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Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Featured Ingredient: Kojic Acid



To help weed out through the tons and tons of skin lightening products out there, I decided to do this weekly thing where I make a blog post focusing on one ingredient. I've researched so much, and with all this plethora of knowledge I feel like this is the best way to share it and actually help people.

With skin lightening, certain ingredients work better on different people than others. For example, I know for me, my skin really responds well with Uva Ursi Extract (bearberry extract) which is found in Skinceuticals Phyto+. I know this from experience with other products with bearberry extract (i.e. Makari, Neostrata Spot Lightener etc.) as well.

Some people may have significant skin lightening with arbutin, rumex extract, or licorice extract. The list goes on. I think starting a weekly spotlight on a specific ingredient can really help with elucidating on the mechanisms of that ingredient as well as recommending effective products that contain the ingredient.

You will be suprised, there are a lot of skin lightening/skin whitening ingredients out there that you may not have heard of. Trying them out is the only way, but if you already know which ingredients work well with your skin without irritation and actually results, then these posts will help you find out a little more. I will update throughout the week on these 'featured ingredients' post and you can always check the side of my blog, where the 'tags' are if you want to reference back to an ingredient that was featured awhile ago.

I will post these on Tuesday mornings. This week the featured ingredient is Kojic Acid.

Kojic Acid is derived from a fungus, and inhibits the enzyme activity of tyronaise (producer of melanin (skin color)). It is commonly used in Japanese skin care products that target skin whitening and skin bleaching, as well as in their diets.

When skin is exposed to kojic acid, the skin cells slowly become nondendritic with much lower melanin content. Kojic acid also has a minor antioxidant ability, by scavenging oxygen radicals produced by the skin (in response to external enviornment). Typically a concentration ranging from 1-4% is found in most Kojic acid products. 2% is the correct, minimum concentration to produce any form of pigmentation reduction though.

Kojic acid can be irritating to some people, especially those who experience intense irritation from alpha hydroxy acids (similar forms of irritation). I use Kojic Acid (it's in Skinceuticals Phyto+) and I get no irritation whatsoever. I even mix it with my Retin-A gel and experience no adverse reactions. Again, it varies from person to person and there are some people that don't sit well with kojic acid (usually these are the skin types that cannot tolerate acids like AHAs, or BHAs).

Also, depending on the packaging, kojic acid (much like L-ascorbic acid - vitamin C) is highly unstable. Most companies work around this problem with solid packaging, like an air-tight pump or amber tinted bottle to protect against excessive sun light. There is also a variation form of kojic acid - kojic dipalmitate (found in the DermaDoctor's Total NonScents Ultra Gentle Brightening Antiperspirant) which is more stable yet a little less effective since it's not in a pure form (much like how ascorbyl glucoside and magnesium ascorbyl phosphate are much more stable forms of L-ascorbic acid).

Interesting Articles/Studies to read:

Additional background information on Kojic Acid, and it's skin lightening properties

Kojic Acid on Melasma Skin

Recommended products that contain Kojic Acid:

DDF Brightening Cleanser

La Roche Posay Mela-D SPF 15/PPD 11

C.Booth, Derma M 36, Kojic Acid Skin Brightening Fluid

Dr. Michelle Copeland AHA Body Smoothing Lotion

Skinceuticals Phyto+ or Cosmetic Skin Solutions Phyto+ Gel for a cheaper price

DDF Holistic Lightener

Dermaline Papaya Kojic Acid Soap

Palmer's Skin Success Eventone Ultra Fade Serum (without hydroquinone)

DermaQuest Skin Therapy Skin Lightening Serum


Make sure to to check every Tuesday morning for the next featured ingredient.

Mileena
<3

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11 Comments:

Anonymous Vara said...

Mileena's contribution with regards to skin lightening concepts is incredible. I would like to communicate with her and get details on specific problem. But I dont know if it is possible. Her work is really admirable.

I have a question is there a product available in indian market which contains some or all of these ingredients in proper proportions. Bearberry extract, licorice root, Chromabright™, Arbutin, Kojic Acid. some one please let me know.

June 13, 2010 at 2:56 AM  
Blogger Mileena said...

Hi Vara!

Thank you for liking my work. You can definitley ask me anything, you can e-mail me at mileenathursan@gmail.com

or you can just post your inquiry in the comment section. I read, approve and respond to all comments. ;)

It's hard to find a single product that contains all those ingredients you mentioned. Particularily a product available in the Indian market since I'm not too knowledgable on what's on the shelves there.

I'm not sure if India has Bioderma, but the Bioderma White Objective line is top notch. Great ingredients and very effective. Also the Neutrogena Fine Fairness is great (the mask) due to its high niacinamide content which treats hyperpigmentation so well.

=)

June 13, 2010 at 10:25 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hi Mileena,

Is there any difference between Skinceuticals Phyto+ and Cosmetic Skin Solutions Phyto+ Gel? why phyto+ gel is cheaper? is it in terms of the quality or just the brand?

thanks

November 4, 2010 at 12:26 AM  
Blogger Mileena said...

A few readers have e-mailed me their experiences with the Cosmetics Skin Solutions Phyto+ and say it is slightly weaker in delivering results. They've tried both products.

From the ingredient list, the active lightening ingredients are all pretty much similar it is the inactive ones that are different (much longer ingredient list altogether). The inactive ingredients do play a role in the overall strength and penetration ability of the active ingredients.

Plus I think consistency is a bit more moisturizing (more of a 'slip' consistency). The Skinceuticals is very lightweight and sinks into your skin.

November 4, 2010 at 11:20 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hi Mileena,
Thanks for the info!
I was surveying ebay for Kojic acid serums and I found one from DDF and another from Skin Beauty Solutions (which also contains Alpha Arbutin).
Which do you think would give better results?
I've never heard of Skin Beauty Solutions before, but I am a little drawn by the Arbutin...

Thanks again!

December 14, 2010 at 9:07 AM  
Blogger Mileena said...

Hi!

Ooooh the Skin Beauty Solutions is a very popular Japanese Kojic Acid product. While I don't usually use kojic acid in high strength personally (it does give me a tad bit of irritation but then again I have very sensitive skin and it's freezing here XD) this one looks great. Alpha Arbutin is an advanced 'version' of arbutin.

I would recommend this one over the DDF (is the Hollistic Lightener you stumbled across? I've used this and found it brightened my entire skin color up well but no dramatic lightening).

:)

December 14, 2010 at 12:06 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Thanks for being so prompt!

This is what I'm talking about http://tinyurl.com/34qwbd2
They just say 'serum' and there are no other details like ingredients or concentration etc, so I was a little dubious... Its not even listed on the DDF site.

And this is the one from SBS: http://cgi.ebay.com/Kojic-Acid-Alpha-Arbutin-Whitening-Lotion-2Oz-OILY-Skn-/230465950868

I made another discovery here: http://cgi.ebay.com/AHA-50-Kojic-Peel-Kit-/130448606184?pt=US_Skin_Care&hash=item1e5f57c3e8

Somehow I feel more comfortable about using a peel than leaving some 'serum' on my skin...
But then again, never heard of MedPeel! They are kinda pricey too... :O
:)
What do you think?

December 16, 2010 at 6:28 AM  
Blogger Mileena said...

50% Kojic Acid is way too much. That can cause peeling probably which is not what you want. At least for your skin goals.

The DDF Kojic Acid one does state 'For Professional use' only. I'm thinking the strength is high. DDF is partnered with many derms that use selective products as treatments. It's probably very effective but I suggest going for the Alpha Arbutin + Kojic Acid one. Two is better than one, and arbutin is a great ingredient (works well for my skin).

I don't usually go for kojic acid based lighteners but if alpha arbutin is in there it does perk up my interest. It's a very popular product btw I've had a few people e-mail their regimens where I saw it listed in there. :)

December 16, 2010 at 5:48 PM  
Blogger deonnash said...

Thanks dude...............
Kojic Acid

January 6, 2011 at 6:46 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hi Mileena.I just wanted to know if Skinceuticals Phyto + can be mixed with other creams and still work effectively.Thanks

March 14, 2011 at 9:50 AM  
Blogger Mileena said...

@joyful888

Hi, yes Skinceuticals Phyto+ can be used with other creams. I usually use it along side Retin-A or alpha hydroxy acid creams. Does a great job at lightening like this.

It can be used with other skin lightening creams as well. It doesn't contain any conflicting pH ingredients so it's very versatile. =D

March 14, 2011 at 12:26 PM  

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