Two of the most common whitening ingredients, do you know about them?

Whitening products are mainly designed around inhibiting melanin formation, transit and accelerating melanin shedding. Today let's take a look at what common whitening efficacy ingredients are found in skin care products.

The "Star" Ingredient, Niacinamide
When it comes to niacinamide, many people know that it can whiten the skin, which is one of the most common ingredients in whitening products, niacinamide can "hide" the melanin, so as to achieve the effect of whitening. Niacinamide, also known as vitamin B3, is one of the B Vitamins. Its whitening mechanism mainly consists of: 1) inhibiting the formation of melanin particles; 2) inhibiting the transfer of melanin to keratinocytes; 3) accelerating the transfer of melanin from keratinocytes to the stratum corneum and promoting the shedding of the stratum corneum.

Clinical observation and research show that skin care products with niacinamide can further reduce the number and range of pigmentation of human skin, etc. Long-term use of skin care products containing niacinamide can promote skin color fading and produce the efficacy of spot removal and whitening.

Niacinamide-containing cosmetics are not suitable for everyone

Pregnant women should not use niacinamide, niacinamide overdose may have the risk of causing fetal malformation. It is also not recommended for use during breastfeeding.

It should not be used by people with intolerant skin. Niacinamide may contain the impurity niacin, which may cause redness, swelling, hot pain and allergy to the skin. For safety reasons, if this is the first time you use a niacinamide product, test for allergies by applying it to the inner arm or skin behind the ear.

Melanin Blocker, Arbutin
Arbutin is an added ingredient in Skin Whitening cosmetics. It was originally discovered from the bearberry leaf and is the main active ingredient in the leaf, hence the name arbutin. Arbutin effectively inhibits the biological tyrosinase enzyme in the skin, blocking the formation of melanin. In addition, arbutin accelerates the breakdown and metabolism of melanin by binding itself directly to tyrosinase. Arbutin can effectively reduce skin pigmentation and get rid of pigmentation and freckles, and is the main raw material commonly used in whitening cosmetics.

Scientific purchase of arbutin-containing products

1. Look at the content

In fact, the content of arbutin is not the higher the better, because arbutin has photosensitivity, the concentration is too high instead of certain safety risks. Arbutin content is too high, can cause skin erythema, stinging, contact eczema and other adverse reactions, therefore, as a whitening ingredient in cosmetics, arbutin content in 2% or less safer.

2. Look at the ingredients

Arbutin can be divided into three categories according to different structures: deoxyarbutin, α-arbutin and β-arbutin. Deoxy arbutin has the strongest antimelanin effect, but its use is easy to release hydroquinone, which may lead to allergy or carcinogenic risk, a number of countries have deoxy arbutin or its toxic metabolite hydroquinone included in the banned ingredients, so you can not use arbutin containing deoxy arbutin products.

In addition, in terms of activity, α-arbutin is 10-15 times higher than β-arbutin. In terms of safety, α-arbutin is more stable and less prone to discoloration and degradation, so it is better to buy products containing α-arbutin, that is, more friendly to the human body.

3. Look at the preservation

As mentioned above, the decomposition product of arbutin, hydroquinone, is a nationally banned ingredient. Due to the high toxicity and irritation of hydroquinone, and the risk of carcinogenicity in long-term exposure, China's "Technical Code for Cosmetic Safety" (2015 edition) lists hydroquinone as a banned ingredient for cosmetics.

Arbutin-containing whitening products will slowly decompose at high temperatures of 40-50 degrees Celsius, generating very small amounts of hydroquinone, which in turn causes harm to the human body. Therefore, you should pay attention to the preservation environment of arbutin-containing cosmetics, and place them in a low-temperature and light-avoidance place when storing them to avoid risks.