Kojic acid-Skin Whitening Cream
Thousands of beauty and skin care products are released in the market but are all of them safe? Remember, beauty should not only last for a moment and have your skin damaged afterwards. With beauty-seekers becoming more aware on what treatment should be done to maintain and improve their skin’s condition, the Japanese has come up with a beauty product that works on your skin naturally called retinol cream. There are many other products made under retinol cream. One of them is kojic acid.
Retinol cream defined
But first, what is a retinol cream? Retinol cream is a skin treatment that contains vitamins essential for skin repair such as vitamin A. Its other benefits include increased production of skin cells for the top layer, more collagen production, acne treatment, and maintenance of good skin color even when exposed to harsh sun rays.
How is kojic acid related to retinol cream?
Kojic acid is a product made after retinol cream. Kojic acid is a skin whitening product loved mostly by people with freckles and dark spots. This ingredient was discovered by the Japanese through a certain kind of mushroom and from other ingredients used in wine fermentation. Aside from cosmetic purposes, its other purpose includes skin disinfection. This means that the bacteria which cause you skin irritations and blemishes are eliminated before they damage your skin.
Kojic acid on different skin types
Because of its whitening purposes, kojic acid has been an ingredient in several products. Aside from being used for skin whitening products, kojic acid is also present in toothpastes for its whitening effect.
Other advantages of kojic acid
Aside from skin whitening, kojic acid has other benefits. It is the best treatment for freckles and melasma. Also, it is a natural vitamin for the skin. It is unlikely to give harmful side effects to the user. However, studies show that only a maximum of 1% concentration of kojic acid should be included in any whitening product as it may impose any health risk. Another advantage of kojic acid is it is neither carcinogenic nor genotoxic so despite being a skin bleacher, the ingredient is not an origin of cancer.
Still, some skin is sensitive to any ingredient. Kojic acid may cause some allergic reaction called allergic contact dermatitis within continuous use. To avoid allergies, products with kojic acid include another ingredient to neutralize its harmful effect without disrupting its whitening purpose – topical corticosteroid.