Skin whitening treatments

Have you ever wondered why early childhood photos of many top celebrities show a much darker skin color then they have now? Have you also longed for a much whiter complexion? Then you should go for skin whitening treatments.

Mainly the Skin Whitening Ingredients works in two ways to give you a whiter skin:

• By absorbing the UV rays, thus preventing the sun from darkening your skin.
• By reducing the production of melanin, the skin pigment found in your skin which is responsible for skin darkening.

Most skin whiteners currently on the market contain ingredients (hydroquinone, ascorbic acid, kojic acid, arbutin, azealic acid, glycyrrhetinic acid (licorice extract)) that act as direct inhibitors of tyrosinase, the enzyme in the skin pigment cells (melanocytes) that make melanin.

Arbutin is a new type of skin de-pigmentation and whitening agents, an extract of Bearberry plant which produced by a solid /liquid extraction, an environmentally friendly process. Arbutin protect the skin against damage caused by free radicals, Arbutin is a skin whitening agent which is very popular in Japan and Asian countries for skin de-pigmentation, Arbutin inhibits the formation of melanin pigment by inhibiting Tyrosinase activity. It may be used to repress the virulence of bacterial pathogens and to prevent contaminating bacteria, it is also used for treating allergic inflammation of the skin . More recently, Arbutin has been used to prevent pigmentation and to whiten the skin beautifully. It can be used to whiten the skin, to prevent liver spots and freckles, to treat sunburn marks and to regulate melanogenesis.

Arbutin is very safe skin agent for external use which does not have toxicity, stimulation, unpleasant odor or side effect such as Hydroqinone.The encapsulation of Arbutin constitute a delivery system to potentialize the effect in time. It is a way to incorporate the hydrophilic Arbutin in lipophilic media. Arbutin give three main properties; Whitening effects, anti- age effect and UVB/ UVC filter .

Some skin whitening products:

Kojic Acid - It is used to lighten the skin in Japan. It is a tyrosinase inhibitor. That would explain how it reduces the production of skin pigment, melanin.

Licorice Extract - This absorbs the UVA and UVB rays. It also is a depigmenting agent and inhibits the production of melanin.

Aloe Vera - Aloe Vera appears to absorb UV light. That would account for its mild skin lightening abilities.

Octyl-p-methoxycinnamate - This is a sunscreen. It absorbs UV light very well, preventing the UV rays from darkening your skin.

Octyl salicylate - This is a salt of the saliculic acid that is found in wintergreen leaves. It is a sunscreen, found in sun tan lotions.

Oxybenzone - This is a sunscreen chemical that absorbs UVA rays.

Retinol is the most important natural form of vitamin A. Vitamin A is the first vitamin to be used topically for the treatment of damaged human skin. Today, the term vitamin A is applied to retinol (Vitamin A alcohol), retinal (Vitamin A aldehyde) and tretinoin (Vitamin A acid). Vitamin A stimulates mitotic activity and the production of collagen - the stuff skin is made of. It is now known that the clinical effect obtained with high doses of vitamin A is necessary for normal differentiate and maintenance of epithelial tissues. Especially, retinol is held out as the new great hope for reduction of photo aging skin. Retinol or Vitamin A helps to renew and exfoliate the skin, giving a new lighter, beautiful skin.