Michael Jackson's problem was over-use of skin toning cream containing hydroquinone, which is a photographic chemical. Skin toning or "complexion" cream is widely manufactured in Africa, the subcontinent and the Far East for people who want to lighten their skin so as to look less as if they work outdoors, exactly the opposite of what white European people want. The WHO recommends a limit of 2% hydroquinone but most contain as much as 7%. At that dosage the HQ bleaches your skin leaving it un-protected from UV so if you go out in the sun you get burned. It also destroys the elasticity of the skin - MJ's problem. The urge to tone the skin and look less "bush" is so great that if they can't get toning cream people will use steroid creams or even battery acid. I know African manufacturers who are mind-bogglingly rich from making ordinary body lotion, lacing it with HQ and selling it for $30 or more a bottle. This is the current market leader:
Caro White for the product manufactured in Ivory Coast and Caro Light for the product manufactured in the DRC - I forget which. The USP is carrot oil, which is widely believed to lighten the skin naturally.