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Best Skin Lightening and Whitening Product IngredientsWhat are the best skin lightening and whitening product ingredients? Here are the secret components of what makes up the best skin lightening and whitening product that we discovered.
Kojic acid (KA) - heavily used in asian countries, KA is one of the newer remedies for the treatment of pigment problems like hyperpigmentation, melasma, chloasma, freckles and age spots. Discovered in 1989, KA has a similar effect as hydroquinone with none of hydroquinone's bad rap. Studies have shown that KA, derived from a Japanese mushroom, is effective as a lightening agent by inhibiting melanin (skin's pigment) production. KA must be absorbed in the skin to work. Because of this, cleansers like the Papaya-Kojic acid soap should be left on for a few minutes before completely washing off for absorption to occur. Retinol - a derivative of Vitamin A, and you will see that a lot of skin care products contain retinol. Retinol's stronger counterpart is tretinoin, which is the active ingredient in Retin-A and Renova. If your skin is too sensitive to use Retin-A, retinol is an excellent alternative. Here's why skin responds to skin care products with retinol: vitamin A has a molecular structure that's tiny enough to get into the lower layers of skin, where it finds collagen and elastin. Retinol is proven to improve mottled pigmentation, fine lines and wrinkles, skin texture, skin tone and color, and your skin's hydration levels. Retinyl palmitate falls into the same family as retinol, but is considered less effective. L-Ascorbic Acid - the only form of Vitamin C you should look for in your skin care products. There are many skin care products on the market today that boast vitamin C derivatives as an ingredient (magnesium ascorbyl phosphate or ascorbyl palmitate, for example), but L-ascorbic acid is the only useful form of vitamin C in skin care products. Vitamin C is the only antioxidant proven to stimulate the synthesis of collagen as well, which is essential since your body's natural collagen production decreases as you age. Sun exposure will also accelerate the decrease in collagen. Studies have shown that vitamin C helps to minimize fine lines, scars, and wrinkles. Lactic Acid - a type of alpha hrdroxy acid (AHA) derived from milk commonly used to combat photoaging effects like wrinkles and uneven skin tone. AHA's have been used for thousands of years as a skin rejuvenating product. Cleopatra is reported to have bathed in sour milk (lactic acid) to improve her complexion. AHA's work mainly as an exfoliant. They cause the cells of the epidermis to become "unglued" allowing the dead skin cells to slough off, making room for regrowth of new skin, possibly even stimulating the production of collagen and elastin. AHA's are said to improve wrinkling, roughness, and mottled pigmentation of photodamaged skin after months of daily application. Licorice Extract - The main active ingredient found in licorice extract for skin bleaching is glabridin. Glabridin inhibits pigmentation by preventing tyrosinase activation. It is nontoxic to melanocytes, preventing permanent discoloration nor is it toxic to surrounding keratinocytes. In fact, licorice extract has long been purported to have antiinflammatory properties. The two major side effects of the ingredients above (except for licorice) are irritation and sun sensitivity. Symptoms of irritation include redness, burning, itching, pain, and possibly scarring (which is why caution must be exercised in applying these products - a lot of customers overapply even if the directions I enclose clearly warn them). People with darker colored skin are at a higher risk of scarring pigment changes with alpha hydroxy acids. Using products with the above ingredients can increase sun sensitivity by 50% causing an interesting dilemma - they may be able to reverse some of the damage caused by photoaging, but at the same time they make the skin more susceptible to photoaging. Thanks to www.medicinenet.com, http://dermatology.about.com/cs/skincareproducts, www.dermadoctor.com/ Other Important Information: One well known active ingredient for bleaching / whitening / lightening skin creams, hydroquinone, is banned in Europe, and has been linked over & over to cancer. Another popular ingredient capable to fade darkened skin areas is mercury which causes severe body nerve system poisoning! This product DOES NOT CONTAIN HYDROQUINONE OR MERCURY. With the cancer rates these days, and the 40% chance of all of us getting cancer in our life, you don't know who'd want to risk it just to lighten & beautify their skin, when safe and natural skin lightening products are available, and just as effective - if not more.   Return from Best Skin Lightening and Whitening Product Ingredients to Filipino Channel Online
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