Skin Brightening Ingredients

Skin brightening is a huge concept in Asian beauty. Achieving white, freckle-free, porcelain-like skin is highly desirable and regarded as the standard of “good skin”. I still remember the early-day Korean makeup style had the face 2~3 shades whiter than the actual skin tone. Luckily, this is no longer the trend, but the love for pure, bright and translucent skin hasn’t stopped and the Korean skincare market continues to come out with great affordable products for brightening the skin.

Skin brightening products have the ability to lighten the overall skin tone as well as dark spots, discolourations and uneven skin tone. This is usually achieved through the use of certain ingredients that target the function of skin lightening. In this post, I’ll share my thoughts on the commonly used ingredients for skin brightening.

Before diving into the ingredients, I’d like to mention the importance of using sunscreen diligently. Using a sunscreen (or avoiding exposure to sunlight) will prevent further skin darkening from the sunlight, and adds tremendous effects to the brightening of skin.

1. Niacinamide

Niacinamide is one of my favourite ingredients. It is not an ingredient that will give you the fastest results, but if you use it consistently, you will see the skin becomes brighter and less yellow-toned as well as lightening of hyperpigmentation over time.

The effect of Niacinamide is proven by clinical studies. It was found that Niacinamide penetrates well into the skin layer and at 5% concentration, there was significant lightening of hyperpigmentation after 8 weeks of use.

In addition to reducing hyperpigmentation, other effects of Niacinamide include:

  • Increase antioxidant capacity
  • Improve the skin barrier function
  • Regulating sebum production
  • Reduce inflammation and redness
  • Reduce yellowing of skin
  • Reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles through increased collagen and protein production

From my experience, Niacinamide is a gentle ingredient that most skins can tolerate without an issue (except those who are allergic to the ingredient). However, at higher concentrations, for example, 10%, I’ve experienced flushing and redness, which caused my skin to dehydrate. Therefore, I would recommend sticking with 2%~5% concentrations, which will give you visible results without the adverse effects.

The good news is that Niacinamide is an ingredient that’s widely incorporated in Korean skincare products, usually in the 2%~5% range and at extremely affordable prices. Products with Niacinamide are also easy to incorporate into your skincare routine. They do not have any unpleasant texture (e.g. sticky or gloopy) that is difficult to use. The best way I like to use Niacinamide is through a toner or essence. This allows the product to penetrate deep into the skin layer and perform its effects from within.

Products with Niacinamide:

2. Vitamin C

Vitamin C is another ingredient that has been studied over the years and proven to be effective at skin brightening and anti-aging.

In addition to skin brightening and lightening hyperpigmentation, other effects of Vitamin C include:

  • Increase antioxidant capacity
  • Reduce photo damage to the skin by UV rays
  • Promote collagen synthesis
  • Assist wound healing
  • Reduce inflammation

Pure Vitamin C used in skincare is usually in the form of L-Ascorbic Acid and is a water-soluable charged molecule. Pure Vitamin C needs to be stored away from light and maintained at pH 3.5 for it to be chemically stable and penetrate into the skin layer. The efficacy of Vitamin C is proportional to its concentration. For it to have effects on the skin, the concentration of L-Ascorbic Acid needs to be above 8%, but it was shown that the efficacy does not increase beyond 20% concentration. Therefore, Pure Vitamin C products are usually not easy to use or store. The high concentration and low pH formula is likely to cause irritations to sensitive skins.

In recent years, Vitamin C derivatives were developed to overcome the stability and penetration issues associated with pure Vitamin C and some of them have been shown to have better ability in inhibiting melanin synthesis, therefore delivering better results in skin brightening compared to pure Vitamin C. These include Disodium Isostearyl 2-O-L-Ascorbyl Phosphate and Magnesium L-Ascorbyl-2-Phosphate.

From my experience, pure Vitamin C has always been a difficult ingredient to work with. The products usually have a shorter than usual shelf life as the Vitamin C content oxidises easily. The efficacy is then reduced. At higher concentrations, I find pure Vitamin C products to sting and irritate my skin, inducing redness and inflammations. For sensitive skins like mine, I would recommend a lower concentration (~5%) Vitamin C product with the addition of Niacinamide and other skin brightening plant extracts (mentioned below).

Products with Vitamin C:

3. Arbutin

I feel Arbutin is a lesser-known ingredient in general, but you’ll find it in many hard-core skin whitening products. Arbutin inhibits the formation of tyrosinase, which is an enzyme essential for melanin synthesis or darking of skin.

I have always had great skin lightening results with Arbutin ever since I started using Japanese skincare products more than 15 years ago. Arbutin products I’ve used are usually in the form of a serum and in a pleasant texture that’s easy to use and quickly absorbed. I have not experienced any irritations or adverse effects to my skin. Results I’ve seen from using Arbutin products include overall lightening of the skin tone, a more even skin tone and lightening of acne scars.

Products with Arbutin:

-49%

4. Rice and Fermented Rice (Galactomyces)

Rice Extract and Fermented Rice Extract (Galactomyces Ferment Filtrate) have shown to improve the skin’s tone and brightness. SK-II’s signature first treatment essence is probably the reason behind the hype of this ingredient and the spread of the lovely story of ancient Asian women with immaculate skin on their hands as a result of daily wash using fermented rice water.

My experience with Galactomyces has not been a positive one. It is one of the products that triggers acne on my skin easily. I have tried the SK-II essence, other Galactomyces essences and serums and the result has been consistent through out – I would develop pimples within 3 days of starting using these products. However, I have also experienced skin brightening effects from Galactomyces. Other benefits of Galactomyces include:

  • Improve skin texture (smoother)
  • Reduce pore size
  • Reduce sebum production
  • Increase radiance
  • Improve the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles

Products with Galactomyces:

On the other hand, I have had good results with Rice Extracts. Products with Rice Extracts are usually very gentle on skin and quite hydrating as well. These products usually also include other skin brightening ingredients such as Niacinamide to boost the effect. Consistent use of products containing Rice Extract will see visible results to the overall skin tone and lightening of hyperpigmentations.

Products with Rice Extracts:

5. Other Plant Extracts

There are increasingly more plant derived extracts being incorporated in skincare for skin brightening and the treatment of hyperpigmentations. These plant extracts are usually non-reactive and non-irritating to the skin, thereby alleviating the issues associated with using pure Vitamin C or the like. Some of these plants or fruits have a high Vitamin C content naturally. These include:

  • Vitamin Tree Extract
  • Green Tea Extract
  • Aloe Vera Extract
  • Orchid Extract
  • Marine Algae Extract
  • Mulberry Extract
  • Soy Extract
  • Licorice extract

My experience with these plant extracts are positive. They are usually easy to formulate and could replace the use of Puried Water in a product. When formulated with Niacinamide, Arbutin or low concentrations (3%~5%) of Vitamin C, all these ingredients create a synergy effect that boosts the function of skin brightening. These products are also tend to be easy to use, often has textures that are pleasant and quick absorbing, and could be added to your skincare routine easily.

Products with skin brightening plant extracts:

-27%

Overall, I think skin brightening and the treatment of hyperpigmentation is a long term effort, because your skin will keep developing melanin due to personal or environmental stresses. The only way to get it under control is to incorporate one of these skin brightening ingredients in your skincare routine and consistently combat against it.

Do you have any thoughts on skin brightening? Leave it in the comments below.

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