Topical lightening agents, as the name suggests, are creams or serums used on the skin to help lighten skin and skin pigmentation problems. Topical lightening agents can treat many types of skin pigmentation, including melasma, freckles, sunspots, and post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation (PIH) secondary to lasers/peels/acne. Generally speaking, lightening agents do not completely remove pigmentation, but do significantly lighten it. Pigmentation issues such as freckles or sunspots can be completely removed with laser in most cases. Topical lightening agents can also be used to prepare the skin for laser treatments. This reduces the risk of post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation (worsening of pigmentation) after laser treatment, especially for olive to dark skin types. The first method of treating skin pigmentation is to prevent its appearance or worsening by daily application of sunscreen as well as sun avoidance. Then a topical lightening agent can be used in conjunction with a good sunscreen.
Hydroquinone – This is the most widely and successfully used skin lightening agent. It can be used for melasma or chloasma, post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation, and other disorders of pigmentation. Over the counter strengths can go up to 2%, but concentrations higher than this require a script. It can also be compounded with some of the other agents listed below by a compounding chemist. Hydroquinone can be quite irritating to the skin and cause redness or contact dermatitis when used in higher concentrations. There is also the rare risk of developing ochronosis, which is a paradoxical reaction to the hydroquinone in the treated area leading to an increase in pigmentation. This appears to occur in darker individuals after prolonged use. Alternating use of hydroquinone with other lightening agents every four months can help prevent this. Kojic acid – This is derived from fungus such as Aspergillus and Penicillium. It can be used in concentrations between 1% and 4% and can be compounded with other agents.
Again, irritation can occur with use. It is not as effective as hydroquinone, but has no chance of rebound pigmentation or ochronosis. Paper mulberry – Paper mulberry extract is isolated from the roots of an ornamental tree, Broussonetia papyrifera. A Korean study compared it to kojic acid and hydroquinone, and found that only 0.396% paper mulberry was required to inhibit the enzyme tyrosinase that produces melanin, in comparison to 5.5% hydroquinone and 10% kojic acid. Skin irritation with paper mulberry is less than other lightening agents such as hydroquinone. Paper mulberry bark can be found in Enlighten from Osmosis. Arbutin – originating from bearberry, arbutin helps to lighten the skin by inhibition of the enzymes that help produce melanin. It has less irritation than kojic acid and hydroquinone. Available as L-arbutin in Cosmedix products. Niacinamide – Niacinamide is a form of vitamin B3. It inhibits the transfer of the pigment forming cells, the melanosomes, to the surface of the skin.
Vitamin C – Topical vitamin C also helps interfere with pigment production. An additional benefit of vitamin C is the anti-oxidant effect it has, so it will help prevent skin from environmental damage. Vitamin C also stimulates the production of collagen. Stability of vitamin C is the main problem of most vitamin C products. Cosmedix provides vitamin C in the form of L-ascorbic acid and is highly stable in this form. Retinoids – Retinoids are derived from vitamin A. Retinoids work in a number of ways to help reduce pigmentation. The actual mechanism of action is not clear, but it is thought that their depigmenting properties arise from inhibition of the enzymes causing pigmentation, dispersion of pigment granules in the top layer of skin, and also by accelerating skin turnover to help pigmented skin cells shed more quickly. It is also this final property that helps retinoids smooth skin, reduce wrinkles, and active acne. L-retinol, a type of retinoid, is found in various Cosmedix products.
Retinoids can be irritating to the skin and may need to be commenced slowly. For more information on the use of retinoids, click here. Combination treatments/Kligman’s formula – Kligman’s formula is a combination of the above treatments formulated by a well-known dermatologist, Albert Kligman. Combining hydroquinone, dexamethasone, and tretinoin (a retinoid), it is possible to achieve a greater efficacy and minimise adverse effects. Tretinoin helps the penetration of hydroquinone, dexamethasone (a topical steroid) helps reduce the irritation from tretinoin, and tretinoin also helps reduce the skin thinning effects of dexamethosone. The doctors at The Victorian Cosmetic Institute are able to prescribe Kligman’s formula for you if appropriate. However, most of these lightening agents cannot be used during pregnancy or breast-feeding. This will depend on the type of pigmentation you have, the cause of the pigmentation, and your skin type ie. Many of the topical skin lightening agents are prescription only as they are quite powerful, and need to be prescribed by one of our doctors.
To make an appointment to see one of our doctors, please call 1300 863 824. Alternatively, click on the link above to ask one of our doctors a question about skin pigmentation or request a consultation online.Aging skin and skin care productsThis website from the Personal Care Products Council contains information about the safety, testing and regulation of cosmetics and personal products. Tips for using skin care products Reference 1. Whitmore SE, Morison, WL, Potten CS, Chadwick C. Tanning salon exposure and molecular alterations. J Am Acad Dermatol 2001;44:775-80.Can glutathione pills whiten your skin? The answer is….it does work for some people but not all. I’m honestly not a fan of glutathione pills because when I took it before, it didn’t work for me. I gave it a fair amount of time (about 4 months) and it didn’t change my skin tone at all. I got better results using topical whitening products (soap, lotion, cream) and when I took this kind whitening supplement (read about it here) everyday.
I can honestly say that it whitened my skin about two shades. A little information about glutathione: I know that most of you probably know that glutathione is a tripeptide, which means it contains three amino acids namely L-cysteine, L-glutamic acid, and L-glycine. I’m not going to write a lot about glutathione’s history because I am more focused on its effect in skin whitening. For those of you who still wants to take glutathione pills, here’s what do you need to look for before buying it: You have to look for the “reduced” glutathione form. The label or the ingredients panel should say “L-Glutathione Reduced.” Why do you need the “reduced” form? Because “reduced” means that this is the kind of glutathione that does not oxidize quickly after taking it. Oxidize or oxidation means that it loses its effectiveness after taking or using it. It’s important to keep in mind that glutathione does oxidize after taking it orally. But when you buy the “reduced” form, you’re basically taking the kind of pills that have a much better effect because it doesn’t lose its effectivness right away after hitting your bloodstream unlike the regular form of glutathione.
What can you do to see the whitening results a lot faster: Take your glutathione pills with a high dose of Vitamin C. Since glutathione oxidizes, you need to take a “back up” supplement and your best choice is Vitamin C. Vitamin C is a very good antioxidant and has a skin brightening effect as well. So you’re basically getting skin whitening plus skin brightening at the same time! You’re going to have a whiter and glowing skin just like a celeb in no time! How much glutathione and Vitamin C should you take: You have to take a minimum of 500 mg of glutathione per day to see skin whitening effect, however, I would take twice this amount of more due to the fact that it has the tendency to oxidize. For example, if you’re taking 1000 mg of glutathione, you need to take twice the amount of Vitamin C. This means that if you’re taking 1000 mg of glutathione, then you must take 2000 mg of Vitamin C to guarantee skin whitening. I know it sounds a lot but don’t worry – this isn’t toxic.
Because Vitamin C and glutathione are both water soluble. There are no studies that shows Vitamin C or glutathione overdose. (Friendly reminder: this is not a medical advice. Please contact your physician first before taking any kind of supplements.) What brand of glutathione and Vitamin C should you buy: I would suggest to stick with USA-made brand of glutathione pills. Because if the glutathione supplement is made in the US, this means that if the product claims to have 500mg of glutathione, then this is more than likely 100% correct. The USFDA requires all manufacturers to indicate the exact amount of ingredients per capsule. There is no way to get around this policy in the States. Also, when shopping for glutathione pills, please make sure that you’re getting 1 serving per capsule of at least 500 mg of Reduced L-Glutathione. I’ve seen many companies who promote that their glutathione pills have 800 mg of glutathione in the front of their labels but it turns out that this is actually for 2 servings.
This means that you’re only getting 400 mg of glutathione per capsule – don’t be fooled by this marketing tactic. There are a lot of glutathione supplement brands that are being marketed both online and in store and I’m still searching for the best brand of glutathione until now. I will update you guys when I find the right one. How long before you see skin whitening results after taking glutathione and Vitamin C pills: This really depends on your body. I can’t tell you when you’re going to see results because everyone is different. One thing though – please be diligent. You have to keep on taking the pills everyday, otherwise, you’re not going to see any results at all. There are reports that the average time before seeing results is about 12-16 weeks (3-4 months) of continuous use – but again, this isn’t the case for everyone. Some of you will probably see the results faster and some needs to take it for several months before seeing any results. Is there an alternative to glutathione in terms or whitening the skin?