an alpha or beta hydroxy cleanser to remove the outer dead cells. It is those cells that are dry. removing them to get down to the moist live cells should help. Secondly, a "moisturizer" is the worst thing you can do for your skin. It adds weight that encourages wrinkles and crinkles and tells your normal cells to stop making moisture, so it only makes the dryness worse. By stopping the moisturizer and using an alpha or beta hydroxy cleanser, you will encourage your skin to moisturize itself over time. Thirdly, I would suggest that after an initial daily use of the hydroquinone you use it every other day instead of stopping for 3 months at a time. Fourthly, even if you do not go out much, you need the proper sunblock DAILY, as UVA, the rays that cause skin damage, is present all the time and even indoors. SPF does not indicate protection from UVA. It indicates protection from sunburn from UVB. The best sunblock is one containing at least 8% zinc oxide since it only needs to be applied once or a few times a day, depending on whether you wash or rub it off. Other UVA blocks need to be reapplied hourly if outside and every 2 hours if inside. I would also add a pH balancer after cleansing. My favorite is Vitamin-C Serum since it is also an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory. If these changes do not help, you need to see someone who truly understands skin rejuvenation. Most physicians don't and still recommend moisturizers because they have been used for so long. They just haven't studied the new information on skin aging and rejuvenation.